Disappointing as Lord Salisbury's speech at the Guildhall may have been to those who hoped for definite pronouncement on the Eastern Question, it was nevertheless in two respects a memorable oration. In the first place it disposed once for all of the fears on the Continent that we might take isolated action in regard to Turkey, and in the second place, it announced a thoroughly satisfactory settlement of our difficulties with the United States on the Venezuela Question. In regard to this latter subject the only matter for surprise is that England and America should ever have been ready to fly at each other's throat over a question which was capable of so easy and commonsense a solution. England was always ready to arbitrate on the boundary so long as the settled districts—places which have been in actual British occupation for a lengthened period—were excluded from the matter of the arbitration. The only difficulty between England and the United States was practically as to what constituted settled districts; and now some one in America has come forward with gard a simple suggestion which seems not to to any of our diplomatists. al It is that the law which governs individuals in England and America should be the law by which the British colonies in South America should be bound. Where they have Leen in undisturbed possession for sixty years their title is not to be questioned when the period is shorter the matter is to go to arbitration, There are to be four arbitrators—two American and two english; and it is understood that they will be chosen from among the highest legal luminaries of the two countries, And there is to be an umpire in case of a disagreement between the arbitrators. It was announced the other day that King Oscar of Sweden would be asked to act as umpire; and although the announcement was officially contradicted there is good reason to believe that it was only just a little premature.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.