Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1870-12-15

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impose needless burdens upon the
| commerce which has tho right Of
transit II has been found in prac.
| tice more advantageous to arrange
these regulations by mutual agree
menls, The United States are
ready to make any arrangement as
to the police Of the st, Lawrence,
which may be suggested by Great
Britain. II the claim by Mr.. Clay
was just, when the population Of
States bordering on the shores of
the lakes was only 100000 il now
| derives greater force and equity
from the increased population,
wealth, production and tonnage of
/ the States on the Canadian f.on-
tier Since Mr. Clay advanced his
argmentin behalf Of our right,the
1 principle for which he contended
has been frequently and by various
nations recognized by law, and
| by treaty has been extended
to several great rivers -
BY the treaty concluded at May
ence, in 1881, the Rhine was de-
clared free from tile point where
il is first naNgable into the sea.
BY the Convention between Spain
and Portugal, concluded in 1885,
the navigation Of the Douro
all nations. In 1859 the Para
quay was made free by treaty, and
in December, 1866, the Emperor
Of Brazil, by imperial decree. de.
cIared the Amazon to be open 70
the frontier OF Brazil, to the mer-
chant ships ofall nations.
The greatest living British au-
thority on the subject, while asser-
ting the abstract right of the Brit
ish claim, says it seems difficult
to deny that Great Britain may
ground her refusal upon strict law,
but it's equally difficult to deny
first, that in so doing she exercises
harshly an extreme and hard law;
secondly. that her conduct with re-
spect to the navigation Of the st.
Lawrence is in glaring and dis
creditable inconsistency with her
conduct IN respect to the naviga-
ton Of the Mississippi. Claiming
that She possessed a small domin-
I ion in which the Mississippi took
its rise, she insisted on this right to
navigate the entire volume Of its
waters On the ground that she
/ possessed the banks of the st. Law
renee where it debouches into tie
sea, she denies to the United States
the right Of navigation, though
about half Of the waters of lakes
Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Superior
and the whole of lake Michigan,
through which the river flows, are
the property of the United States.
The Whole nation is interested
in securing cheap transportation
from the agricultural States of the
West to the Atlantic seaboard. To
the citizens Of those States it Sc
cures a greater return for their
labor; to the Inhabitants of the
seahoard it offers cheaper food;
and to the nation an increase in
the annual surplus of wealth. 1t
is hoped that the Government of
Great Britain will see the justice Of
abandoning the nalTow and incon-
sistent claims to which her Cana.
dian Provinces have urged her ad-
herence.
OUR DEPRESSED COMMERCE.
Oar depressed commerce is sub
iect to which Iagain call your spec
ial attention, At the last session,
l suggested that we will in the fu-
ture have to look more to the cOun-
tries south of us, and to China and
Japan for its revival. Our repre-
sentatives to all these Governments
have eXelted their influence to en-
courage trade between United
States and the countries to which
they are accredited, but the fact
exists that the carrying is done al
most 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 steamers; one that will
insure its success and even in
creased usefulness. The cost of
building iron vessels, the only ones
that cah compete with foreign ships
in tie carrying trade, is so much
| greater in the United States than
in foreign countries, that without
some assistance from the Govern
ment they cannot successfully he
built here. There will be several
propositions laid before Congress
! in the course Of the present session,
looking to a remedy for this evil.
Even if it should be at some cost
to the National Treasury, l hope
such encouragement will be given
as will secure American ship build
ing at home.
THE GOVERNMENT ARCHIVES.
The condition of the archives at
the Department Of State calls for
the early action ofCongress. The
building now rented by that De-
partment is a frail structure, at an
inconvenient distance from the Ex-
ecutive mansion ard from the other
Departments. 1t isill adapted to