Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-12

a larger sum were, after arbitration, SUD- ject to appeal and the award was to be reviewed by court composed Of three judges of the supreme court of Great Britain and three of the United States supreme court, whose award would De final if made by a vote of to l.
 Head five excluded differences involving national honor or integrity of territory; and six provided that any question might be referred to the arbitrators with the stipulation that unless acceptable to both powers the decision should not be valid.
 Secretary Olney found no criticism to make to the first two heads, and head three appeared to him to be restricted to controversies which could never endanger eaceful rela tions. But he proposed substitute to numbers four and five, which made arbitra ton obligatory and decisive except where national honor was involved. This made the award final in all cases if unanimous and by the suD- stitution of a majority vote, instead Of five to one vote of the appellate arbiters, provided for decision in every case. This was accomplished by having the three judges of the supreme court of each country sitting together to increase their number by appointing three additional impartial jurists irrespective of nationali- ty.
 Mr. Olney at that time, April Ii, 1896, said he saw no reason why the Venezue- Ian dispute should not be arbitrated in that manner.
 When Lord Salisbury found that he and MT. Olpey were practically agreed on the first three heads he had proposed he wished to include them in treaty and go on subsequently to the differences involy- ing more than $500,000 He found MT. Olney'S counter propositions to heads five and six objectionable in many ways and pending the deliberations MT. Olney thought advisable on June 12, to divorce xyh from general arbitration discussion and to in sist upon its independent settlement and from that time until recently the general arbitration discussion was suspended and every effort of both governments directed towards disposing of the Venezuelan con- troversy which was accomplished as far as England and the United States were concerned by the Olney- -Pauncefote agreement of Nov. 12, approved by Pres ident Crespo, of Venezuela, Dec. T. last. Since that date MT. Olney and Sir Julian Pauncefote have made rapid progress in the exact terms of the general association convention concluded today. They have been working on the lines set forth in the negotiations described above and, as is well known, they have not departed, materially from the first three heads sug- gested by Lord Salisbury and the fourth article or set of articles proposed by Secretary Olney.
 The treaty reached the senate this af- ternoon while Senator Mills was mak- ing his speech on Cuba. It was not laid before the senate until the doors had been closed executive session. In ac- cordance with the usual custom of the senate the text of the governmental f senate the text of the convention was not even read for information. The seal was broken and the vice-president an- nounced that a general treaty of arbitra- ton had been received. On motion of MT. Sherman 1t was ordered to be re- ferred to the committee on foreign rela- tions. of which he is chairman, and that reference was made without any senator being given the privilege of hearing the document read.