No. 124.
General Schenck to Mr. Fish.1
Legation of
the United States,
London, February 7,
1873.
No. 342.]
Sir: With reference to my No. 341, I have the
honor to inclose herewith full reports from the Times and the Standard
of this morning of the proceedings in both Houses of Parliament last
evening.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure.]
Extract from the Debates in the House of Commons
as reported in the “Times” of February 7, 1873.
Mr. Gladstone. * * * Before parting with
the portion of the speech of my right honorable friend to which I
have referred, I may say I think he is in error when he states that
the consent to what he terms an apology on our part—that is to say,
to an expresssion
[Page 586]
of
regret for the fact of the escape of the Alabama irrespective of all
questions of right or wrong connected with it—was a condition
precedent to the negotiation with America.
Mr. Horsman. What I said was to the
Arbitration.
Mr. Gladstone. I think it was not. If my
right honorable friend refers to the papers, he will find that
statement would not be borne out.
Mr.Horsman. It occurred at Washington.
Mr. Gladstone. Well, if it occurred at
Washington it was not in the nature of a condition precedent. The
basis of the whole proceeding was to arrive at an arbitration, and,
therefore, the request for an explanation or expression of regret on
our part was not a condition precedent to that proceeding. * * *
