THE MONROE DOCTRINE 443 



ain. The Venezuelan case was presented by ex-President 

 Harrison, Gen. B. F. Tracy, M. Mallet-Prevost, and the 

 Marquis de Rajas. The British case was conducted by Sir 

 Richard Webster, Sir Robert Reid, and others. A verdict 

 was rendered on October 3, which was of a compromise 

 nature. 



The rendering of this award closed an incident of Ameri- 

 can intervention in support of the principles of the Monroe 

 Doctrine which has been considered fortunate by many, only 

 in so far as its ending was a happy one. British feeling had 

 been greatly aroused against the United States by what 

 appeared to be an unwarranted meddling in an affair belong- 

 ing only to Great Britain and Venezuela. On the other hand, 

 the belief had been general in the United States that Eng- 

 land's unwillingness at first to arbitrate the dispute gave evi- 

 dence of her aggressive designs in South America. The 

 positive tone of Mr. Olney's letters and of President Cleve- 

 land's messages indicated that Anglo-American affairs were 

 nearing a crisis, and that the two great powers were peril- 

 ously close to an open rupture. When the moment for 

 sober thought arrived, it was generally conceded that a war 

 so appalling in its probable consequences between these two 

 nations of one language and of a common purpose in the 

 advancement of civilization and constitutional liberty would 

 have been totally unjustified by the circumstances in the 

 case. It has since been freely said that the wise resolution 

 of Great Britain to yield was prompted by the wishes of the 

 Queen, who cherished a desire to preserve peace during her 

 reign between the two great nations of kindred race. 



XIII 



The course of the Cleveland administration in using the 

 Monroe Doctrine as a means for compelling Great Britain to 

 arbitrate her differences with Venezuela called forth much 

 criticism. The opponents of Mr. Olney's radical position 

 argued that the Monroe Doctrine having been established to 

 meet a certain end, it had accomplished its purposes and was 



