10 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
to time to vex and disturb the good understanding 
of both Governments. Others of the questions, al- 
though of more modern date, incidents of our late 
Civil War, were all the more irritating, as being fresh 
wounds to the sensibility of the people of the United 
States. 
If, to all these considerations, be added the fact that 
negotiation after negotiation respecting these ques- 
tions had failed to ‘resolve them in a satisfactory 
manner, it will be readily seen how great was the 
diplomatic triumph achieved by the Treaty of Wash- 
ington. . 
It required peculiar inducements and agencies to 
accomplish this great result. 
Prominent among the inducements were the pacific 
spirit of the President of the United States and the 
Queen of Great Britain, and of their respective Cabi- 
nets, and the sincere and heartfelt desire of a great 
majority of the people ef both countries that no 
shadow of offense should be allowed any longer to 
linger on the face of their international relations. 
Great Britain, it is but just to her to say, if not con- 
fessedly conscious of wrong, yet, as being the party to 
whom wrong was imputed, did honorably and wisely 
make the decisive advance toward reconciliation, by 
consenting to dispatch five Commissioners. to Wash- 
ington, there, under the eye of the President, to treat 
with five Commissioners on behalf of the United 
States. 
Diplomatic congresses have assembled on previous 
occasions to terminate the. great wars of Europe, or 
