TllK XUUTIIWKSTEUX BOUNDAKY-LINE. 2'2o 



Britain tlie concession of recognizing cert.iin preten- 

 sions of that Company in Oregon and Washington, 

 founded on mere encroachment, and, in order to be re- 

 lieved of tliesc pretensions, paying to tlie Company a 

 small sum in satisfaction of its claims, aljout one tenth 

 of what was demanded for it in the name of the Brit- 

 ish Government. 



Lord ^lilton expresses the opinion that "On [iji/.sl 

 aiuU</uit((l>l(; solution of the so-called San Juan Water- 

 houndavy Q»uestion depends the future, not only of 

 liritish ColumLia, but also of the entire British ])os- 

 sessions in North America." By "just and eijuitable 

 solution" he means, of course, decision in favor of 

 Great Britain. If the premises are correct, then the 

 conscfpiences are a fact accomplished. But he over- 

 estimates the value of the Archipelago of iSan Juan, to 

 Great Britain. His opinion assumes what is im])ossi- 

 ble, the acquisition of considerable intrinsic strength 

 on tlie part of British Columbia, sustained by railroad 

 connection with th(^ Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. 

 But what would avail, in a military point of view, a 

 railroad runniuii; throucjh a thousand miles of com- 

 paratively uninhabited country within easy reach at 

 every point to the armies of the United States ? I 

 think the future of the British possessions in Xorth 

 America depends on a diflerent oi'der of facts, of which 

 something will be said in another cha])ter in speak- 

 ing of the commercial relations of the United States 

 and the Canadian Dominion. 



P 



