In 1842, the Treaty of Washington, also known as the Webster-Ashburton Treaty: Treaty to Settle and Define the Boundaries between the Territories of the United States and the Possessions of Her Britannic Majesty in North America, was signed by the United States and Great Britain. As the subtitle suggests, one of the Treaty's purposes was to settle boundary disputes between Britain's North American colonies and the United States, one of which was the border between New Brunswick and Maine.

J. A. MacLaughlan and John C. Allen were appointed to the Commission struck in 1847 to investigate the complaints of Francis Watson and eleven others. The complainants contended that as a result of this Treaty, they had lost significant parcels of land in the disputed region and were petitioning for compensation.

The report of the Commission was very brief and neither reached any conclusion nor contained specific recommendations. However, it did include significant background documentation, including descriptions of the lands in dispute and the correspondence between high ranking officials of the American and British governments.

With the publication of the report, the possibility of a satisfactory resolution for the twelve complainants was very bleak. They were forced to resort to a court action and hired the services of a Maine lawyer, John Hodgson. His pessimism about the complainants' chances of recouping losses was summed up in his statement: "I see no prospect of making a successful defence, and unless advised to the contrary, I shall not take carry the case to the Supreme Court."

h.c.

Commissioners:
J. A. MacLauchlan
Sir John Campbell Allen