74 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 



luoval of all obstacles to the free action of tlie Tribu- 

 nal, and commenting on the political relations of the 

 Treaty of Washington, preparatory to the considera- 

 tion of the other questions submitted to the Arbitra- 

 tors. 



SEAT OF THE ARBITRATION. 



And here, before proceeding to explain and to dis- 

 cuss the subsequent acts of the Tribunal, it seems 

 convenient to pause, in order to speak of the scene 

 of action and of the Tribunal, to Avhich the eyes of 

 all nations were attracted, and especially those of the 

 people of England and of America. 



It was most fit and proper to select Switzerland 

 as the country, and Geneva as the city, in which to 

 hold the sessions of the Tribunal. 



In fact, Switzerland, at the same time that it is the 

 land of hospitality, inviting the frequentation of all 

 the w^orld by its picturesque scenery, the beauty and 

 sublimity of its lakes and mountains, is also the land 

 of neutrality 'par excellence. No other country pos- 

 sesses in the same degree these qualities conjoined. 

 In no other country w as it possible to avoid all in- 

 vidious local suspicion, and to be exempt from any 

 possible political influence foreign to the objects of 

 the Arbitration. 



The selection was j^eculiarly agreeable to the 

 United States, by reason of the striking similarity 

 between our institutions and those of Switzerland. 

 Both Governments cultivate a polic}' of international 

 neutrality : the one, by reason of its isolation and re- 



