20 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 



the United States disposed to meet with perfect cor 

 respondence of good-will the advances of the British 

 Government. 



OVERTURES BY GREAT BRITAIN. 



Accordingly, on the 26th of January, 1871, the 

 British Government, through Sir Edward Thornton, 

 formally proposed to the American S-ofernment the 

 appointment of a joint High Commission to hold its 

 sessions at Washington, and there devise means to 

 settle ihe various pending questions between the two 

 Governments affecting the British possessions in 

 North America. 



To this overture Mr. Fish replted that the President 

 would with pleasure appoint, as invited, Commission 

 ers on the part of the United States, provided the de 

 liberations of the Commissioners should be extended 

 to other differences, that is to say, to include the dif 

 ferences growing out of incidents of the late Civil 

 War: without which ? in his opinion, the proposed 

 Commission would fail to establish those permanent 

 relations of sincere and substantial friendship between 

 the two countries which he, in common with the 

 Queen, desired to have prevail. 



The British Government promptly accepted this 

 proposal for enlarging the sphere of the negotiation, 

 with the result, as we have already seen, of the con 

 clusion of the Treaty of Washington. 



