The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-05-24
HOUs OF LORD S
TUESDAY, May 2.
The Trenlu Of unshinrlon


erston Ia condemnation Of the Treaty, and defeated
by the counting out of the House. DisspproyiBg 8,
Le did the warke policy of Lord Pamerson Ir
anxious 10 record his dissent from the opinions e
pressed by the noble Lord on this particular subec,
His present course might be novel one # ii w.,
erroneous he took the whole blame Of II TO himself
for he had consulted no one but when he so often
saw the thanks Of Parliament bestowed up n men
who had succeeded in military operations, he could
not but wish TO mark of appreciation bestJa,I
upon peaceful services. The subject Of The
boundary line one upon which gross ignorance
had long prevailed, and out Of that ignorance there
had arisen much misunderstanding lie believed
that according 10 the true intent Of the treaty Of
1888 The British claim well founded; but the let.
ter Of that treaty did certainly furnish very arguabp
grounds to America. Lord Palmerston had SAID Inst
concessions respecting this boundary had been az.
tended by loss and dishoor TO England but had r.r
made out either. He himself had originally d,ap.
proved the treaty; but he had found himself mis,l
kes and would not persevere In his error. He CON.
mented excessively upon the six main articles Of the
treaty, commenting them as fair and beneficial set.
dement's Of the points to which they respectively re-
lated. As TO the quantity Of territory allotted
10 each of the two Powers Lord Palmerstpn bad
small ground TO complain for the noble Lord hgJ
himself been willing to divide the debatoablc land
equally, which would have given $4,000 acre, 10
each and the only abatement admitted by Lord Ash.
burton was in accepting 1887 900 acres the d.hu
renee which he had conceded consisting, however c
some oil me worst most useless 1and IN The
As to the opening OF the rivers, he was persuade
that England would be at least much a gamer by
the free navigation as America. great benefit had
been effected also in the agreement obtained FROM
America, that any future disputes which might arise
out of transactions between this country and ay one
of the individual States should be settled with Eng
land, not by that individual State, but by the Fed.
eral Government so as henceforth to exclude tie
dangers of local excitement and irritation He quo
ted the correspondence of the Foreign Office in Az
gust, lS4l to show that at the time when the late
Government were quitting Office, this country and
America were actually the very verge Of com
menciDg hostes; and he considered il to be matter
of great good fortune that those hosttes had been
prevented through the kindly feeling which the Amer
leans entertained for Lord Ashburon He was SAT-
isfed that this result could have been achieved
but by settling conventional line for the dscre-
pancies of the numerous maps had made il impossible
that the actual line should be ascertaned 1t was
not immateral circumstance that the arrangement
was highly approved by the people of all parties in
British North America. No two countr es could be
more useful to one another than Great Britain and
the United States, and it therefore of great i'm
portance 10 both that their relations should have been
thus amicably adjusted. He desired the House 10
observe that there many prece3ents Of thanks
voted by the House for civil services and those pre-
cedents he shortly enumerated
After some remarks from DIR. Bowring, Sir Charles
Napier, Mr.. b. Escott, and Sir Howard Douglas
Lord Stanley said that the Government would not
departed
from precedent in proposing the thanks of the House
to negotiator however successful. But the ungeu-
erous attack of Lord Palmerston was the moving
cause of securing to Lord Ashburton the unprcce-
denied honor OF such vote MIR Macauiay had
contended that Lord Ashburton had cast a stain on
British diplomacy; yet tonight il was admitted that
the treaty not SO bad a after all and the ony
objection taken was to the unprecedented nature Of
the motion. There never had been treaty concu-
ded in the face OF greater difficulties, or which bad
more ehectually removed the chances of dsa,trou,
war between two countries every blow of which would
recoil on both. In few months Lord Ashhurlou
had concluded the settlement Of dispute which Lord
Pamerston for several years had successfully pro-
tracted even the Madawaska settlement, about
which much now said, was one Of the Oh ecs
which the noble Lord when IN Office, had vainy OF.
fered order to induce the United States to accent
the award of the King Of the Netherlands Lord
Ashburton had entered on his task after the question
had been embroiled by the management Of Lord Pal
merston, and after separate States committing
themselves the subject by strong resolutions TO SUP
port the claims of Maine and Massachusetts and IN
SIX months he brought il TO a conclusion. Nor had
the noble Lord or the Government compromised the
question OF the Right of Search though Lord Aber-
deem did not Initiate the supercilious style Of Lord
Paimerston, in addressing people at once strong and
sensitive, and on subject OF peculiar delicscy The
United States did not recognise the right Of search
but they agreed that might be exercised under Ger
tain conditions Of remedy for injury The very con-
yenton on this subject in the Ashburtnn Treaty as
similar to proposition made by Lord Palmersion IN
1899, yet he turned round and said that il was
step in the wrong directionl The case of MLeod,
which The present Government, on entering office
had found to be so mminen, and dangerous had been
successfully settled, and its recurrence provided
against Lord Ashburton had m fact Obtained ],
better military boundary than under the ward Of the
King of the Netherlands he had procured the enact
ment of law which would prevent the recurrence
Of irritating questions, and he made no concessir,
dishonorable or disadyantageous TO the country. he
trusted, therefore, that the House would mari H.
sense OF his high merits, and of the party attar.
which had been made on him, by supporting the mo
Lord JOHN RUSSELL was surprised that a.. C.,
eminent never thought Of coming TO the resc,,e ~
Lord Ashburton's reputation and honor until o., "