It seems pretty certain that the Alabama claims are really
to be submitted to arbitration. The Times has received authority to state that, "in reply to a communication received from the Govern- ment of the United States, Her Majesty's Minister at Washington has been instructed to ascertain whether that Government is Fe- pared to accept the ,principle of arbitration upon the pending dif- ferences arising out of the late civil war, provided an agreement can be come to as to the points to which such arbitration should apply." Of course the last " provided " involves the whole dif- ficulty. Lord Russell decided to exclude the Alabama claims from the arbitration, as matters involving England's good faith in exe- cuting her own municipal law, of which she alone could be the judge. But it seems pretty certain that Lord Stanley does intend to admit arbitration on this point, and we heartily hope that the arbitration may be against us, so as to give us a right to present similar claims to the United States in future.
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