The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-09-21

uO ABOUT tho Unite0 St0te6-The French
Government and the Fisheries, &c., SC.
American Affairs In Earope.
THE L0Bos QUESTION
ltrom the L0Adon Chronicle, Sept IT.
The restless and aspiring citizens Of the United
States cannot endure tho thought that any of the
treasures Of the Western he misphere should belong
to others With uniring energy they mako effort
after effort to grasp the prizes which most tempt
their longing eyes Even il they fail there is doubt.
less something pleasant to their fancy in the mere
attempt to 0utwit to frghten, rto overreaoh their
neighbors They have tried hard for the sugars aud
seghrs Of Cuba, and their only order" Of chivalry
IS bound by praticai vows to drag the " Lone STAR
into their orbit. They have secured the cod of the
Bay of Fundy; and now they oovet the rioh guano
deposits of the Lobos Islands The American Score
tary himself throws but very slender veil of sophsm
over tho bareiaced attempts OF his keen aud sharp
witteo countrymen and SO much is usually done
by perseverance, audacity. and reckless assertion,
that the justification, such il u.s. of success may
very possibly reward his and their joint efforts II
is difficult 70 help giving some credit to statement
which Is repeated again and again. There seems
sort Q! legitimacy in any claims that are constantly
and unhesitatingly brought forward; and the facts
on which international rights depend often alike
unknown and embarrassing to tho mass Of men. 1t
is easy to pcryert them-easy to make any state
Ment respecting them that may suit toe purpose of
the moment. 1t happens, however, that the claim
put forward by the Americans to appropriate tn,
gusuo of the Lobos Islands is asserted at time
when Englisbmen are peculiarly well able Co Judge
OF the merits of the question. Some of our own
countiy men lately maGe n similar claim, but the
English government refused to sanction it. Our ag-
rcultursts ard ship owners too deeply Interest,"
cd IN the result to omit to urge every available poa
Tor treating those precious rocks as the common
property Of all who might choose to visit them But
the rights Of the Peruvian republic were SO clearly
indisputable that our foreign Secretary had no
choice but to declare that British subjects could not
ha tnatn inn
against her will. Perhaps the ardor Of the Ameri-
cans may have derived a fresh stimulus from the
thought that they seeking what England has fail
cd to obtain. AT all events, ii is difficult to believe
that the real grounds the Peruvian claim known
either to the people to the government of the Uni
ted States The facts, however, few and simple
that continued ignorance will be inexcusablc.
brief summary will convince any European at least,
that Peru has light on her side if she has not might
The Lobos Islands-thst is, the islands Of the
sea-woves or seals-consist Of two groups, lying
spectyely about twelve and forty.one miles from
the coast Of Peru. Their Spanish name, and their
7,and tace probable that they were, from an early
period, reckoned as part of the dominions Of Spain,
and that they therefore belong to the Republic
which has now succeeded to her rights. There is
abundant evidence that they have. in point Of fact,
been so treated by the Spanisb authorities map,
which was in al probability made 200 years ego aud
the longitude of which is calculated from Toledo,
places group of islands, nsc oed 50 solas de los
l.obos within the territory of cru; and it is added,
in note ut the bottom, that they were first Disco
veied in 1874 In l7iS, two eminent Spanish naviga-
tors, Juan and D'Uiloa, published u narrative Of
voyages, in which tue Islands Of obos are specially
mentioned by name az one of the points to be made,
at leRst to be sighted by vessels bound to Paita
snd in 1871, Aloedc, in his :. Geographical and
Historical Dictienary'-an authority which even
Mr. Webster, il the despatch we published yester-
day, affects to respect, while attempting to evade
its decision-partculsrly describes them as COM
q
ingly, when, in 1884. the British schooner Campea-
dora was employed in seal fishing oil the islands,
without tho permission OF the Peruvian government,
the local authorities laid embargo on the vessel.
1t is material to bear in mind that, as guauo was
not then known as article Of foreign commerce.,
1t was rot for the sake OF that recently developed
source Of wealth that the Peruvian government thus
treated the islands part Of ito possessions The
matter was brought under the notice Of Lord Pal
merston, who was then foreign Secretary, and he
acquiesced without the slightest hesitation, in the
cloims Of Peru. In 1917. the government Of the
republic had survey made OF all the places
within its dominions where guano vas found. and in
that survey the Iobos Islands are infinitely descrb-
cd, and the amount Of their stores carefully est-
mated. In short, the title Of Peru to the Lobos
laands Is as clear as any title be to territory
lot actually occupied by man. The islands have
not been inhabited, for the beet of all reasons
viz that 10 human being could have any induce
ment 10 wear away life on barren rocks Of slate and
graaite, partially covered with beds Of manure.
That TIE Peruyians have not been in the habit of
resorting ththor for guano is readily explained by
the fact that they possess boundless stores Of the
precious commodity in more accessible spots. But
they have not altogether neglected tho islands.
From time immemorial, the Peruvian Indians have
been accustomed to 60 there to obtain seals, Birds
ard eggs, cargoes Of which articles they have car
lied to different places on the coast. Tho govern
nent however, fearing that the birds 0uld be
scared away by strangers, and that the deposits
would consequently cease, have attempted, by every
means In their power to prevent these visits OF the
Indians
1t is difficult to see how there could be more
complete occupation OF a spot which derives the
whole Of its value from the fact Of its being unn-
habited. As for tho pretence that the islands
only discovered in the nineteenth century, not only
is It contrary to known historical fact, but their
geographical position renders it utterly absurd
They arc but portion Of great bank Of rocks
which rise above the surface at different points Of
the Peruvian coast Centuries before Europeans
ever saw the Pacific, the subjects of the ncas knew
the uses ana the value of guano and all islands in
their vicinity, containing deposits Of a substance
on which the agriculture of Peru entirely depends
must have been known to the Indians as VOL as the
Scilly or the Channel Islands are to ourselves.
" Both Islands, says NJ. do Pivero, in letter adj
dressed last May to Lord Malmtsbury, may be
easily seen by any vessel navigating the space which
divides hem--a course which is taken generally by
almost all the vessels gagged in the coasting trade
on that part Of the coast Of Peru" it is curious
illustration Ct the quiet manner in which gentle
man sitting behind table at Washington, or n
Downing street, dsposes Of tho ends of the earth,
that Dir Webster could coolly say, month or two
ago, " 1t is quite probable that Benjamin Morrell,
junior, WHO. az master of the schooner Watson. OF
New fork, visited tloSe islands la September, 1928,
may justly claim 10 have been their discoyerer
He gives full account Of them in his narra-
tive. published in New York, in 1882" 1t must
have struck Perlyians as q little remarkable
thst Islands among which their boats and ca
tsmarsns had been plying for many genera
tons, should have been discovered" in 1923.
1t will be seen, however, that nr Webster himself
is aware, by this time, that he went tribe too Ear
when he advanced that extraordinary theory. In
his latest despatch the subject, the claims Of the
American skipper are wonderfully attenuated; and
" the truth appears to be that Captain Morrell was
voyage Of discovery, and that he did, in fact,
discover, or was supposed to have discovered'-not
the islands themselves, but-"guano on those
islands" The recklessness with which Mr.. Web
ster advances assertions which he is compelled to
retIaet almost as soon uttered, and tho audacty