ALABAMA CLAIMS. 61 



US and other States, with which that Tribunal had 

 no possible concern, — which it could not pretend to 

 judge, — and of such obvious irrelevancy and imj^erti- 

 nence that not one of the Arbitrators condescended 

 to notice them except Sir Alexander Cockburn. 



The presentation in the British Case of considera- 

 tions of this order, worthless and absurd as argu- 

 ment, and wantonly offensive to the United States, 

 w^as, in my judgment, an outrageous act, compared 

 with which, in possible susceptibility of blame, there 

 is nothing to be found in any of the affirmative doc- 

 uments presented by the American Government. 



It was the cause of a singularly perverse incident, 

 namely, complaint of the British Press against the 

 American Argument for imputed miMnchiess in al- 

 luding to subjects, which had been forced upon our 

 attention by the British Case. 



I mention these circumstances for the purpose of 

 showing how relatively unjust it was to impute of- 

 fensiveness of spirit and language to the American 

 Case in view of the much more objectionable thino^s 

 in the British Case ; and for the further purpose of 

 pertinently stating that it was undignified for Great 

 Britain to complain of the manner in which the Agent 

 or Counsel of the United States mio:ht see fit to ar- 

 gue our cause, as it would be for the American Gov- 

 ernment to undertake to prescribe limits of discre- 

 tion in this respect to the Agent or Counsel of Great 

 Britain. 



Thus, the 15th of April, looked forward to with so 

 much ai:)parent dread by the British Government, 



