The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-04-11 00:00:00

THE WEST INDIA COLONIES AND THE

UNITED STATES.

A Parliamentary paper has been issued containing
correspondence respecting the negotiation of a treaty
' regulating trade between the British West India
colonies and the United States. The correspondence
with a view to the negotiation of such a treaty appears
to have been opened by our own Government, the
principal object which they had in view being to
secure a reduction of the heavy customs duties, which
prevent the sugars produced in the British West
India colonies from finding a remunerative market
in the United States. The United States enjoy, as a
matter of fact, without express stipulation in any
diplomatic agreement, complete most-favoured nation
treatment in these colonies, and Earl Granville, there-
fore, in the name of the British Government, asked
that complete most-favoured nation treatment should
likewise be extended in the United States to
articles, the growth, produce, or manufacture
of the British:West India colonies. In consequence
of recent treaties, or of treaties which it is sup-
posed are about to be negotiated, trade carried on
between the United States and the Sandwich Islands,
Mexico, Central America, the Spanish West India
Islands, and San Domingo has been, or is likely to be,
placed on a more favourable footing than trade
between the British West Indies and the United
States. Such a result, Mr. Sackville West submitted
in a letter to Mr. Frelinghuysen could not fail to be
disadvantageous to the interests of the United States
connected with the several British colonies. Earl
Granville suggested to the United States Government
that the object in view should be met in this way—
namely, that the stipulations contained in Article 2
of the treaty of 1815 should be extended so as to be
made applicable to trade between the United States
and the British West India colonies. To this sugges-
tion Mr. Frelinghuysen replied on July 16, 1884—
about six weeks after the receipt of the communica-
tion of our Ambassador at Washington—stating that
the British West Indies were already in the enjoy-
ment of the most - favoured nation treatment,
and that they could not receive special favours
without negotiating a reciprocal treaty. In conse-
quence of this answer, the questions involved were
duly considered between the Foreign and Colonial
Offices, with the result that on Oct. 25 Earl Granville
transmitted to Mr. West certain bases for a conven-
tion with the United States for a mutual reduction
of the duties on the principal articles of trade between
the colonies, including Jamaica and the United
States. In the negot ations which followed, the
United States Government desired a wider basis for
the convention, and insisted that its advantages
should not be conceded gratis to third p irties under
the most-favoured-nation clauses. A draft treaty
was accordingly drawn up embodying the wishes of
the United States in the matter, and transmitted on
December 5 by Mr. West to the Foreign Office. With
regard to the value of this draft treaty, Mr. Nevile
Lubbock, who was appointed to confer with the
British Ambassador at Washington in the negotia-
tions, gave it as his opinion that the loss of revenue
to the United States in respect of the proposed con-
vention could not be estimated at less than: X 2,500,000.
On the other band, the amount of revenue which
would be lost in the colonies under it he estimated at
£lBO,OOO, while the revenue which would have been
lost under the proposition submitted by her Majesty's
Government in the cases already referred to would
have been about £250,000. Mr. Lubbock was there-
fore of opinion that the proposed convention would
prove highly beneficial to our West Indian colonies
if it should become law. A very different opinion re-
garding it was, however, formed by her 'Majesty's
Government. In a leng despatch to Mr. West, dated
Feb. 12, Earl' Granville rejected the United States'
counter proposal, and spoke of the "revolution which
the principles it contains would, if universally
accepted, effect in the value of the conventional
stipulations as to commerce now existing between
the various nations of the earth." In support of this
condemnation, the noble earl then subjected the
various articles to a searching analysis of criticism,
pointing out a number of objections to the conven-
tion. The interpretation of the most-favoured nation
clause involved in the United States proposals was
that concessions granted conditionally and for a con-
sideration cannot be claimed under it. From this
interpretation her Majesty's Government entirely and
emphatically dissented. The most-favoured nation
clause had now become the most valuable part of the
system of commercial treaties, and exists between
nearly all the nations of the earth. But should the
system contemplated by the United States be widely
adopted there would be a return to the old and ex-
ceedingly inconvenient system under which the same
article in the same country would pay different
duties, varying according to its country of origin, the
nationality of the importing ship, and perhaps also at
some future time varying also with the nationality of
the importer himself. A. less general but equally
serious objection to the proposals was, in the opinion
of her Majesty's Government, the restrictions it
would place on the liberty of each party to deal
freely with its own tariffs. Her Majesty s Govern-
ment, however, did not abandon the hope of coming
to an agreement in this matter, and Earl Granville
suggested that the bases he had formerly transmitted
could be modified so as to secure the !lids in view
without infringing the most-favoured nation clause as
usually interpreted;

A newly-built church at North Newton, about al*
miles from Bridgwater, was consecrated on Tuesday by
the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The cost of the edifice
has been defrayed by public subscriptions.

SELF-PRESERVATION THE FIRST
LAW OF NATURE.

An incident which has recently occurred on the
stage illustrates with some force the strength of the
empire which instinct still exercises over men's minds
in despite of the dictates of reason. At one of the
most celebrated houses of the Paris boulevards, and
in one of the sensational dramas of the period, an
actor, whose name is very well known in England,
had to execute a somewhat difficult pedestrian feat
in walking over some stage mountains supposed to
represent a scene in Hungary. He was to come in
leaning on the shoulder of a young lady representing
one of the principal male personages in the piooe,
and the two appeared as usual on the supposed
mountains at the opening of the piece. But tile
mountains, though not so solid as Swiss Alps, turned
out to be almost as treacherous; they had been inse-
curely attached to the ladder whereby they were
supported, and, giving way at the critical moment,
shot the unsuspecting actor off on to the boards
below. It was at the moment when his foot slipped
that the conflict arose in this gentleman's mind
between the instinct of self-preservation on the one
hand, and a feeling of honour, backed by considera-
tions of politeness, on the other. The former, which
was triumphant, urged him to attempt to save himself
by clutching at the mantle of his fair companion,
who, if the endeavour had succeeded, would infal-
libly have been dragged down with him, and possibly
much injured in the fall. Fortunately for her,
the mantle was not securely fastened round her neck,
and slid off harmlessly with the falling hero, leaving
its owner standing safe on the perilous wooden moan-
tans. But it would be instructive to know how many
men placed in a similar position would have had the
magnanimity to go down without clutching at the
lady's garments. It is easy to laugh at the French
actor for so unhandsome a proceeding; but the annals
of ice accidents and other drowning adventures, to
say nothing of fatal falls from real mr,nntains, occur
to show that when it is a question of life and death,
or even cf a broken limb, self-abnegation and a
respect for the safety of other people are exceedingly
rare gifts even among the most civilised and humane
communities.