New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-05-06

lamation and offers rewards for their capture
The World does not like this measure, but not
venturing to say so openly, it falls into lamenta
tons over the absence Of the Secretary of State
from that Cabinet to which it said, a few days
before, he should never return. Had the man,
whom it averred q little while before could no
longer properly be an adviser OF the President,
been well enough to help him with his counsel
now the great mistake Of issuing the Proclama'
ton would not have been committed Without
the wise man whom The World would have
put out of the Cabinet there is no wisdom left
in it. A domestic murder could not be rightly
understood nor proper steps taken to bring its
perpetrators to justice on our soil without the
vice of one so experienced in foreign affairs
The mistake of the Proclamation, according
to The World, is that rewards were offered for
persons known to be out of the United States,
and that therefore, it is either futile or else is
temptation to violate the territory of foreign
power. 1t regrets that the temporary dis
ability of the Secretary of State, whom it thinks
ought not to be in the Cabinet at all, should
have deprived the Government of his wise
counsel which would have averted this blunder.
What Mr.. Seward would or would not have
advised we, of course, know no more
than our neighbor; but we may venture
to presume that, supposing the evidence to
be, as we are bound to do, sufficient to justify
| the Proclamation, he would have concurred in
/ its form. Indeed the probability is that he was
been offered for the parties implicated, WHEREBY
er found, they might have been sought for on
foreign territory by ignorant detectives who, by
that act, might have involved our relations
with England. Therefore, their capture was
limited to the United States. If their
capture in the United States had not been pro-
| vided for and demand made for their rendi-
| ton they might have sought and found refuge
within our own boundaries or escaped over the
ISouthern border ere another proclamation could
have set tho pursurers upon their track. Or
fearing that such demand for their surrender
would be made upon the Canadian author-
ties simultaneously with the proclamation
and we do not know that this was
l not done-tbe criminals might have instantly
Returned across the border as the readlest es-
Icape from danger--an avenue now closed to
Them By making it the most dangerous by the
reward for their capture within those specified
limits And again supposng the reward had
been for their arrest anywhere, and had not
been limited to our own territory, and they had
been taken illegally in Canada, the proba-
Utility is, as in the case Of Mason and
ISldell We should either have surrendered
them or accepted war with England as the
alternative. In any event, then, presumlng
always that the Government had ample ground
Ito Justify the Proclamation at all, its wlsest
Icourse was to limit the capture of the criminals
to our own soil, to avoid raising any question OF
Jurisdiction with Foreign Powers, and leave the
way open, uncomplicated for action under the
Itreaty-to prevent the criminals from seeking
an asylum in the United States, and to insure
their capture here should they still be upon its
territory.
But The World thinks that these consprators
cannot be surrendered under the treaty, because
| the crime-conspiracy-with which they are
charged was not committed in the United
States but in Canada. If this be good law
then two men from Niagara village who shall
cross the river and there conspire the murder Of
third left at home, the consprator who shall
remain behind on the Canada side cannot be
demanded as criminal. The Canadian au-
thorities have contnved some large holes
through their laws for the escape of criminals
but We doubt if they descry this one in the
treaty.
II may be that our contemporary is only
III owed to its singular course of reasoning by a
love Of displaying what it fondly believes is its
| ingenuity at debate; or it may be that it
honestly believes in the theory Of its CORE
spondent that the assassination OF Mr.
Lincoln was only common murder by
some low fellows who were neither abetted
by nor instigated to that gigantic
crime by others. Possibly the latter suppose
ton may be the correct one; but even in that
case it would lose nothing Of its reputation for
modesty if it assumed, till the contrary is
proved, that the Government is not absolutely
incapable Of weighing evidence and acting with
ordinary sagacity on given state Of facts.