International Arbitration. Britain four boards of arbitration were cre ated. These all related to the frontier line with Canada. The boundary question has been from the very beginning of our inde pendence as a nation the source of almost constant discussion, often of angry contro versy, and more than once has brought the countries to the brink of war. But in every instance when the usual methods of diplo macy failed arbitration has been restorted to with success. During the two generations and more which followed the war of 1812 we were able, with one exception, to settle all our controversies with foreign powers by peace ful methods; and that long period contains the record of many courts and commissions of arbitration. The most numerous of them were with the Mother Country, but more than a score of them were with other nations of Europe and America. The only break in this long chain of peace ful adjustments was the war of 1846-8 with Mexico. That was at an era in our history when the political rule of the slave oligarchy was in the ascendancy, and under its bileful influence what history has recorded as an unjust war was waged agajnst our southern neighbor. There is. however, a bright spot in this dark record. In the treaty of 1848 which terminated the war with Mexico an article was inserted wherein the United States pledged itself in the future to adjust its dis agreements with Mexico by pacific negotia tions and by arbitration. And for the past half century and more our relations with our adjoining sister republic have been con ducted in the true spirit of the article cited, and when diplomacy has failed we have resorted to arbitration. This provision of the treaty of 1848 being the first of its kind and so notable in its stipulations I quote it in full, as follows: "ARTICLE XXI. If. unhappily, any disagreement should hereafter arise between
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the governments of the two republics, whether with respect to the interpretation of any stipulation in this treaty, or with re spect to any other particular concerning the political or commercial relations of the two nations, the said governments, in the name of those nations, do promise to each other that they will endeavor, in the 'most sincere and earnest manner, to settle the differences so arising and to preserve the state of peace and friendship in which the two countries are now placing themselves, using, for this end, mutual representations and pacific negotia tions. And if, by these means, they should not be enabled to come to an agreement, a resort shall not, on this account, be had to reprisals, aggression, or hostility of any kind, by the one republic against the other, until the government of that which deems itself aggrieved shall have maturely considered, in the spirit of peace and good neighborship, whether it would not be better that such dif ference should be settled by the arbitration of commissioners appointed on each side, or by that of a friendly nation. And should such course be proposed by either party, it shall be acceded to by the other, unless deemed by it altogether incompatible with the nature of the difference, or the circum stances of the case." Our great Civil War, which put to the test all the resources of the country and called for the exercise of the utmost diplo matic skill and forbearance, left us with an irritating controversy with Great Britain over the conduct of the latter in the time of our greatest distress. The feeling in the North was one of intense hostility toward England, because of its hasty recognition of the Confederate Government as a bel ligerent and for allowing its ports to be made the base of operations for the work of the cruisers which preyed upon and destroyed our commerce and greatly increased the expense and prolonged the war. From time to time our protests against these acts were
