Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-02-06
AMERICA and ARBITRATION.
London Chronicle, Jan. i7th.

London Chronicle. Jan. lTth.
| notice general assumption ON the
part of most of your contemporaries,
that the American difficulty is practi,
cally at an end. l wish most heartily
could share this opinion. But, for my
own part, fai to see any substantial
change in the fundamental conditions
of the controversy between England
and America. All that anyone can
fairly say is that the influences, both
moral and material, which make for
peace on both sides of the Atlantic
have begun to make themselves heard,
that the excitement caused in the
United States, on the one hand by the
appeal to the Monroe Doctrine, and
the irritation caused in Great Britain
on the other by the arrogance of Presi.
dent Cleveland's manifesto, have both
Gained down, and that this improved
state of public sentiment in both coun
tries affords calm sense better chance
of obtaining hearing. In other words,
there is lull before the storm; but
this lul, however satisfactory, is not
in itself proof that the storm has
passed away.
Under these circumstances, the wise
thing is to look facts in the face Now
the bottom fact OF the whole contro-
versy is that the governments of Great
Britain aud of the United States have
assumed attitudes with respect to the
| question of the Venezuelan frontiers
which are absolutely irreconcllable.
The President of the United States in
sists that this question must be settled
| by arbitration and in so insisting he
has been backed by the support of the
| public opinion of America. Our gov
ernment has refused to admit the pos
sibiity of arbitration unless the
Schomburgk line is accepted before
hand as constituting the legal frontier
of British Guiana; and in so refusing
the government has, it must also be
admitted, been supported in the main
| by the public opinion OF Great Britain.
| Now, according TO the French proverb,
a door must be either closed or shut.
In the same way il the controversy
| as to the Venezuelan frontiers is to be
carried out to the bitter end, 1t can
only be settled either by America aban-
doning her demand for arbitration or
by England agreeing to accept arbitra-
| tion. This is the first fact we have
| got to face
So far the American government has
shown no signs of giving way on the
necessity for arbitration. Tho Presi-
| dental manifesto has been followed up
by the appointment of the commission
suggested in the Presidential manifesto,
whose duty it is to determine the legal
frontiers between British Guiana and
Venezuela. Judging from the com
position of this commission and the ut
terances of its members, as reported in
the American papers, it seems that they
enter upon the examination with de-
cided bias against the British case. 1t
is obvious, too, that in the absence of
any assistance from the British authori-
ties assistance which frankly own it
is impossible for these authorities to
render-the commission must base their
awards upon imperfect and one-sided
evidence. 1t is, of course, theoretically
possible that the commission may de-
eide that Great Britain is entirely in
the right, and that the President and
the people of the United States have
therefore made much ado about moth
ing. But this hypothesis is not in ac-
cordance with human nature in general
and with American nature in particu-
lar. 1t may be taken, fear, for granted
that If this American self constituted
tribunal ever proceeds to give judgment,
that judgment will prove adverse to the
position England has taken up in respect
of her British Guiana frontiers. This
is the second fact we have got to face.
Assuming such verdict 10 De given,
what follows? The United States will
under pain of national humiliation,
stand committed to enforce the verdict
of the commission. On the other side,
England could not possibly accept such
"a verdict, given under such conditions,
without disgrace abroad and loss OF
self-respect at home This being so,
our two countries would be placed
under the dilemma of either consent
ing to dishonor or of going to war. In
such dilemma there is only one
choice possible for great and powerful
States, and that choice is war. This
is the third fact we have got to face.
Given these facts, and ] do not see
how they can be disputed, ii is of the
utmost Importance to come TO an un-
destanding with the United States be-
fore they become irretrievably commit
tod to any standpoint in reference to
our controversy with Venezuela, which
England would not and could not ac-
cept save under compulsion. Many sug-
gestona have BEEN made by which this
peril might possibly ho averted. But
these suggestions, one and all, are OBJ
viously impossible of execution so long
as England refuses TO admit the idea
of submitting to arbitration. 1t be-
comes, therefore the duty Of all English
men who object, on grounds of policy,
interests and humanity, to war with
the United States to consider, soberly
aud serio usly, whether we are are act
ing wisely in refusing arbitration.
fully admit that if l were to eS
press my own deliberate judgment |
should say that it was for the United
States rather than for England to abate
her pretensions. But as | believe that
there is little or no prospect of the
United States profIerng the conces-
sions required to remove the risk of
war, am Obliged to ask myself whether
ii is worth while to adhere to our re-
lection Of arbitration. In order to avoid
being misunderstood, let me state dis
tnctly that | do not recommend our
| giving way upon the issue of arbitra
tion from any belief in arbitration ever
proving a substitute for war-still less
from any sympathy with the sentiments
professed by the advocates OF arbitra
tion AZ "A general principle. England
in common with all ruling nations, has
won her empire by the sword and must
keep it by the sword. can refer to
my writings to show that my advocacy
has been given, for what it is worth
to the general doctrine, that it is Eng
lands interest to develop and strengthen
the British Empire by annexinG terri
tories, creating protectorates and estab-
fishing spheres of influence. In other
words, | have in my many articles on
foreign affairs laid myself open to the