Year: 1872

ieved by many tonight to be the true situation. III
England will not agree the Senate amendmentsitls
| the general opinion that the Treaty must fail for


the Senate has done all that it thinks it can honor


ably do in the matter and some Administration


Senators who voted for the amended article do not


hesitate to say that they will be better pleased If
England takes the responsibility and withdraWs


from the arbitration than if she accepts our last
| proposition.


| ENGLISH OPINIONS ON THE NEGOTIATIONS.


MORE OPPOSITION TO THE SUPPLEMENTAL AR
| TICLE-COMMENTS or THE LONDON JOURNALS
| A QUESTION OF YERACITY.


| tFPoN THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRlBUNE.I
| LONDON MAY lS-Once more the Press is putting


a pressure on the Government in the matter of the
Alabama claims The delay in ratifying the new ar


ticle Of the Washington Treaty by the Senate has


given The Times opportunity to discover that 1t IS
| unsatisfactory 1t does not "withdraw" the In


direct Claims in a sufficiently absolute and cOncu-


sive manner. Its operative words fall somewhat
| short of what The Times had expected The COW


eDant in the new article does not it complains, put


the United states Government under any obligation


to modify the claim that has been presented. All 1t


requires is that in the written argument to be pre-


sented on the 18th Of June by the agent of the


limited States the Indirect Claims should be silently


dropped. 1t does not even impose on the United


States any obligation to bring the new article under


the notice of the Tribunal at Geneva. The effect OF
| this would be, it thinks, to put England in the


precise position against which she has all along


strenuousy protested and TO leave it still open to
| tho Arbitrators to give an award upon
| the Indirect Claims. The article, first stating


their objections, appeared yesterday, and its
! influence was immediate. Other papers which,
| like Yhe Times had previously occupied them


selves with nothing but the probability of ratiica


ton of the new article by the Senate begin to doubt


this morning whether, after all, the ratihcatlonls
| desirable The Daily Neics is of opinion that if


the article be accepted in substance by the Senate


sharper precision will be needed in its language
| and that the withdrawal of the Indirect Claims


from the cognzance Of the Tribunal at Geneva


NAV need TO be more directly performed
| The Spectator follows suit, as might be
| expected, that journal having been from the COM
| mencement of the present discussion, one of the
very strongest opponents we have had. 1t did not
| believe the article has been correctly published;
| though we now have an official copy OF 1t showing
| that it really does contain the words which The


Spectator felt sure could not have been used, and


which in its Judgment, constitute bunder so SELL


GUS that an article containing them could answer no
real purpose.


Ii easy to suggest that this sudden outbreak of
opposition to the Supplemental Treaty has diplo-


matte purpose and is intended to be telegraphed TO
Washington, and help the Treaty through the


Senate by show of English dislike to it, and of


conviction that it is England and not the United


States that gets the worst of the new bargain But
do not believe that. The journals which l


have quoted simply express the feeling which
does, as l have been saying once OF twice
q week for the last three months, really per-
wade the British nation The alarm about
the Indirect Claims amounts to panic and the soc-


itnde about the precise form OF their withdrawal Is
morbid There exists distrust of this Government
80 keen that nothing but the most express assurance


can auiet the fear of the English people that those


terrible Claims will be allowed in some shape, or to


some extent to appear at Geneva for adjudication
A fortnight ago agreement not TO press was
declared insufficient because it did not debar
the Arbitrators from making an award of their
own motion. The same danger turks in the
new article I won't say that all this suspicious
ness amounts to an imputation Of bad faith on the
part of the United States Government. 1t is
enough to remark that it implies some Ignorance of
human nature in general, and some doubt how
much of it may be found in the Arbi-
traitors. There have been O good many
arbitrations in this world. Did anybody ever hear
Of one in which the arbitrators insisted on
awarding to the plaintiff damages which he
did not askf That is what the English papers dwell
upon as a possible danger at Geneva. If, however,
any part of this apprehension were simulated, the
effect of it at Washington ought to be the contrary
of what have suggested above as possibly hoped
for If England doubts whether we are negotiating
in good faith the best thing we can do Is TO stop
negotiating at all. i


Isupposc some little annoyance has been occasioned
by the transmission of the recent correspondence 10
Congress. The English Government having dechned
to communicate it to Parliament 1t was supposed 10
be reserved till Parliament should meet again. when
will not be till the 27th. But IL was nlaniies.y
announcement that tho English public should be
denied tbe nernsal of documents which were in the
nossession Of everybody in America, and that the
English papers should be obliged to copy them from
the American. There remained the expedient of
printing them in The London Gazette, the official
paper. and this was done yesterday and this morn