Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-12-10

if'1hs ~
voyages broken up, and the vessels condemned
lhere Is reason to believe that this unfflendly
and YeHatiOus treatment was designed to bear
harslly upon the hardy fshcimon Of The Uuit-
eu States, with view to political effect upon
this gOyernmenl 'rlic statutes Of tile Denim
ION oi canada assume still broader and more
utenauie jurisdiction over the vessels Of Tive
tnited States. They Ruth0tzc oaicets or per.
sons 10 brtrg vessels hJyering WITHIN three
marine miles ut ANY uf the COASTS, bays, creeks
or bnftOis VI Canada into port, to search the
cargo, 10 examine The master on oath touching
i@ cargo and voyage, and inflct upon him a
heaNy pecuniary penalty IL true answers are
not given, and 1t such vessel Is found pre-
pairing 10 fish within three marine miles of
any such coasts, bays crccks, or lhrbors with.
out a license or, amer the expiration of the
period named IN the last license granted TO IT,
they provide TINT the vessel, with her tackle
etc, etc, shall be forfeited 1t Is not known
thai amy cOndemnatons have been made under
TINS statue. Should the authorities of Canada
attempt to enforce II, ii will become my duty
TO lake such steps as may he necessary to pro
tect The rights of citizens of the United States
" has been claimed by Her Majrstys officers
that the flsiing vessels of the United States
nave no right To enter open ports of The British
possessions in North America except for pur
poses OF shelter and repairing damages, of pur-
CHASING wOCd and obtaining water that they
have no right to cntr ut the British Custom
houses or TO trade, except for the purchase Of
wood and water, aud that they must depart
within twenty-f0ur hours after notice lu leave
Ii IA not known that any seizures of fishing
vessel, carrying the has of tie United States,
has lnen made undrr this claim So far as the
claim is founded on The alleged construction
OF The Convention lf 1878 it cannot be ac-
quiesccd in by The United States. Ii is hup;d
tlnt IL will bp ~, lac bnr IL
government. Daring the conference which
preceded tue negotiation of the convention of
1915, the British commissioners proposed to
, expressly exclude the fishermen of the United
| States from the privilege of carrying on trade
with any Of Her Brilannic Mujcsty's subjects
residing within the limits assigned for their
use, and also that Il should not be lawful for
the vessels of the United States engaged in
such fishery to have on any goods, wares or
merchandise whatevtr, except such as may be
necessary for the prosecution of their voyages
to and from said fishing grounds, and any YES
sci OF the United States which should con
travene this regulation might be seized con
dcmned and contscatcd with her cargo. The
proposition, which isidgnlcll with the con
siructon now put Upon The language of the
convention, was emphatically rejected by the
American COMMISSIONER and thereupon was
abandoned by the British pcnpotcniaries ;
and article one, ns IL stands in the convention,
was substituted. IT. However, 1t lie said that
this claim Is founded on provisional or colonial
statutes and not upon the convention, this gov
crnment cannot but regard them as unfriendly,
and in contrayentisn of the spirit if not of
the latter of the treaty, for the faithful cxccu-
ton OF which the IMPERIAL government IS alone
responsible. Anticipating that an ATTEMPT
may possibly be made by the Canadian au-
thorlties The coming slason to repeat their un-
neghOory acts towards our fishermen. re-
N For, In ,t,
power 10 suspend by proclamation the opera
tion OF the laws authorizing the transit of
goods, wares and merchandise in bnlld across
the territories of the United States to Canada ;
and, further, should shch an extreme measure
become necessary, TO suppress The operation
OF any laws whereby the vessels of the Do
minion OF Canada ard permitted to enter the
waters of the United States 4 like unlriend.
ly disposition has been manifested on The part
OF Canada in the maintenance of a claim of
right to exclude the citizens of the United
States from the navigation Of theSt Lawrence.
This river constitutes natural outlet 10 the
ocean for eight States. with an aggregate pop
ulation Of about 17,QO0000 Inhabitants, and
with an aggregate tonnage Of 6Gl 1867 tons
upon the waters whch 1t discharges into it,
The foreign commerce of our porls on these
waters Is open to British competition anil the
major part Of it is done in British bottoms If
the American seamen be excluded from this
natural avenue to the ocean the mOnop0ly 10
the direct commerce OF the lake ports with
the Atlantic would be in foreign hands their
vessels on Transatlantic ruyages having access
to our lake ports, which would I've den.el to
American vessels on similar voyages. To state
such proposition Is ID retilte It's Justice
During the administration of Mr.. John Quincy
Adams, MIR. Clay unquestionnbly demonstrn :
cd the natural right ui tlle citizens of the Unit.
ed States To the navigation Of this river claim
lIut "a n
opening the Rhine and other rivers to all ma
tons showed the judgment of European ursts
and statesmen that the inhabitaais.of a cOun-
Try through which a nNigablu liver passes
have natural right to enjoy the navigation Of
that river To and into tho sea even though
passing through the tesritory of another power
| Ihis right does not exclude the cuequal right
OF the sovereign possessing tue territory
! through which the river debOuches into the
sea to make such regulations relative To the
policy OF the navigation as may be reasonably
necessary, hut those regulations should be
framed in u liberal spirit OF comfy, and
should not impose needless burdens upon the
commerce which has the right of transit, 1t
has been found in practice more advantageous
to range these regulations by mutual agree
meht The United States are rtntly To Inake
any reasonable arrangement as 10 the usu OF
the ST. Lawrence, which may be suggested by
Great Britain. II the claim made by Mr.. Ciay
was Just when the population of the States
bordering on the shores OF the lakes was ONLY
34OO,00O II now derives greater force and
equity from the increased population, wealth,
production and tonnage of the States on the
Canadian frontier, Since Mr.. Clay advanced
his argument in behalf of our right, the prin-
ciplc for which he contendud has been fire.,
quently and by tdrious nations recognized by
law or by treaty, and has been extended 10
several other great rivers by the treaty con
cuded at Mayence In 1891. The Rhine was
declared free ircm the point where il is first
navlgable into the sea. BY tho convention be-
tween Spain and Portugal, concluded in 1885,
the navigation OF the DOuro, throughout its
whole extent, was nadehee for the subjects
OF both crowns In 1853 the Argentine Con
federation by treaty threw open the free navi.
CATION of the Parana and the Uruguay to the
merchant vessels of all nations lin 1886 the
Climeun war was closed by treaty which
provided for tho free navigation OF the Danube;
in ls58l3oliva by treaty declare that II re gard.
cd the rivers Amazon and In Plata, in accord
ance with fixed principles of national law, us
highways or channels opened by nature for
the commerce of all nations in 1853 the
Paraguay was made flee by treaty, and in
December 1866, the Emperor of Brazil, by
imperial decree, declared the Amazon To be
open, through all the iionlier Of Brazil, 10 the
merchant ships of all nations,
The greatest living British authority on this
Suhipct while asserting the abstract rirht of