ad an invincible repugnance to the reference of any questions affecting
the honour and good faith of this country, or its internal
administration, to foreign arbitrators; and he thought those questions
would not be excluded by the proposed arrangement. He felt no confidence
that any reciprocal advantages to this country would be obtained from
the new Rules. Their only effect, in his view, would be to send us
handicapped into the arbitration. He did not believe that the United
States would follow the example which we had set, by strengthening their
Neutrality Laws; or that they would be able, unless they did so, to
prevent violations of the Rules by their citizens in any future war in
which we might be belligerent and they neutral, any more than they had
been able in former times to prevent the equipment of ships within their
territory against Spain and Portugal. It was not without difficulty that
he restrained himself from giving public expression to those views; but,
from generous and patriotic motives, he did so. The sequel is not likely
to have convinced him that his apprehensions were groundless. The
character of the "Case" presented on the part of the United States, with
the "indirect claims," and the arguments used to support them, would
have prevented the arbitration from proceeding at all, but for action of
an unusual kind taken by the arbitrators. In such of their decisions as
were adverse to this country, the arbitrators founded themselves
entirely upon the new Rules, without any reference to general
international law or historical precedents; and the United States have
done nothing, down to this day, to strengthen their Neutrality Laws,
though certainly requiring it, at least as much as ours did before
1870.'

[Sidenote: THE COTTON FAMINE]

Lord Russell then held resolutely to the view that her Majesty's
Government had steadily endeavoured to maintain a policy of strict
neutrality, and so long as he was in power at the Foreign Office, or at
the Treasury, the demands of the United States for compensation were
ignored. Meanwhile, there arose a mighty famine in Lancashire through
the failure of the cotton supply, and 800,000 operatives were thrown,
through no fault of their own, on the charity of the nation, which rose
splendidly to meet the occasion. All classes of the community were bound
more closely together in the gentle task of philanthropy, as well as in
admiration of the uncomplaining heroism with whi