Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1843-12-21

Of national debt (to say nothing of other
considerations entailed upon you by a
war lasting ten or fifteen years for you
must have continued to br n party TO the
war, as long as England retained hostile
posse ssr'n of the islands which you had
guaranteed 10 France.
Again-lfby any diplomatic SIX III you
had escaped from the responsibility oflhe
guaranty, how could you have complied
with the obligations OF the other treaty
which required you to grant To the ves-
sells Of France privileges which were I,
be denied to her enemy During the
few years which preceded the treaty o
1900, these entang lemenis nearly pro-
duced war with France ard in the
exasperated hostility which ragged be-
tween France and England, in the earIy
part of this century, the greatest pru-
dence could not have preserved our
neutrality. Our government actual,
offered TO France large sums Of money 10
be released from these obig galions, but
they were steadily rejected. II you
were at This moment under such pledges,
and bound to remain so forever, what
price would you deem too great to pur-
chase an exemption from ihem
We repeat our ipterrogatory--
"lIow has il come about that you are
re eleased 7"
Will you say that our country wen, to
war with France, and that war put an
end to all previous treaties True il is,
that war would have. done this, If war
had existed But'it was IA strange war
which had no beginning, for neither gov
ernment declared IL, and no end, for there
never was treaty Of peace, and neither
country was conscious OF being at war
with the other. Moreover, you paid for
the national vessels which were captured
from France, and destroyed so that they
could not he restored Did y ou pay
Eng land at the end Of the last war for the
vessels OF hers which were sunk
Will you say that an act of Congress
cut The knot which we could not unite,
and abrogated these treaties 1t is true
that Congress passed such an act Blu,
France did not admit the hight of one
party TO "A contract, to dissolve it a,
pleasure. Listen Ia her lanpunge
"Thc Ministers OF France cannot dis
cover, in the note of the Odd of July,
1890, any reason to incline them TO the
snpposition that the treaties between
France and the Cnitet States are abro.
gated"
"When on the one hand, Congress de.
clares that France has con,ravened these
treaties and that the u. S. are released
from their stipula,ions and when, on the
other, the government OF France declares
that she has conlorned To these treaties
that she desires their execution, and that
The u. 5. alone have ihiringed them
where is The tribunal or the law to enforce
the exoneration in preference to the exc
cuton
"lf one ofiwo contracting parties is al
liberty, whenever he may please, to can
eel his obligations, IN virtue Of his own
judgment concerning facts or men or
things, no binding force can he attached
to treaties, and The term itself should be
erased from every language. - The
French Ministers Ia The american Minis
ters, 26M .Augusi, 1900.
Our question then becomes only varied
in its phraseology. "Wha: was i, that
induced France to acqniesce in The ab.
rogation of these treaties, which she
struggled 50 hard to preserve I"
The position assumed by France was
very simple.
AT the risk Of being tedious we will
explain il in her own language.
cit has always been the intention OF
the Ministers of France tn reserve to hel
the right Of choice between the resiora.
ton of her privileges, and the payment of
indemni,ies, which may be brough,
against her so that they have never sup.
posed that she could enjoy privileges
without the payment of indcmnilies, or
could pay indemniiics without the enjoy
ment Of privileges"
Note Of the French Minister, 5ll, September, 1913.
The alternative was placed before the
American ministers thus. II you agree
with US that the treaties are still in force
we will pay the iudemniies; bat If You
are resolved TO exlingulsh the treaties il
must be at the sacrifice of the claims. -
The American ministers preferred TO in
sert the second article, already described;
but the course pursued by the Senate, in
striking il out, met with the app, bation
Of France, precisely because il was one
of The alternatives upon which she bad
rested and hence it is that the treaties
and claims are buried in one common
grave. You, the people Of the United
States, have absolved yourselves from the
incuDbrance that hung about you. You
have thrown Il into the sea, and our
claims are the weight fastened to il, 10
prevent even its body from rising to trou-
BILE you in future.
And now, fellow citizens, permit US to
say few more words. Our claims have
been denounced as being stale. il isl
tue but is ii our fault Have we
slept upon our rights On the contrary,
there never was case in which a claim
was more instantly presented, or more
constantly pressed. On the 2lst Of De-
cember, 1901, the President of the
United States officially promulg aied the
treaty and in February, March and
April, 1902, twenty different memorials
were presented TO Congress by some of
us, or those equally Interested. claiming !