440 AMERICAN DIPLOMATIC QUESTIONS 



dered the hope that it will be adjusted by a reasonable arrangement 

 at an early date. 



I request that you will read the substance of the above despatch 

 to Mr. Olney, and leave him a copy if he desires it. 



S. 



President Cleveland in submitting the above correspond- 

 ence to Congress concluded his message as follows : 



Without attempting extended argument in reply to these 

 positions, it may not be amiss to suggest that the doctrine upon 

 which we stand is strong and sound because its enforcement is 

 important to our peace and safety as a nation, and is essential to 

 the integrity of our free institutions and the tranquil maintenance 

 of our distinctive form of government. It was intended to apply 

 to every stage of our national life, and cannot become obsolete 

 while our Republic endures. . . . 



In the belief that the doctrine for which we contend was clear 

 and definite, that it was founded upon substantial considerations 

 and involved our safety and welfare, that it was fully applicable 

 to our present conditions and to the state of the world's progress, 

 and that it was directly related to the pending controversy and 

 without any conviction as to the final merits of the dispute, but 

 anxious to learn in a satisfactory and conclusive manner whether 

 Great Britain sought, under a claim of boundary, to extend her 

 possessions on this continent without right, or whether she merely 

 sought possession of territory fairly included within her lines of 

 ownership, this Government proposed to the Government of Great 

 Britain a resort to arbitration as the proper means of settling the 

 question to the end that a vexatious boundary dispute between 

 the two contestants might be determined and our exact standing 

 and relation in respect to the controversy might be made clear. 



It will be seen from the correspondence herewith submitted 

 that this proposition has been declined by the British Govern- 

 ment, upon grounds which in the circumstances seem to me to be 

 far from satisfactory. It is deeply disappointing that such an 

 appeal actuated by the most friendly feelings towards both nations- 

 directly concerned, addressed to the sense of justice and to the 

 magnanimity of one of the great powers of the world and touch- 

 ing its relations to one comparatively weak and small, should 

 have produced no better results. 



The course to be pursued by this Government in view of the 

 present condition does not appear to admit of serious doubt. 

 Having labored faithfully for many years to induce Great Britain, 



