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part05+-第26部分

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state and ambassadors at the Court of St。 James had 〃trusted;〃



and 〃regretted;〃 and had 〃the honor to renew assurances of their



most distinguished consideration〃; but all in vain。 At last the



matter had been presented by Secretary Olney to the government of



Lord Salisbury; and now; to Mr。 Olney's main despatch on the



subject; Lord Salisbury; after some months' delay; had returned



an answer declining arbitration; and adding that international



law did not recognize the Monroe Doctrine。 This seemed even more



than cool; for; when one remembered that the Monroe Doctrine was



at first laid down with the approval of Great Britain; that it



was glorified in Parliament and in the British press of 1823 and



the years following; and that Great Britain had laid down



policies in various parts of the earth; especially in the



Mediterranean and in the far East; which she insisted that all



other powers should respect without reference to any sanction by



international law; this argument seemed almost insulting。







So it evidently seemed to Mr。 Cleveland。 Probably no man less



inclined to demagogism or to a policy of adventure ever existed;



but as he looked over the case his American instincts were



evidently aroused。 He saw then; what is clear to everybody now;



that it was the time of all times for laying down; distinctly and



decisively; the American doctrine on the subject。 He did so; and



in a message to Congress proposed that; since Great Britain would



not intrust the finding of a boundary to arbitration; the United



States should appoint commissioners to find what the proper



boundary was; and then; having ascertained it; should support its



sister American republic in maintaining it。







Of course the President was attacked from all sides most



bitterly; even those called 〃the better element〃 in the



Republican and Democratic parties; who had been his ardent



supporters; now became his bitter enemies。 He was charged with



〃demagogism〃 and 〃jingoism;〃 but he kept sturdily on。 Congress;



including the great body of the Republicans; supported him; the



people at large stood by him; and; as a result; a commission to



determine the boundary was appointed and began its work in



Washington; the commissioners being; in the order named by the



President; David J。 Brewer of Kansas; a justice of the Supreme



Court of the United States; Chief Justice Alvey of the District



of Columbia; Andrew D。 White of New York; F。 R。 Coudert; an



eminent member of the New York bar; and Daniel C。 Gilman of



Maryland; President of Johns Hopkins University。







On our arrival in Washington there was much discouragement among



us。 We found ourselves in a jungle of geographical and legal



questions; with no clue in sight leading anywhither。 The rights



of Great Britain had been derived in 1815; from the Netherlands;



the rights of Venezuela had been derived; about 1820; from Spain;



but to find the boundary separating the two in that vast



territory; mainly unsettled; between the Orinoco and the



Essequibo rivers; seemed impossible。







The original rights of the Netherlands had been derived from



Spain by the treaty of Munster in 1648; and on examining that



enormous document; which settled weighty questions in various



parts of the world; after the life…and…death struggle; religious;



political; and military; which had gone on for nearly eighty



years; one little clause arrested our attention: that; namely; in



which the Spaniards; despite their bitter hatred of the Dutch;



agreed that the latter might carry on warlike operations against



〃certain other people〃 with reference to territorial rights in



America。 These 〃certain other people〃 were not precisely



indicated; and we hoped; by finding who they were; to get a clue



to the fundamental facts of the case。 Straightway two of our



three lawyers; Mr。 Justice Brewer and Mr。 Coudert; grappled on



this question; one of them taking the ground that these 〃other



people〃 referred to were the Caribbean Indians who had lived just



south of the mouth of the Orinoco; and had been friendly to the



Dutch but implacable toward the Spaniards; and that their



territory was to be considered as virtually Dutch; and;



therefore; as having passed finally to England。 But the other



disputant insisted that it referred to the Brazilians and had no



relation to the question with which we had to deal。 During two



whole sessions this ground was fought over in a legal way by



these gentlemen; with great acumen; the rest of us hardly putting



in a word。







At the beginning of the third session I ventured a remonstrance;



saying that it was a historical; and not a legal; question; that



it could not possibly be settled by legal argument; that the



first thing to know was why the clause was inserted in the



treaty; and that the next thing was to find; from the whole



history leading up to it; who those 〃other persons〃 thus vaguely



referred to and left by the Spaniards to the tender mercies of



the Dutch might be; and I insisted that this; being a historical



question; must be solved by historical experts。 The commission



acknowledged the justice of this; and on my nomination we called



to our aid Mr。 George Lincoln Burr; professor of history in



Cornell University。 It is not at all the very close friendship



which has existed for so many years between us which prompts the



assertion that; of all historical scholars I have ever known; he



is among the very foremost; by his powers of research; his



tenacity of memory; his almost preternatural accuracy; his



ability to keep the whole field of investigation in his mind; and



his fidelity to truth and justice。 He was set at the problem; and



given access to the libraries of Congress and of the State



Department; as also to the large collections of books and maps



which had been placed at the disposal of the commission。 Of these



the most important were those of Harvard University and the



University of Wisconsin。 Curious as it may seem; this latter



institution; far in the interior of our country; possesses a



large and most valuable collection of maps relating to the



colonization history of South America。 Within two weeks Professor



Burr reported; and never did a report give more satisfaction。 He



had unraveled; historically; the whole mystery; and found that;



the government of Brazil having played false to both Spaniards



and Dutch; Spain had allowed the Netherlands to take vengeance



for the vexations of both。 We also had the exceedingly valuable



services; as to maps and early colonization history; of Mr。



Justin Winsor; librarian of Harvard University; eminent both as



historian and geographer; and of Professor Jameson of Brown



University; who had also distinguished himself in these fields。



Besides these; Mr。 Marcus Baker of the United States Coast Survey



aided us; from day to day; in mapping out any territories that we



wished especially to study。







All this work was indispensable。 At the very beginning of our



sessions there had been laid before us the first of a series of



British Blue Books on the whole subject; and; with all my



admiration for the better things in British history; politics;



and life; candor compels me to say that it was anything but



creditable to the men immediately responsible for it。 It made



several statements that were absolutely baseless; and sought to



rest them upon authorities which; when examined; were found not



to bear in the slightest degree the interpretation put upon them。



I must confess that nothing; save; perhaps; the conduct of



British 〃experts〃 regarding the Behring Sea question; has ever



come so near shaking my faith in 〃British fair play。〃 Nor were



the American commissioners alone in judging this document



severely。 Critics broke forth; even in the London 〃Times;〃



denouncing it; until it was supplanted by another; which was fair



and just。







I; of course; impute nothing to the leading British statesmen who



had charge of the whole Venezuelan question。 The culprits were;



undoubtedly; sundry underlings whose zeal outran their honesty。



They apparently thought that in the United States; which they



probably considered as new; raw; and too much engaged in



dollar…hunting to produce scholars; their citations from



authorities more or less difficult of access would fail to be



critically examined。 But their conduct was soon exposed; and even



their principals joined in repudiating some of their fundamental



statements。 Professor Burr was sent abroad; and at The Hague was



able to draw treasures from the library and archives regarding



the old Dutch occupation and to send a mass of important material



for our deliberations。 In London also he soon showed his



qualities; and these were acknowledged even by some leading



British geographers。 The latter had at first seemed inclined to



indulge in what a German might call 〃tendency〃 geography; but the



clearness; earnestness; and honesty of our agent soon gained



their respect; and; after that; the investigators of both sides



worked harmoniously together。 While the distinguished lawyers



above named had main charge of the legal questions; President



Gilman; who had in his early life been professor of physical and



general geography at Yale; was given charge of the whole matter



of map…seeking and …making; and to me; with the others; was left



the duty of studying and repo
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