412 ORAL ARGUMENT OF SIR RICHARD WEBSTER, Q. C. M. P. 



Now, a few words only with regard to the origin of tlie points in 

 Article VI. I am not going tbrongli the history again, because, some 

 days ago, the Attorney General read the letters to you, Tliey were 

 framed originally, almost in the shape in which they now stand, by the 

 United States. The fifth question was the one that was altered, 

 because in the form originally proposed, it appeared to Lord Salisbury 

 to assume too much right, to give too large a concession to the United 

 States as regards their rights; and, therefore, the fifth question in the 

 shape in which it now appears was framed about the middle of 1891, 

 the earlier form of it having been proposed by Mr. Blaine at the begin- 

 ning of 1891; it was framed in that shape, so that while it should not 

 limit in any way the rights which the United States might claim, yet 

 still it should not, on the face of it concede to the United States any 

 position which Great Britain was not prepared to give them. 



These observations, Mr. President, when the Tribunal comes to frame 

 its decision, will, I submit, be found not to be without their signiii- 

 cance; because my learned friend, Mr. Phelps, going, I am sure, as far 

 as he could go and wishing to go as far as possible, indicated to you 

 many days ago that, although he had no authority, to speak for the 

 present Government of the United States as an Executive Officer, and 

 though his position here was that of Counsel merely for the parties who 

 instructed him, said he had no moral doubt in his own mind that the 

 finding of this Tribunal, with regard to the five Questions submitted 

 in Article VI, would be respected by the Government of the United 

 States and be ui)held in so far as it was necessary to consider the ques- 

 tions which might ultimately arise under Article VIII. 



I think I am correctly representing my learned friend the Attorney 

 General when he said that of course with regard to any claim which 

 Great Britain might make under Article V, the Government would feel 

 bound to admit against Great Britain, if necessary, any finding of this 

 Tribunal which arises in answer to the five points mentioned in Article 

 VI. But what is the significance of this? Surely it is this, that it the 

 United States had any right or any claim of right under which they 

 could justify, or under which they were entitled to justify, their action, 

 they must do it in their Case, Counter Case and Argument. They can- 

 not ask from this Tribunal any finding, or the insertion of any words 

 to indicate that behind the justification put forward in the five points 

 mentioned in Article VI, there is some other justification not to be 

 gathered from the written papers, not to be gathered from the oral 

 argument, but to be held in reserve and to be used if necessary. I 

 therefore ask the Senator, in common with every other member of this 

 Tribunal, who I know will give what weight they think any observa- 

 tion of mine is entitled to — I will ask the Senator to let me assume — I 

 say no more than that, for the purpose of my argument, that the justi- 

 fication for the acts of the United States is to be found in the five 

 points enumerated in Article VI, and provided we are able to show to 

 the satisfaction of this Tribunal that no one of those five points con- 

 strued in its largest sense, giving to the language embraced in the 

 points the full meaning such as is sought to be given to that language 

 in the written and oral argument of my learned friends, — if we show 

 that the claims which have been made to justify the action of the 

 United States fail either on the ground of law, or because there are 

 not facts to support the particular question or particular point urged 

 on behalf of the United States, we are entitled to have that stated, as 

 was indicated to you this morning, and entitled to have that found by 

 the very terms of this Treaty; for you are directed to place in your 



