ORAL ARGUMENT OF JAMES C. CARTER, ESQ. 265 



Department of State, Washinfjion, Beccmher 14, 1891. 



Sir: I have the honor to advise you that I submitted your note of the 11th instant 

 to the President. After mature deliberation he has instructed me to say that ho 

 objects to Lord Salislmry's making any reservation at all, and that he can not yield 

 to him the right to a])peal to the Arbitrators to decide any point not embraced in the 

 articles of Arbitration. The President does not admit that Lord Salisbury can 

 reserve the right in any way to affect the decision of the Arbitrators. We under- 

 stand that the Arbitration is to proceed ou the seven ])oints which are contained iu 

 the articles which you and I certify were the very points agreed upon by the two 

 Governments. 



For Lord Salisbury to claim the rigbt to submit this new point to the Arbitrators 

 is to entirely change the Arbitration. The President might in like manner submit 

 several questions to the Arbitrators, and thus enlarge the subject to such an extent 

 that it would not be the same arbitration to which we have agreed. The President 

 claims the right to have the seven points arbitrated and respectfully insists that 

 Lord Salisbury shiiU not change their mcauing in any particular. The matters to be 

 arbitrated must be distinctly understood before the Arbitrators are chosen. And 

 after an arbitration is agreed to neither of the parties can enlarge or contract its 

 scope. 



I am prepared now, as I have been heretofore, to sign the articles of agreement 

 without any reservation whatever, and for tliat purpose I shall be glad to have you 

 call at the State Department ou Wednesday the 16th instant, at 11 o'clock a. m. 

 I have, etc., 



James G. Blaine. 



The President. Mr. Carter, liow would you construe tlie seven 

 points that were referred to in this letter? 



Mr. Carter. Do you mean this phrase, "The President claims the 

 right to have tlie seven jioints arbitrated", etc. 



The President. Yes. 1 suppose it means the five regulations and 

 the joint commission article. 



Mr. Carter. Yes. 



The President. You have no particular construction of that? There 

 were six articles iu the original treaty. 



Mr. Phelps. The seventh is the question of damages. 



Mr. Carter. Yes; the seventh is the question of damages. The 

 letters I have read seem to put this matter at rest; for the letter of Sir 

 Julian of December 17th acquiesces in the view of Mr. Blaine, in his 

 letter of the 14tb, which I have just read. It was evidently regarded 

 by both sides that this seventh article of the treaty, upon its face, upon 

 ajust interpretation of the language embraced by it, did not contem- 

 plate that the regulations should be conditioned uijon the acquiescence 

 of other powers. 



It was upon that assumption that Lord Salisbury wished to have an 

 understanding tacked on to it to the effect that they should be so con- 

 ditioned. That was refused. He then wished to reserve the rigtit to 

 argue before the Arbitrators that the regulations should be so condi- 

 tioned. Even that is objected to; and the treaty is eventually signed 

 upon the assumption, agreed to by both sides, that it must be executed 

 according to its language, without any addition or any reservation or 

 any right other than what appears upon tlie face of it. 



If it were a question whether it was expedient that the regnilations 

 should be conditioned upon the assent of other powers, it should be 

 promptly decided in the negative. Such a condition Avould be fatal to 

 the main object. Every one must see the possibility — the probability 

 even — that some power might be induced to withhold its assent; and 

 even if no country should finally withhold its assent, how long would 

 it take before the assent of all was obtained! We know the delays 

 incident to diplomatic negotiations; and there would be no good reason 

 to suiijiose that this universal assent could be obtained in less than 

 three or five years; and in that time the seals would be gone. There- 



