Mr. 3. H. Choate, the new American Ambassador, was the
guest of the Associated Chambers of Commerce on Wednes- day evening, and made a most successful first appearance. He began by expressing the appreciation felt by his country- men of "the forbearance, the goodwill, and the friendship manifested to them so freely by the people of this country," as well as his personal gratitude for the cordial greeting he had received. He had not only found "the 'open door,' but was able to combine with it a new and enlarged 'sphere of influence.' " But while England and America remained friends, he did not believe they would ever cease to be rivals; rivals, however, on a generous and loyal footing, who would always settle all their disputes by peaceful means, realising that war was the worst possible means of settling any con- troversy between brothers. Touching on the numerous and heated controversies that had arisen in the eighty-four years during which America and England had been at peace, he asked what one of these would not have led to war between other nations? Mr. Choate concluded with sympathetic references to the death of Lord Herschell, whom he described as having sacrificed his life in the common service of both nations, and to the recovery of Mr. Kiplit_g, who "somehow or other had reached the hearts of more English-speaking men, women, and children of the world than any other living writer." Mr. Choate's cordiality was all the more impressive for its freedom from gush or exaggeration.
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