you have no right, from the state of the war, to demand any concession of
territory from America." This is all that need be said about our War of
1812.

Because I am trying to give only the large incidents, I have
intentionally made but a mere allusion to Florida and our acquisition of
that territory. It was a case again of England's siding with us against a
third power, Spain, in this instance. I have also omitted any account of
our acquisition of Texas, when England was not friendly--I am not sure
why: probably because of the friction between us over Oregon. But certain
other minor events there are, which do require a brief reference--the
boundaries of Maine, of Oregon, the Isthmian Canal, Cleveland and
Venezuela, Roosevelt and Alaska; and these disputes we shall now take up
together, before we deal with the very large matter of our trouble with
England during the Civil War. Chronologically, of course, Venezuela and
Alaska fall after the Civil War; but they belong to the same class to
which Maine and Oregon belong. Together, all of these incidents and
controversies form a group in which the underlying permanence of British
good-will towards us is distinctly to be discerned. Sometimes, as I have
said before, British anger with us obscures the friendly sentiment. But
this was on the surface, and it always passed. As usual, it is only the
anger that has stuck in our minds. Of the outcome of these controversies
and the British temperance and restraint which brought about such outcome
the popular mind retains no impression.

The boundary of Maine was found to be undefined to the extent of 12,000
square miles. Both Maine and New Brunswick claimed this, of course. Maine
took her coat off to fight, so did New Brunswick. Now, we backed Maine,
and voted supplies and men to her. Not so England. More soberly, she
said, "Let us arbitrate." We agreed, it was done. By the umpire Maine was