74 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
moval of all obstacles to the free action of the 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 which 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 world 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 was 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 peculiarly agreeable to the 
United States, by reason of the striking similarity 
between our institutions and- those of Switzerland. 
Both Governments cultivate a policy of international 
neutrality: the one, by reason of its isolation and re 
