No. 83.
General Schenck to Mr. Fish.
Your telegram of yesterday just received. I will communicate it to Lord Granville to-morrow. Must I say it is final! They hold here that after the Arbitrators have received the arguments from the Agents on the 15th they may adjourn for a time, and would doubtless do so on joint request of the two Governments; that the power to adjourn is incident to the character of the Tribunal, reference being had only to the seventh Article of the Treaty, which requires a decision to be made, if possible, in three months. In this view I certainly concur, but have not expressed my opinion to anyone. If the ministry were to enter into any such arrangement, putting in their argument and trusting to the chance of negotiating a supplementary Article afterwards, they must expect denunciation in Parliament; but that would be their concern, not ours. I heard from Davis last week that our argument would be ready by the 15th, and Lord Granville told me theirs would be.