No. 96.
General Schenck to Mr. Fish.
I received your telegram of yesterday early this morning, and communicated it immediately to Lord Granville. I supposed any new proposals [Page 562] this Government might make, or any attempt to arrive at agreement after that, would be necessarily at Washington between you and Sir Edward Thornton, under such instructions as he might receive. I thought there was no room for new suggestions, but this evening Lord Granville sends me the following:
[Earl Granville to General Schenck.]
Sir: It appears to Her Majesty’s Government, from a review of the correspondence between the two Governments, that an agreement on the supplemental Article might probably be arrived at if sufficient time were given for discussion. If, therefore, the Treaty is to be maintained, an adjournment of the meeting of the Arbitrators from the 15th instant has become absolutely necessary. With this view, I have the honor ta propose that on the meeting of the Arbitrators on that day a joint application shall be made for an adjournment for eight months. If the Government of the United States concur in making an application for adjournment, it is the intention of Her Majesty’s Government to deliver to the Arbitrators on the 15th instant the summary of their argument under the fifth Article of the Treaty, accompanied by a declaration, of which I have the honor to inclose you a copy for the information of your Government.
“Sketch of draught note in presenting summary.
“The undersigned Agent of Her British Majesty has the honor to deliver herewith to Count Sclopis, &c., the printed argument, showing the points and referring to the evidence on which the Government of Her Britannic Majesty relies, as required by the fifth Article of the Treaty of Washington. The undersigned is instructed by the Government which he represents to state that the printed argument is only delivered to the Tribunal conditionally on the adjournment, requested in the note which he had the honor to address to the Tribunal this day jointly with the Agent of the United States,, “being carried into effect, and subject to the notice which the undersigned has the honor hereby to give, that it is the intention of Her Majesty’s Government to cancel the appointment of the British Arbitrator, and to withdraw from the arbitration at the close of the term fixed for the adjournment, unless the difference which has arisen between the two Governments as to the claims for indirect losses, referred to in the note which the undersigned had the honor to address to Count Sclopis on the 15th of April, shall have been removed.”