I have already referred to the first communication made to us by Venezuela on the subject. This, it will be remembered, was in 1876, when she sought to resume negotiations6 with Great Britain, after an interruption of thirty-two years. I have also called attention to the fact 229 that coincident with this communication Venezuela presented to Great Britain a willingness to relax her insistence7 upon her extreme boundary claim, based upon alleged8 right, and suggested that a conventional line might be fixed9 by mutual10 concession11.
Venezuela’s first appeal to us for support and aid amounted to little more than a vague and indefinite request for countenance12 and sympathy in her efforts to settle her differences with her contestant13, with an expression of a desire that we would take cognizance of her new steps in that direction. I do not find that any reply was made to this communication.
Five years afterward14, in 1881, the Venezuelan minister in Washington presented to Mr. Evarts, then our Secretary of State, information he had received that British vessels15 had made their appearance in the mouth of the Orinoco River with materials to build a telegraph-line, and had begun to erect16 poles for that purpose at Barima: and he referred to the immense importance to his country of the Orinoco; to the efforts of his government to adjust her difficulty with Great Britain, and to the delays interposed; and finally expressed his confident belief that the United States would not 230 view with indifference17 what was being done in a matter of such capital importance.
Mr. Evarts promptly18 replied, and informed the Venezuelan representative that “in view of the deep interest which the Government of the United States takes in all transactions tending to attempted encroachments of foreign powers upon the territory of any of the republics of this continent, this Government could not look with indifference to the forcible acquisition of such territory by England, if the mission of the vessels now at the mouth of the Orinoco should be found to be for that end.”
Again, on the thirtieth day of November, 1881, our minister to Venezuela reported to Mr. Blaine, who had succeeded Mr. Evarts as Secretary of State, an interview with the President of Venezuela at his request, in which the subject of the boundary dispute was discussed. Our minister represented that the question was spoken of by the President as being of essential importance and a source of great anxiety to him, involving a large and fertile territory between the Essequibo and Orinoco, and probably the control of the mouth and a considerable portion of the latter river; and he alleged that the policy of Great Britain, in the treatment of this question, had been delay—the interval19 231 being utilized20 by gradually but steadily21 extending her interest and authority into the disputed territory; and “that, though the rights of Venezuela were clear and indisputable, he questioned her ability, unaided by some friendly nation, to maintain them.”
In July, 1882, Mr. Frelinghuysen, successor to Mr. Blaine, sent to our representative at Venezuela a despatch22 to be communicated to the government of the republic, in which he stated that, if Venezuela desired it, the United States would propose to the Government of Great Britain that the boundary question be submitted to the arbitrament of a third power.
It will be remembered that a proposition for arbitration23 had been made by Venezuela to Great Britain in February, 1881, and that Great Britain had refused to accede24 to it.
In July, 1884, Mr. Frelinghuysen sent a confidential25 despatch to Mr. Lowell, our minister to Great Britain, informing him that Guzman Blanco, ex-President of Venezuela, who had recently been accredited26 as a special envoy27 from his country to Great Britain, had called on him relative to the objects of his mission, in respect of which he desired to obtain the good offices of this Government, and that doubtless he would seek to confer with Mr. 232 Lowell in London. He further informed Mr. Lowell that he had told the Venezuelan envoy that, “in view of our interest in all that touches the independent life of the Republics of the American Continent, the United States could not be indifferent to anything that might impair28 their normal self-control”; that “the moral position of the United States in these matters was well known through the enunciation29 of the Monroe Doctrine30,” though formal action in the direction of applying that doctrine to a speculative31 case affecting Venezuela seemed to him to be inopportune, and therefore he could not advise Venezuela to arouse a discussion of that point. He instructed our minister to show proper consideration to the Venezuelan envoy, and to “take proper occasion to let Lord Granville know that we are not without concern as to whatever may affect the interest of a sister Republic of the American Continent and its position in the family of nations.”
In July, 1885, the Venezuelan minister to the United States addressed a communication to Secretary of State Bayard, setting forth32 the correspondence which had already taken place between our Government and that of Venezuela touching33 the boundary dispute, and referring 233 to the serious condition existing on account of the renewed aggressions of Great Britain.
Mr. Bayard thereupon sent a despatch on the subject to Mr. Phelps, our diplomatic representative to England, in which, after stating that the Venezuelan Government had never definitely declared what course she desired us to pursue, but, on the contrary, had expressed a desire to be guided by our counsel, he said: “The good offices of this Government have been tendered to Venezuela to suggest to Great Britain the submission35 of the boundary dispute to arbitration; but when shown that such action on our part would exclude us from acting36 as arbitrator, Venezuela ceased to press the matter in that direction”; and the next day after writing this despatch Mr. Bayard informed the Venezuelan minister that the President of the United States could not entertain a request to act as umpire in any dispute unless it should come concurrently37 from both contestants38.
