The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-09-04

From tho London News August D.
There Is q tenaCty Of purpose about certain caa7Ns
of Americans that is at times more than annoying
1t has not unfrequently In private life, been known
to teaze men into the surrender Of just rights The
question OF the fisheries in the waters of the Britiah
provinces OF North America is emnently calculated
to give scope to the peculiar genius Of such worthless
and accordingly it would be folly to look for an
early final settlement of it. They will at least keep
arguing it for years to But their latest device
Is really little too gross and glAring.
semiofficisl manifesto on the subject will be
found in another column, extracted from the NEW
YORK HERALD for Europe Of the 10th inst. 1t Is
very imposing, In every sense Of the word.
1t would appear from this document that the
American and British governments have all along
been in error in assuming that it was competent to
them to arrange this vexed question of the fisheries
by negotiation. The fisheries, it appears, OF the
Gulf Of st. Lawrence and the Bay Of Fundy, and,
in short all the CT asts of the British American pre-
yinces, are not public but private property They
to assume the designation Of Earl Of Stirling. ana
who claims them in virtue of grant from James
vi. of Scotland, and First of England, to Sir WI
liam Alexander, first Earl Of Stirling, whom he
ams to be his ancestor This person is said to have
transferred hisrights to American company which
is about to fit out fishing vessel to try tue question
II the British authorities interfere with this craft
the American law courts are to be appealed to, and
in the event of their deciding in favor of Lord Stir
ling and his company, the government at Washing
ton is to be called upon to support the decree and
according to the writer in the New York HERALD
II,
war between the two countries, must be the result
1t is not unlikely that this intmation of im,e....~
hosies from the other side Of the Atlantic will add
materially to the anxiety with which ministers are
watching the blackening cloud that hangs over the
Euxine. 1t is not the first time that claims derived
from the first Earl of Stirling have been attempted to
be made the basis of joint stock company The
pretensiOnS of the former speculation were however
modest in comparison with this, which proposes to
set nations together by the ear, 1t was merely an
attempt to wrest from the coonists of Nova Scotia
waste lands which it was proposed to confer on the
redhanded bar0nets who derive ieir title from that
province; and ended in burning the fingers OF certain
Highland magnates, who fancied that these lands
might be made available as bait to lure across the
Atlantic poor tenants whom they were bent upon
evicting
There is very little reason to apprchend that the
so,d'san Earl OF Stirling will ever present himself to
Washington government, armed with decree OF
au American court OF law in his favour. In the first
place, he will find some difficulty in making good his
claim to inherit any patrimony that may have be-
lop2ed to the first Earl of Stirling. He is one of a
few claimants OF peerages aud many claimants OF
the mirror honor OF baronetage, in Scotland, who
are allowed, without sny close inquiry, to assume
titles because there are 10 estates claimed along
with them, and because no one having much interest
in preventing man from calling himself what he
pleases protests againstthe assumption.
Again II would not be easy even for an undoubt-
ed heir OF Sir William Alexander to make good
title to whole provinces OF waste lands, seeing in
the first place, that that worthy never fulfilled the
conditions of the grant; in the second place, that
Canada occupied by France before the grant was
made to him by the English king; in the third place.
that Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were in the.
| uncballenged possession Of France for more than
| century after his claim had lapsed for non.per-
formance in the fourth place, that he contrived to
extract compensation from the French Court for
agreeing not to trouble them with his representa-
ops; and lastly, that unless the titles Of every land
| owner In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick who does
not derive from Sir William Alexander or his heirs
to be declared bad, the title of the whole public
of these provinces to the exclusive right Of fishery
on the coasts, as recognized by the law of nations Is
unassaiable
Any party in America disposed to take share in
the Stirling Fishery Company viii do well to weigh
these considerations beforehand. As to the screech
ing about war between England and America on
such plea il is too ridiculous to deserve moments
consideration. II is, in the present threatening cir
cumstances of European politics, like the moping
and moving of the clown in tragedy of Shaks-
peare or Caderon beside the hero in whom is CON
centrated the tragic interest Of the pecelike the
jesting OF the fool in the face Of Lear's madness.