greement it would have pointed out in what respect the two
were considered to differ.

Her Majesty's Government, considering the present state of the boundary
question, concur with the Government of the United States in thinking
that it is on every account expedient that the next measure to be
adopted by the two Governments should contain arrangements which will
necessarily lead to a final settlement, and they think that the
convention which they proposed last year to the President, instead of
being framed so as to constitute a mere commission of exploration and
survey, did, on the contrary, contain stipulations calculated to lead
to the final ascertainment of the boundary between the two countries.

There was, however, undoubtedly one essential difference between
the British draft and the American counter draft. The British draft
contained no provision embodying the principle of arbitration; the
American counter draft did contain such a provision.

The British draft contained no provision for arbitration, because the
principle of arbitration had not been proposed on either side during the
negotiations upon which that draft was founded, and because, moreover,
it was understood at that time that the principle of arbitration would
be decidedly objected to by the United States.

But as the United States Government have now expressed a wish to embody
the principle of arbitration in the proposed convention, Her Majesty's
Government are perfectly willing to accede to that wish.

The undersigned is accordingly instructed to state officially to Mr.
Forsyth that Her Majesty's Government consent to the two principles
which form the main foundation of the American counter draft, namely:
First, that the commission to be appointed shall be so constituted as
necessarily to lead to a final settlement of the questions of boundary
at issue between the two countries, and, secondly, that in order to
secure such a result the convention by which the commission is to be
created shall contain a provision for arbitration upon points as to
which the British and American commissioners may not be able to agree.

The undersigned is, however, instructed to add that there are many
matters of detail in the American counter draft which Her Majesty's
Government can not adopt. The undersigned will be furnished from his
Government, by an early opportunity, with an amended draft in conformity
with the principles above stated, to be submitted to the c