The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-05-09

We have the pleasure Of giving to our
readers this morning the substance of the new
treaty Of peace between England and the
United States as agreed upon and signed,
sealed and delivered to the President from the
Joint High Commission yesterday at Wash
ington. Regarding this as one Of the most In
teresting and important political events Of the
nineteenth century, with all its astounding
revolutions and political transformations in
both hemispheres, we are sure that the en-
lightened and peace-loving people Of this great
republic will accept this treaty with something
of the faith Of St. Paul, and that is, as ''the
substance Of things hoped for and the evidence
of things not seem"
When, on the 18th Of March last, we re-
ceived our reports of the dispatches which
had just passed between Queen Victoria and
President Grant looking to the appointment of
this Joint Commission, and when we saw that
General Grants proposition that this Com
mission be charged with the adjust
ment Of all the unsettled questions pend
ing between the two countries was at
ouce accepted by her Majesty, we could
not resist the impression that the labors of the
Joint High Commission thus agreed upon
would be crowned with great and glorious
treaty of peace, satisfactory to both sides,
honorable to both parties, and broadly FORE
shadowing new era of peace, prosperity and
progress, not only to the English-speaking
peoples of the earth, but to all the nations of
all languages and to all the races and tribes of
men upon our bustling little planet.
The browning result, we think, justifes our
high anticipations. Considering the delicate
and difficult questions connected with the
Alabama claims, the Northeastern fisheries,
the Northwestern boundary dispute and the
navigation Of the st. Lawrence, there is GER
tainly no cause for serious complaint on our
side touching the terms Of adjustment and
paci1cation agreed upon in the disposition
Of any Of these questions. The High
Commission on the part of England and on
the part Of the United States seems to have
met with the common determination of q mu-
tualiy satisfactory and comprehensive treaty
of peace and with this common idea that, as
peace is manifestly the true international
policy henceforward of the United States and
England, all existing embarrassments to per-
feet harmony between the two nations must be
removed
The ways and means adopted between the
high contracting parties for the settlement Of
the Alabama claims, the fishery disputes and
the boundary question do, certainly, all things
considered, embrace concessions to the United
States, in the matters both of American
claims and International law, which ought to
be satisfactory to the Senate. Concerning
the navigation Of the st. Lawrence canals, in
having conceded to us the same rights as the
Canadians we have unquestionably Sc
cured all that we could ask. 1t
appears, too, that in the British claims
allowed as Offsets to our Alabama claims all
those classes Of British claims not clearly
within the pale Of international law upon our
own construction have been thrown out, and
that some American claims, considered as
hardly within the jurisdiction of the High
Commission, have been considered and pro-
vded for.
Entertaining the opinion that the treaty stipu-
lations entered into will be ratified and in good
faith carried out on both Sides we adhere to
our original impression that the appointment
Of this Joint High Commission will hence
forward be an important landmark to
the historian, the opening of a new
chapter in new and higher order
of international reciprocities and obligations
than the civilized world has known heretofore.
With all the concessions from either side in
this budget of conventions from the High
Commission, the greatest concession is that of
the paramount necessity to England of peace,
and of our manifest obligations of peace
to ourselves and to the world at large. AS
war between the United States and England
would be one Of the heaviest of misfortunes
to both parties and to the general cause of
human progress, so these new bonds of
peace between England and the United States
may be regarded as fruitful of blessings to the
United States, TO England and to all her
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