In December, 1886, our minister to Venezuela addressed a despatch to Mr. Bayard, in which he reported that matters looked very angry and threatening in Venezuela on account of fresh aggressions on the part of Great Britain in the disputed territory; and he expressed the fear that an open rupture39 might 234 occur between the two countries. He inclosed a statement made by the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, containing a list of grievances40, followed by this declaration: “Venezuela, listening to the advice of the United States, has endeavored several times to obtain that the difference should be submitted to the award of a third power.... But such efforts have proven fruitless, and the possibility of that result, the only one prescribed by our constitution, being arrived at, becomes more and more remote from day to day. Great Britain has been constant in her clandestine41 advances upon the Venezuelan territory, not taking into consideration either the rights or the complaints of this Republic.” And he adds the following declaration: “Under such circumstances the Government has but two courses left open: either to employ force in order to recover places from which force has ejected the Republic, since its amicable42 representations on the subject have failed to secure redress43, or to present a solemn protest to the Government of the United States against so great an abuse, which is an evident declaration of war—a provocative44 aggression34.”
Thereupon, and on the twentieth day of December, 1886, a despatch was sent by Mr. Bayard 235 to Mr. Phelps, in which the secretary comments on the fact that at no time theretofore had the good offices of our Government been actually tendered to avert45 a rupture between Great Britain and Venezuela, and that our inaction in this regard seemed to be due to the reluctance46 of Venezuela to have the Government of the United States take any steps having relation to the action of the British Government which might, in appearance even, prejudice the resort to our arbitration or mediation47 which Venezuela desired; but that the intelligence now received warranted him in tendering the good offices of the United States to promote an amicable settlement of the difficulty between the two countries, and offering our arbitration if acceptable to both countries—as he supposed the dispute turned upon simple and readily ascertainable48 historical facts.
Additional complaints against Great Britain on account of further trespasses49 on Venezuelan territory were contained in a note from the Venezuelan minister to Mr. Bayard, dated January 4, 1887. I shall quote only the following passage:
My Government has tried all possible means to induce that of London to accept arbitration, as advised by the United States; this, however, has resulted 236 in nothing but fresh attempts against the integrity of the territory by the colonial authorities of Demerara. It remains50 to be seen how long my Government will find it possible to exercise forbearance transcending51 the limits of its positive official duty.
Pursuant to his instructions from Mr. Bayard, our minister to Great Britain formally tendered to the English Government, on the eighth day of February, 1887, the good offices of the United States to promote an amicable settlement of the pending52 controversy, and offered our arbitration, if acceptable to both parties.
A few days afterward Lord Salisbury, on behalf of Great Britain, replied that the attitude which had been taken by the President of the Venezuelan republic precluded53 her Majesty54’s Government from submitting the question at that time to the arbitration of any third power.
The fact that Lord Salisbury had declined our offer of mediation and arbitration, was promptly conveyed to the government of Venezuela; and thereupon, on the fourth day of May, 1887, her minister at Washington addressed another note to our Secretary of State indicating much depression on account of the failure of all efforts up to that time made to induce Great Britain to agree to a settlement 237 of the controversy by arbitration, and expressing the utmost gratitude55 for the steps taken by our Government in aid of those efforts. He also referred to the desire his government once entertained that, in case arbitration could be attained56, the United States might be selected as arbitrator, and to the fact that this desire had been relinquished57 because the maintenance of impartiality58 essential in an arbitrator would “seriously impair the efficiency of action which for the furtherance of the common interests of America, and in obedience59 to the doctrine of the immortal60 Monroe, should possess all the vitality61 that the alarming circumstances demand”; and he begged the secretary to instruct our representative in London “to insist, in the name of the United States Government, upon the necessity of submitting the boundary question between Venezuela and British Guiana to arbitration.”
I have heretofore refrained from stating in detail the quite numerous instances of quarrel and collision that occurred in and near the disputed territory, with increasing frequency, during this controversy. One of these, however, I think should be here mentioned. It seems that in 1883 two vessels belonging to English subjects were seized and their crews taken into 238 custody62 by Venezuelan officials in the disputed region, for alleged violations63 of the laws of Venezuela within her jurisdiction64, and that English officials had assumed, without any judicial65 determination and without any notice to Venezuela, to assess damages against her on account of such seizure66 and arrests, in an amount which, with interest, amounted in 1887 to about forty thousand dollars. On the seventh day of October in that year, the governor of Trinidad, an English island near the mouth of the Orinoco, in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela, declared that her Majesty’s Government could not permit such injuries to remain unredressed, or their representations to be disregarded any longer, and thereupon it was demanded that the money claimed, with interest, be paid within seven days from the delivery of said letter. The letter concluded as follows:
Failing compliance67 with the above demands Her Majesty’s Government will be reluctantly compelled to instruct the Commander of Her Majesty’s naval68 forces in the West Indies to take such measures as he may deem necessary to obtain that reparation which has been vainly sought for by friendly means; and in case of so doing they will hold the Venezuelan Government responsible for any consequences that may arise.
