54: , THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 



and &quot;the discourteous tone and minatory intimations 

 of the Ministry,&quot; imposed on the United States a dif 

 ferent line of action from that, which might have been 

 adopted by them in response to a calm presentation 

 by the British Government of its construction of the 

 Treaty. 



In this relation there is another class of facts which, 

 as it seems to me, deserves mention. 



Of the five American Commissioners engaged in 

 the negotiation of the Treaty of Washington, two, 

 the Secretary of State [Mr. Fish] and our Minister 

 at London [General Schenck], w r ere officially occu 

 pied in discussing the question on the American Case 

 raised by the British Government. The published 

 dispatches show with what signal ability they dis 

 charged this delicate duty. Meanwhile, the three 

 other Commissioners, Mr. Justice Nelson, Mr. Hoar, 

 and Mr. Williams, although impliedly accused on the 

 other side of taking some advantage of the unsophis 

 ticated innocence and simplicity of the British Com 

 missioners, yet maintained perfect self-control in the 

 matter, speaking only when officially called upon to 

 speak, and otherwise leaving the subject where it be 

 longed, in the hands of their Government. 



The conduct, on the other hand, of some of the 

 British Commissioners was less reserved than that of 

 the American Commissioners. Professor Bernard got 

 completely off the track of reason and sense in a lect 

 ure which he delivered at Oxford. Sir Stafford 

 Northcote let off a very inconsiderate speech at Ex 

 eter. And Sir Edward Thornton made a not very 



