The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-07-24
II. Noblest Achievement.

= British House OF Lords last week Oh
8 documents and "A statement regardin
o tho progress Of the negotiations for u
: arbitration treaty between that counti
and this. While the negotiations ar
A incomplete, Lord Saisbury'u speec
showed that their progress is such rs t
|, constitute u pledge of peace between
J the two great nations and to aiior'
promise that they will agree on sucl
way of settling disputes, by tn
methods of civilization instead o
barbarism, as will afford Landmark
in history. The correspondence in l:
different documents was made public
at Washington Monday. 1t discosel
an agreement for the arbitration Of al
minor disputes, but contention Oh
Salisbury's part for what would
amount to veto on all Involving tn,
honor or territorial integrity of either
nation. Secretary Olney meets this
with suggestion that congress or par
Lament reserve the rikht t.
refuse in advance, in any such
case to go into arbitration at all, but
il they do engage in it that their ad-
Indication stand, except for a right OF
appeal which shall be final. Salisbury
suggests that appeals go to tribunal
consisting of three judges of the
supreme court of each country whose
oecisions shall require vote of five
to. one to be binding. Olney suggests
instead that the six judges select three
more impartial men and then ma
jority vote of this tribunal be decisive.
Salisbury fears a multiplication of
speculative territorial claims for
which Olney's reserved right of con
gress and parliament would be sutii
cient shut -off-and generally speaking,
the British premier bespeaks caution
and slow going in matter of so great
Importance and so largely experiment
tai in it nature AS the proposed treaty.
But the disagreements are entirely
of detail, the great principle of arbi-
tration, SO important to mankind, is
recognized by both sides and Lord Sal
isb lry expresses confidence that an
agreement will be reached.
The effort has been to include the
Vene zuela dispute in the arrangement
While there is no definite result yet,
Salisbury in his speech made the
highly significant remark that when
the facts had been fully ascertained
''by a commission in which both |
had confidence, he felt |
that the diplomatic questions which |
would follow would not be difficult to
adjust. This means apparently that
England will accept the decision of the
The speech was indeed
, complete backdown from Sa!isbury's /
position last fall. In his
speech he said the United States had
If late wears .'evinceda disposition to
AXE up the causes of many South
American republics, but this gov
had not quarrelled with that
because Great Britain
lad taken similar interest in disputes
eearding the frontier OF Sweden,
Holland, Belgium and Portugal. In
he negotiations, Salisbury has heen
tickling for the exclusion of territory
ettled by Englishmen before 1887
rom any arbitration Of right; but
his contention is so manifestly absurd
hat there is no danger of his adhering
D it.
Meanwhile the Venezuelan brief in
his boundary dispute has been sub
lifted to the commission by Counsel .
torfow this week and it shows clear
enough why England wouldn't ar
itrate before Uncle Sam took hand. g
lr. Storrow demonstrates that there t
ever has been any British sovereignty
, the diputed territory that there Y
stretch of $50 miles of forest be e
yeen their settlements on the banks j
I the Essequibo and the line they now @
aim; that the Dutch never gained u
lie slightest foothold in :he Orinoco "
ssin and, therefore, never transferred c
hat did not exist to Great Britain, Il
I'd he caps his strong arguments by c.
that the Schomburg t,
ne AS held by Lord Salisbury is e
rgery perpe:rated by the English W
,vernment 90 years after Schom- fl
irgs' death and after the existence of el
I'D mines west of the original Schom- 81
lrg line had been discovered. il
In view of this development, of the W
opping of clear steal in violation of ii
e Monroe doctrine, if anything can
, and of the great results of good TO
mankind, in the way of enlarging OF
Z arbitration principle that is b,
wing from the administration re- &C
lutte stand in this matter, it is time K
r the professors and Wall street III
eveland few months ago, to feel an
Their small. AS was clear to the nc
,sible view at the time, it was the of
blest achievement of the Cleveland Gt
Geo NJ. Fletcher of Morrisville again w
ties TO the Montpelier Waterman to ~
y: :,
The preservation of the honor of ~