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part05+-第27部分

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



the duty of studying and reporting upon the material as brought



in。 Taking up my residence at Washington; I applied myself



earnestly to reading through masses of books; correspondence; and



other documents; and studied maps until I felt as if I had lived



in the country concerned and was personally acquainted with the



Dutch governors on the Cuyuni and the Spanish monks on the



Orinoco。 As a result lines more or less tentative were prepared



by each of us; Judge Brewer and myself agreeing very closely; and



the others not being very distant from us at any important point。



One former prime minister of Great Britain I learned; during this



investigation; to respect greatly;Lord Aberdeen; whom I well



remembered as discredited and driven from power during my stay in



Russia at the time of the Crimean War。 He was wise enough in



those days to disbelieve in war with Russia; and to desire a



solution of the Turkish problem by peace; but was overruled; and



the solution was attempted by a war most costly in blood and



treasure; which was apparently successful; but really a failure。



He was driven from his post with ignominy; and I well remembered



seeing a very successful cartoon in 〃Punch〃 at that period;



representing him; wearing coronet and mantle and fast asleep; at



the helm of the ship of state; which was rolling in the trough of



the sea and apparently about to founder。







Since that time his wisdom has; I think; been recognized; and I



am now glad to acknowledge the fact that; of all the many British



statesmen who dealt with the Venezuelan question; he was clearly



the most just。 The line he drew seemed to me the fairest



possible。 He did not attempt to grasp the mouth of the Orinoco;



nor did he meander about choice gold…fields or valuable strategic



points; seeking to include them。 The Venezuelans themselves had



shown willingness to accept his proposal; but alleged; as their



reason for not doing so; that the British government had preached



to them regarding their internal policy so offensively that



self…respect forbade them to acquiesce in any part of it。







Toward this Aberdeen line we tended more and more; and in the



sequel we heard; with very great satisfaction; that the



Arbitration Tribunal at Paris had practically adopted this line;



which we of the commission had virtually agreed upon。 It need



hardly be stated that; each side having at the beginning of the



arbitration claimed the whole vast territory between the Orinoco



and the Essequibo; neither was quite satisfied with the award。



But I believe it to be thoroughly just; and that it forms a most



striking testimony to the value of international arbitration in



such questions; as a means; not only of preserving international



peace; but of arriving at substantial justice。







Our deliberations and conclusions were; of course; kept secret。



It was of the utmost importance that nothing should get out



regarding them。 Our sessions were delayed and greatly prolonged;



partly on account of the amount of work to be done in studying



the many questions involved; and partly because we hoped that;



more and more; British opinion would tend to the submission of



the whole question to the judgment of a proper international



tribunal; and that Lord Salisbury; the prime minister; who; in



his rather cynical; 〃Saturday…Review;〃 high…Tory way; had scouted



the idea of arbitration; would at last be brought to it。 Of



course; every thinking Englishman looked with uneasiness toward



the possibility that a line might be laid down by the United



States which it would feel obliged to maintain; and which would



necessitate its supporting Venezuela; at all hazards; against



Great Britain。







The statesmanship of Mr。 Cleveland and Mr。 Olney finally



triumphed。 Most fortunately for both parties; Great Britain had



at Washington a most eminent diplomatist; whose acquaintance I



then made; but whom I afterward came to know; respect; and admire



even more during the Peace Conference at The HagueSir Julian;



afterward Lord; Pauncefote。 His wise counsels prevailed; Lord



Salisbury receded from his position; Great Britain agreed to



arbitration; and the question entered into a new stage; which was



finally ended by the award of the Arbitration Tribunal at Paris;



presided over by M。 de Martens of St。 Petersburg; and having on



its bench the chief justices of the two nations and two of the



most eminent judges of their highest courts。 It is with pride and



satisfaction that I find their award agreeing; substantially;



with the line which; after so much trouble; our own commission



had worked out。 Arbitration having been decided upon; our



commission refrained from laying down a frontier…line; but



reported a mass of material; some fourteen volumes in all; with



an atlas containing about seventy…five maps; all of which formed



a most valuable contribution to the material laid before the



Court of Arbitration at Paris。







It was a happy solution of the whole question; and it was a



triumph of American diplomacy in the cause of right and justice。







I may mention; in passing; one little matter which throws light



upon a certain disgraceful system to which I have had occasion to



refer at various other times in these memoirs; and I do so now in



the hope of keeping people thinking upon one of the most wretched



abuses in the United States。 I have said above that we were; of



course; obliged to maintain the strictest secrecy。 To have



allowed our conclusions to get out would have thwarted the whole



purpose of the investigation; but a person who claimed to



represent one of the leading presses in Washington seemed to



think that consideration of no special importance; and came to



our rooms; virtually insisting on receiving information。 Having



been told that it could not be given him; he took his revenge by



inserting a sensational paragraph in the papers regarding the



extravagance of the commission。 He informed the world that we



were expending large sums of public money in costly furniture; in



rich carpets; and especially in splendid silverware。 The fact was



that the rooms were furnished very simply; with plain office



furniture; with cheap carpets; and with a safe for locking up the



more precious documents intrusted to us and such papers as it was



important to keep secret。 The 〃silverware〃 consisted of two very



plain plated jugs for ice…water; and I may add that after our



adjournment the furniture was so wisely sold that very nearly the



whole expenditure for it was returned into the treasury。







These details would be utterly trivial were it not that; with



others which I have given in other places; they indicate that



prostitution of the press to sensation…mongering which the



American people should realize and reprove。







While I have not gone into minor details of our work; I have



thought that thus much might be interesting。 Of course; had these



reminiscences been written earlier; this sketch of the interior



history of the commission would have been omitted; but now; the



award of the Paris tribunal having been made; there is no reason



why secrecy should be longer maintained。 Never; before that



award; did any of us; I am sure; indicate to any person what our



view as to the line between the possessions of Venezuela and



Great Britain was; but now we may do so; and I feel that all



concerned may be congratulated on the fact that two tribunals;



each seeking to do justice; united on the same line; and that



line virtually the same which one of the most just of British



statesmen had approved many years before。







During this Venezuela work in Washington I made acquaintance with



many leading men in politics; and among those who interested me



most was Mr。 Carlisle of Kentucky; Secretary of the Treasury。 He



had been member of Congress; Speaker of the House of



Representatives; and senator; and was justly respected and



admired。 Perhaps the most peculiar tribute that I ever heard paid



to a public man was given him once in the House of



Representatives by my friend Mr。 Hiscock; then representative;



and afterward senator; from the State of New York。 Seated by his



side in the House; and noting the rulings of Mr。 Carlisle as



Speaker; I asked; 〃What sort of man is this Speaker of yours?〃



Mr。 Hiscock answered; 〃As you know; he is one of the strongest of



Democrats; and I am one of the strongest of Republicans; yet I



will say this: that my imagination is not strong enough to



conceive of his making an unfair ruling or doing an unfair thing



against the party opposed to him in this House。〃







Mr。 Carlisle's talents were of a very high order。 His speeches



carried great weight; and in the campaign which came on later



between Mr。 McKinley and Mr。 Bryan; he; in my opinion; and indeed



in the opinion; I think; of every leading public man; did a most



honorable thing when he deliberately broke from his party;



sacrificed; apparently; all hopes of political preferment; and



opposed the regular Democratic candidate。 His speech before the



working…men of Chicago on the issues of that period was certainly



one of the two most important delivered during the first McKinley



campaign; the other being that of Carl Schurz。







Another man whom I saw from time to time during this period was



the
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