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Venezuela did not fail to appreciate and frankly69 acknowledge that, in her defenseless condition, there was no escape from the payment of the sum which England, as a judge in its own cause, had decreed against her. The President of the republic, however, in a prompt reply to the governor’s note, characterized its terms as “offensive to the dignity of the nation and to the equality which, according to the principles of the rights of nations, all countries enjoy without any regard to their strength or weakness.” Thereupon he sought the good offices of our minister to Venezuela in an effort to procure70 a withdrawal71 of the objectionable communication. This was attempted in a note sent by the American minister to the governor of Trinidad, in which he said:
I hope your Excellency will permit me to suggest, as a mutual friend of both parties, the suspension or withdrawal of your note of the 7th instant, so that negotiations may at once be opened for the immediate72 and final settlement of the afore-mentioned claims without further resort to unpleasant measures. From representations made to me, I am satisfied that if the note of the 7th instant is withdrawn73 temporarily even, Venezuela will do in the premises74 that which will prove satisfactory to your Government.
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A few days after this note was sent, a reply was received in which the governor of Trinidad courteously75 expressed his thanks to our minister for his good offices, and informed him that, as the Government of Venezuela regarded his note of October 7 “as offensive, and appeared desirous of at last settling this long-pending question in a friendly spirit,” he promptly telegraphed to her Majesty’s Government asking permission to withdraw that note and substitute a less forcible one for it; and that he had just been informed by his home government in reply that this arrangement could not be sanctioned.
Our minister reported this transaction to his home government at Washington on the fourth day of November, 1887, and stated that the money demanded by Great Britain had been paid by Venezuela under protest.
Venezuela may have been altogether at fault in the transaction out of which this demand arose; the amount which England exacted may not have been unreasonable76; and the method of its assessment77, though not the most considerate possible, has support in precedent78; and even the threat of a naval force may sometimes be justified79 in enforcing unheeded demands. I have not adverted80 to this incident for the purpose 241 of inviting81 judgment82 on any of its phases, but only to call attention to the fact that it was allowed to culminate83 with seemingly studied accompaniments of ruthlessness and irritation84, at a time when a boundary question was pending between the two nations, when the weaker contestant was importuning85 the stronger for arbitration, and when a desire for reconciliation86 and peace in presence of strained relations should have counseled considerateness and magnanimity—all this in haughty87 disregard of the solicitous88 and expressed desire of the Government of the United States to induce a peaceful adjustment of the boundary dispute, and in curt89 denial of our request that this especially disturbing incident should be relieved of its most exasperating90 features.
In the trial of causes before our courts, evidence is frequently introduced to show the animus91 or intent of litigating parties.
Perhaps strict decorum hardly permits us to adopt the following language, used by the Venezuelan minister when reporting to our Secretary of State the anticipated arrival of a British war-steamer to enforce the demand of Great Britain:
Such alarming news shows evidently that the Government of Her Britannic Majesty, encouraged 242 by the impunity92 on which it has counted until now for the realization93 of its unjust designs with regard to Venezuela, far from procuring94 a pacific and satisfactory agreement on the different questions pending with the latter, is especially eager to complicate95 in order to render less possible every day that equitable96 solution which has been so fully97 the endeavor of my people.
On the fifteenth day of February, 1888, the Venezuelan minister, in communicating to our Government information he had received touching a decree of the governor of Demerara denying the validity of a contract entered into by the Government of Venezuela for the construction of a railway between certain points in the territory claimed by Venezuela, commented on the affair as follows:
England has at last declared emphatically that her rights are without limit, and embrace whatever regions may be suggested to her by her insatiate thirst for conquest. She even goes so far as to deny the validity of railway grants comprised within territory where not even the wildest dream of fancy had ever conceived that the day would come when Venezuela’s right thereto could be disputed. The fact is that until now England has relied upon impunity. She beholds98 in us a weak and unfriended nation, and seeks to make the Venezuelan coast and territories the base of a conquest which, if circumstances are not altered, will have no other bounds than the dictates99 of her own will.
