49 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
peace and war, of the most trivial causes and the 
most absurd illusions. 
On the present occasion, London appears to have 
been shaken and tossed by the intense fear of Great 
Britain being in turn called upon to pay some indefi- 
nite milliards of war indemnity to the United States. 
DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE TWO GOVERNMENTS. 
The British Government was very slow to take 
this infection of popular fear and commotion. The 
American Case was duly filed on the 15th of Decem- 
ber. Many copies of it were in the hands of the 
British Ministers in a few days thereafter. We do 
not hear of any particular disturbance of mind on 
the part of the Ministers until the beginning of Feb- 
ruary, that is, the lapse of six or seven weeks, when 
the American Minister, General Schenck, telegraphed 
to Mr. Fish as follows: “London journals all demand 
that the United States shall withdraw claims for in- 
direct damages, as not within intention of treaty. 
Ministry alarmed.” 'To which Mr. Fish responded 
by telegraph as follows: “There must be no with- 
drawal of any part of the claim presented. Counsel 
will argue the case as prepared, unless they show to 
this Government reasons for a change. The alarm 
you speak of does not reach us. We are perfectly 
calm and content to await the award, and do not an- 
ticipate repudiation of the Treaty by the other side.” 
And in these two telegrams we have the history of 
the whole interval of time prior to the next meeting 
of. the Tribunal. Newspapers in England lashed 
