s--as a
consequence of the fact, expressed in the preamble of the Treaty, that
the general principle of neutralisation of the Canal as established by
Article VIII of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty shall not be impaired by the
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty--that the United States adopts, as the basis of
the neutralisation of the Canal, six rules _substantially as embodied
in the Suez Canal Treaty of Constantinople of 1888_. Now although the
Suez Canal Treaty nowhere directly lays down a rule which is identical
with the rule of Article III, No. 1, of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty,
it nevertheless insists upon equal treatment of the vessels of all
nations by stating in Article XII:--"The high contracting parties, _in
application of the principle of equality concerning the free use of the
canal, a principle which forms one of the bases of the present treaty_,
agree that...." That this principle of equality of all nations
concerning the free use of the Suez Canal means equality of vessels of
all nations with the exception of the vessels of Egypt or even of
Turkey, has never been contended; such a contention would, I am sure,
have been objected to by the parties to the Suez Canal Treaty. For this
reason the term "all nations" in the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty can likewise
only mean _all_ nations, including the United States.

(4) The literal meaning of the words "all nations" leads to the same
conclusion. If something is stipulated with regard to "all" nations,
every nation is meant without exception. If an exception had been
contemplated, the words "all nations" could not have been used, and if
all foreign nations only were contemplated, the words "all foreign
nations" would have been made use of.

(5) There is also an argument from Article IV of the Hay-Pauncefote
Treaty which states that no change of territorial sovereignty or of the
international relations of the country or countries traversed by the
Canal should affect the general principle of neutralisation or the
obligation of the high contracting parties under the treaty. The
general principle of neutralisation is, as laid down in the preamble of
the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, the general principle of neutralisation as
established by Article VIII of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and it has
already been shown--see above IV, No. 2, p. 24--that equal treatment of
British, American, and any other nation's vessels using the Canal is
part and parcel of that general principle of neutralisation.

(6)