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1 recital | |
n.朗诵,独奏会,独唱会 | |
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2 controversy | |
n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
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3 narrated | |
v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4 retrace | |
v.折回;追溯,探源 | |
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5 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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6 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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7 insistence | |
n.坚持;强调;坚决主张 | |
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8 alleged | |
a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
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9 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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10 mutual | |
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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11 concession | |
n.让步,妥协;特许(权) | |
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12 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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13 contestant | |
n.竞争者,参加竞赛者 | |
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14 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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15 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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16 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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17 indifference | |
n.不感兴趣,不关心,冷淡,不在乎 | |
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18 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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19 interval | |
n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
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20 utilized | |
v.利用,使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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22 despatch | |
n./v.(dispatch)派遣;发送;n.急件;新闻报道 | |
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23 arbitration | |
n.调停,仲裁 | |
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24 accede | |
v.应允,同意 | |
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25 confidential | |
adj.秘(机)密的,表示信任的,担任机密工作的 | |
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26 accredited | |
adj.可接受的;可信任的;公认的;质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 );委托;委任;把…归结于 | |
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27 envoy | |
n.使节,使者,代表,公使 | |
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28 impair | |
v.损害,损伤;削弱,减少 | |
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29 enunciation | |
n.清晰的发音;表明,宣言;口齿 | |
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30 doctrine | |
n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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31 speculative | |
adj.思索性的,暝想性的,推理的 | |
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32 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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33 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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34 aggression | |
n.进攻,侵略,侵犯,侵害 | |
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35 submission | |
n.服从,投降;温顺,谦虚;提出 | |
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36 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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37 concurrently | |
adv.同时地 | |
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38 contestants | |
n.竞争者,参赛者( contestant的名词复数 ) | |
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39 rupture | |
n.破裂;(关系的)决裂;v.(使)破裂 | |
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40 grievances | |
n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 );苦衷;不满;牢骚 | |
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41 clandestine | |
adj.秘密的,暗中从事的 | |
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42 amicable | |
adj.和平的,友好的;友善的 | |
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43 redress | |
n.赔偿,救济,矫正;v.纠正,匡正,革除 | |
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44 provocative | |
adj.挑衅的,煽动的,刺激的,挑逗的 | |
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45 avert | |
v.防止,避免;转移(目光、注意力等) | |
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46 reluctance | |
n.厌恶,讨厌,勉强,不情愿 | |
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47 mediation | |
n.调解 | |
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48 ascertainable | |
adj.可确定(探知),可发现的 | |
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49 trespasses | |
罪过( trespass的名词复数 ); 非法进入 | |
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50 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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51 transcending | |
超出或超越(经验、信念、描写能力等)的范围( transcend的现在分词 ); 优于或胜过… | |
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52 pending | |
prep.直到,等待…期间;adj.待定的;迫近的 | |
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53 precluded | |
v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 );排除;妨碍;使…行不通 | |
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54 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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55 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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56 attained | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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57 relinquished | |
交出,让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 ); 放弃 | |
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58 impartiality | |
n. 公平, 无私, 不偏 | |
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59 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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60 immortal | |
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的 | |
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61 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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62 custody | |
n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留 | |
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63 violations | |
违反( violation的名词复数 ); 冒犯; 违反(行为、事例); 强奸 | |
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64 jurisdiction | |
n.司法权,审判权,管辖权,控制权 | |
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65 judicial | |
adj.司法的,法庭的,审判的,明断的,公正的 | |
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66 seizure | |
n.没收;占有;抵押 | |
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67 compliance | |
n.顺从;服从;附和;屈从 | |
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68 naval | |
adj.海军的,军舰的,船的 | |
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69 frankly | |
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 | |
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70 procure | |
vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条 | |
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71 withdrawal | |
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销 | |
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72 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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73 withdrawn | |
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出 | |
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74 premises | |
n.建筑物,房屋 | |
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75 courteously | |
adv.有礼貌地,亲切地 | |
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76 unreasonable | |
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的 | |
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77 assessment | |
n.评价;评估;对财产的估价,被估定的金额 | |
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78 precedent | |
n.先例,前例;惯例;adj.在前的,在先的 | |
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79 justified | |
a.正当的,有理的 | |
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80 adverted | |
引起注意(advert的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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81 inviting | |
adj.诱人的,引人注目的 | |
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82 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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83 culminate | |
v.到绝顶,达于极点,达到高潮 | |
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84 irritation | |
n.激怒,恼怒,生气 | |
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85 importuning | |
v.纠缠,向(某人)不断要求( importune的现在分词 );(妓女)拉(客) | |
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86 reconciliation | |
n.和解,和谐,一致 | |
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87 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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88 solicitous | |
adj.热切的,挂念的 | |
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89 curt | |
adj.简短的,草率的 | |
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90 exasperating | |
adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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91 animus | |
n.恶意;意图 | |
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92 impunity | |
n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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93 realization | |
n.实现;认识到,深刻了解 | |
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94 procuring | |
v.(努力)取得, (设法)获得( procure的现在分词 );拉皮条 | |
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95 complicate | |
vt.使复杂化,使混乱,使难懂 | |
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96 equitable | |
adj.公平的;公正的 | |
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97 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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98 beholds | |
v.看,注视( behold的第三人称单数 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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99 dictates | |
n.命令,规定,要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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