Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1872-12-16
"THE PLEASURES AND ADVAN-
TAGES OF THE TREATY OF
WASHINGTON.1

hOONe HSduiuS SlNCS ITO flcWo vi VIC az
ton of the British Government in re-
spect to the famous Treaty of Washing
ton:
1--WE are not able to take account of
the Treaty of Washington, and to esti-
mate accurately the advantages secured
to England by that instrument.
By the treaty we apologized for wrongs
that We denied, and consented to be
tried by newly-invented laws of interna-
tional obligation, so as to make good
against us the American claims for dam
ages. In this the British government
were completely successful. Guided by
these new laws, a court of arbitration
condemned us to pay to the Americans
more than three millions of money. edo
In accepting the three new rules of
international law, our government not
only secured an adverse verdict for our
selves at Geneva, (their primary object)
but imposed upon the country fresh re-
sponsibilities of most onerous charac-
ter, vastly enlarging the probability of
our having to pay damages of similar
kind in the future. While by the treaty
we took so much pains to substantiate
against ourselves the claims "generically
known as the Alabama claims, p we, at
the same time, at the demand of the
Americans, abandoned far more valid
claims of a precisely similar character.
We agreed that the raids of certain ships
on American commerce should be paid
for, but that the destruction, by certain
ilibusters, of British property need not
be paid for. qo,.o,. -.-, .,-,..
In order to make the agreement toler-
able to the Canadians, whose lives and
property were thus destroyed, it was
thought necessary to bride them by guar
anteeing loan of $2,509,000; and ac-
cordingly the Canadians are saddled with
the disgrace, and we with monetary re.
sponsibility. Further, to show that we
did not resent the Fenian raids in Cana
da, our government not only withdrew
all claims on account of them, but pre-.
scented the Americans with a share Of
the American fishing grounds.
There had long been an obstinate dis
pute between the two countries as to f;
certain water boundary. The American
government admitting that the conten
ton on either side might be, just, pro
posed to abrogate the treaty from which
the disagreement sprang, and make
new arrangement; and although such
proposal must necessarily have led t
compromise at the most, our government
rejected it, insisted on making of tn
dispute another experiment in arbitra
ton, and so made possible the disastrou
and most melancholy award of the En-
peror of Germany. 81. ......,.
In drawing up the treaty our govern
ment blundered in such a way as t
cause extreme alarm and irritation, a
one time rising into possibility of az
tual war.
Our reward for all this humiliatio
and loss was to be reconciliation wit
the American people, and the restoratio
in perpetuity of their good will. An
there is not, nor was it natural tn;
there should be, any such reward fortl
coming. ..re .r4.r,se.
On the other hand great deal of al
ger has been formed in the mind of Il
English people, and the probability
that at the least proyocation from Anne
lea now, this latent anger would far
out most perilously. These are t
pleasures and advantages secured t
Great Britain by the Treaty of Was
ington."