10 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 



to time to vex and disturb the good understanding 

 of both Governments. Others of the questions, al 

 though of more modern date, incidents of our late 

 Civil War, were all the more irritating, as being fresh 

 wounds to the sensibility of the people of the United 

 States. 



If, to all these considerations, be added the fact that 

 negotiation after negotiation respecting these ques 

 tions had failed to resolve them in a satisfactory 

 manner, it will be readily seen how great was the 

 diplomatic triumph achieved by the Treaty of Wash 

 ington. 



It required peculiar inducements and agencies to 

 accomplish this great result. 



Prominent among the inducements were the pacific 

 spirit of the President of the United States and the 

 Queen of Great Britain, and \ of their respective Cabi 

 nets, and the sincere and heartfelt desire of a great 

 majority of the people of both countries that no 

 shadow of offense should be allowed any longer to 

 linger on the face of their international relations. 



Great Britain, it is but just to her to say, if not con 

 fessedly conscious of wrong, yet, as being the party to 

 whom wrong was imputed ? did honorably and wisely 

 make the decisive advance toward reconciliation, by 

 consenting to dispatch five Commissioners to Wash 

 ington, there, under the eye of the President, to treat 

 with five Commissioners on behalf of the United 

 States. 



Diplomatic congresses have assembled on previous 

 occasions to terminate the great wars of Europe, or 



