Our ambassador to England, in a note to Lord Salisbury, dated February 27, 1896, after speaking of such arbitration as seeming to be “almost unanimously desired by both the United States and Great Britain,” proposed, in pursuance of instructions from his Government, “an entrance forthwith upon negotiations at Washington to effect this purpose, and that Her Majesty’s Ambassador at Washington should be empowered to discuss the question at that capital with the Secretary of State.” He also requested that a definition should be given of “settlements” in the disputed territory which it was understood her Majesty’s Government desired should be excluded from the proposed submission to arbitration. Lord Salisbury, in his reply to this note, dated March 3, 1896, said: The communications which have already passed between Her Majesty’s Government and that of the United States have made you acquainted with the desire of Her Majesty’s Government to bring the difference between themselves and the Republic of Venezuela to an equitable settlement. They therefore readily concur in the suggestion that negotiations for this purpose should be opened at Washington without unnecessary delay. I have accordingly empowered Sir Julian Pauncefote to discuss the question either with the representative of Venezuela or with the Government of the United States acting as the friend of Venezuela. With this transfer of treaty negotiations to Washington, Mr. Olney and Sir Julian Pauncefote, the ambassador of Great Britain to this country, industriously addressed themselves to the subject. The insistence of Great Britain that her title to the territory within the Schomburgk line should not be questioned, was no longer placed by her in the way of submitting the rights of the parties in the entire disputed territory to arbitration. She still insisted, however, that English settlers long in the occupancy of any of the territory in controversy, supposing it to be under British dominion, should have their rights scrupulously considered. Any difference of view that arose from this proposition was adjusted without serious difficulty, by agreeing that adverse holding or prescription during a period of fifty years should make a good title, and that the arbitrators might deem exclusive political control of a district, as well as actual settlement, sufficient to constitute adverse holding or to make title by prescription.