The result was an article which, while it carefully avoided even the appearance of an attempt to bind England to return fugitive slaves, provided amply for the extradition of criminals.
The case of the Caroline was disposed of by a formal admission of the inviolability of national territory and by an apology for the burning of the steamboat.

As to the action in regard to the slaves on the Creole, Mr.
Webster could only obtain the assurance that there should be "no officious interference with American vessels driven by accident or violence into British ports," and with this he was content to let the matter drop.

On the subject of impressment, the old _casus belli_ of 1812, Mr.Webster wrote a forcible letter to Lord Ashburton.

In it he said that, in future, "in every regularly-documented American merchant vessel, the crew who navigate it will find their protection in the flag which is over them." In other words, if you take sailors out of our vessels, we shall fight; and this simple statement of fact ended the whole matter and was quite as binding on England as any treaty could have been.
Thus the negotiation closed.

The only serious objection to its results was that the interests of Maine were sacrificed perhaps unduly,--as a recent discussion of that point seems to show.