The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1870-12-08
| vessels Of the Dominion of Canada are
permitted TO enter waters of the United

hha
like unfriendly disposition has been man.
Tested on the part of Canada in the main
| tepance Of claim of right to exclude citizens
| of the United States, from the navigation of
the st. Lawrence. This river constitutes a
| natural outlet TO the ocean for eightWfates.
with an aggregate population of 10000
| tnhabi' ants, and with an aggregate tonnage
| of 66l 1857 tons upon the waters which dis
charge into it. The foreign commerce of
| their ports on these waters is open TO British
competition, and the major part of it is done
| in British bottoms. If the American beameu
! be excluded from this natural avenue to the
ocean the monopoly Of the direct commerce
| of the lake ports with the Atlantic would be
IN foreign hands, their vessels on trans-At-
lantic voyages having access to our lake ports.
| which wOnId he denied to American vessels
en- similar voyages. To state such a proposi
tion is to repudiate it's justice During the
administration of Mr.. John Quincy Adams.
Mr. Clay unquestionably demonstrated the
| natural right of citizens of the United States
TO the navigation of this river, claiming that
the act OF the Congress of Vienna, in opening
the Rhine and other rive to all nations
| showed the judgment of European iurisf
| statesmen. in that the inhabitants of coun.
try through which ma gigable river passes
have natural right to enjoy the navigation
OF that liver TO and into the sea, even though
passing through the territory Of another pow
err. This right does not exclude the coeuual
right of the sovereign possessing the terrific.
& he sea, make such regulations relative to
the policy of the navigation as may be rea-
sonably necessary, but these regulations
should be framed in liberal spirit of conf.
ty, and should rot impose needless burdens
upon the commerce which has the right of
transit. 1t has been found in practice more
advantageous to arrange these regulations by
mutual agr ement. The United States are
ready o make any reasonable arrangement
as to the navigation Of the st. Lawrence,
which may be suggested by Great Britain. If
the claim made by Mr.. Clay was Just when
he population of the states bordering ON
the shores off the lakes was only 3, 400, 600, it
now derives greater force and equity from
the increased population, wealth, produc.
tion and tonnage of the states on the Coma.
Clan frontier Since Mr.. Clay advanced his
argument in behalf of our right, the princi-
Piles for such he contended have been fire.
quently, and by various nations, recognized
by law or by treaty, and have been extended
to several other great rivers blythe treaty
concluded at Maytnce. In 1881 the Rhine
WIS declared free from the point where it
was first pavigable into the sea, BY The con-
/ vention between Spain and Portugal, conclu-
ded in 1885, the navigation of the Dourse
throughout its whole extent was made free
! tor the subjects OF both crowns. In 1853 the
Argentine Confederation, by treaty, threw
open the free navigation OF the Parana and
Uruguay to the merchant vessels of ali
nations, In 1856 the Crimean war
tor me free navigation of the Danube.
In 1868, Bolivia, by treaty, declal ed that it
regarded the rivers Amazon and La PIa tia in
accordance with the fixed principles of
national law, as high ways for channels open
ed by nature for the commerce OF all nations.
In 1859, the Paraguay was made free bv
treaty, and in December, 1866, the Emperor
OF Brazil, by imperial decree, declared the
Amazon to be open to all the frontier of
Brazil to merchant ships of all nations The
greatest living British aut hority on this sub.
ject, while asserting the abstract right of the
British claim. says it seems difficult to deny
that Great Britain may ground her refusal
upon strict law but it is equally difficult to
deny, first, that In so doing she exercises
harshly an extreme hard law |; secondly, that
her conduct with respect to the navigation of
the ST. Lawrence is in glaring and discredit-
able inconsistency with her conduct with
respect 10 the navigation of the Mississippi;
On the ground that she possessed small
domain in which the Mississippi took it's rise
she insisted on this right to navigate the
entire volume of its waters on the GROUND
that she possesses both banks of the st.
Lawrence where 1t empties into the sea, she
denies 20 the United States the right OF navi-
cation though about one half Of the waters of
Lake Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior,
and the whole OF Lake Michigan, through
which the river flows are the property of the
United Sta es. The whole nation is interest.
ed in securing cheap transportation from the
Atlantic sea board to citizens of these States.
1t secures greater return for their labor to
Inhabitants of the sea board 1t offers ch can.
er food to the nation, and an increase In the
annual surplus Of wealth. 1t is hoped that
the Government Of Great Britain will see the
justice OF abandoning the narrow and incon.
sistent claim to which her Canadian prov
inces have urged her adherence.
THF REVIVAL OF OUR COMMERCE
Cur repressed commerce is subject to
which called your special attention At
the last session. suggeste1 that we
will, IN the future, have TO look more to
the countries south OF the United States
and to China and Japan for its revival.
Our representatives to all these, govern.
mcnts have excrted their influence to en-
trade between, tho United States
aud the countries to which they are
accredited, but the facts exist that the
carrying is done almost entirely in foreign
bottoms and while this state of affairs
exists we cannot control our due share of
the commerce of the world. That
between the Pacific states and China and
Japan is about all the carrying trade now
conducted in American vessels. | would
recommend liberal policy toward that
line of American steamers-One that will
insure its success, and even increase its
Usefulness The cost of building iron
vessels, (the only ones that can compete
With foreign ships in the carrying trade,)
s so much greater in the United States
han in foreign countries. that without
ome assistance from the Government
hey cannot be successfully built here.
There will be several propositions laid
before Congress in the course of the
present session looking to a remedy for
his evil, even if it should be at some
OFT to the National Traasrru I hn,,a