Mr. Cleveland has appointed his Commission to enquire into the
Venezuela boundary question. The Commissioners are Mr. Justice Brewer of the Supreme Court, Mr. R. N. Alvey, " Chief Justice " of the district of Colombia (Washington), Mr. White, formerly President of Cornell University, and afterwards Minister to Germany, Mr. J. C. Gilman, President of the Johns Hopkins University, and Mr. Freak. Coudert, a New York lawyer. The list is a re- spectable one, but it does not contain any absolutely first- class name unless it be that of Mr. Brewer, and Mr. Con- dert is Utterly anti-English. The best known jurists had expressed opinions too contrary to those of the President, and one or two strong men are believed to have declined a task which might make them exceedingly unpopular. The choice of lawyers and professors seems to English opinion somewhat strange, as the investigation to be made is one requiring rather surveyors, but the idea at the White House evidently is to examine the conflicting testimony exactly as if the dispute concerned the boundaries of an old estate with obscure title- deeds. Nothing is telegraphed as to the place at which the Commission is to meet, or as to the time within which the Report is to be presented. The Commission, of course, will not be recognised on this side, but, equally of course, if Mr. Bayard asks for copies of any historical documents "for the information of the Government of the United States," the Foreign Office will be quite ready to facilitate his inquiries. We are not seeking what is not ours.
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