180 THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON. 
States of old: such is their doctrine now, neither 
more nor less by reason of our negotiation with Great 
Britain. 
SALE OF ARMS NOT AFFECTED BY THE TREATY OR THE 
AWARD. 
Some persons have supposed that the Treaty affects 
the question of the sale of arms or munitions of war 
to a Belligerent. That is an error. Wherever, as be- 
tween the parties to the Treaty, the sale of arms was 
lawful before, it is lawful now; wherever it is unlaw- 
ful now, it was unlawful before. That is a question 
to which the action of the German Embassador in 
Great Britain during the late war between France 
and Germany has drawn the attention of all Europe, 
and which is certain to acquire importance in any 
future great war; but it is not touched, in fact, by the 
Treaty of Washington, and did not come before the 
Tribunal of Geneva. 
QUESTION OF SUPPLIES OF COAL. 
One specific objection to the Rules of the Treaty, 
and only one, of any apparent force, has passed under 
my observation, that of the Austrian statesman, Count 
von Beust: the suggestion, namely, as to the second 
Rule, relative to coaling and refitting in neutral ports, 
which, it is alleged, “gives to England, through her 
possession of neutral stations in all parts of the world, 
a palpable advantage over other States, which have 
not the same facilities at command.” 
This objection is one of apprehension, rather than 
