20 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
the United States disposed to meet with perfect cor- 
respondence of goodwill the advances of the British 
Government. 
OVERTURES BY GREAT BRITAIN. 
Accordingly, on the 26th of January, 1871, the 
British Government, through Sir Edward Thornton, 
formally proposed to the American Government the 
appointment of a joint High Commission to hold its 
sessions at Washington, and there devise means to 
settle the various pending questions between the two 
Governments affecting the British possessions in 
North America. 
To this overture Mr. Fish replied that the President 
would with pleasure appoint, as invited, Commission- 
ers on the part of the United States, provided the de- 
liberations of the Commissioners should be extended 
to other differences,—that is to say, to include the dif- 
ferences growing out of incidents of the late Civil 
War: without which, in his opinion, the proposed 
Commission would fail to establish those permanent 
relations of sincere and substantial friendship between 
the two countries which he, in common with the 
Queen, desired to have prevail. 
The British Government promptly accepted this 
proposal for enlarging the sphere of the negotiation, 
with the result, as we have already seen, of the con- 
clusion of the Treaty of Washington. 
