The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-12-06


through the territory of another power. This |
light does not exclude the co-equal right of the
sovereign possessing the territory through
which the river debouches into the sea to make
such regulations relative to the police of the
navigaton as may be reasonably necessary
But these regulations should be framed in |
liberal spirit of comfy and should not |
impose needless burdens upon the COM
MERGE which has the right to transit. 1t
mas been found in practice more advantage.
ous to arrange these regulations by mutual
agreement, if ths United States are ready to
make any reasonable arrangement as to the
police of the st. Lawrence which may be sug-
yested by Great Britain. If the claim made nv
Mr.. Clay was just when the population Of the
States bordering on the shores of the lakes was
only 3,400000it now derives greater force and |
equity from the increased population, wealth.
production and tonnage of the States on the |
Canadian frontiers. Since Mr.. Clay advanced |
his argument in behalf of our right, the princi-
pie for which he contended has been frequent |
and by various nations recognized by law and |
treaty and has been extended to several other |
great rivers. BY the treaty concluded at May |
epce in 1881 the Rhine was declared free from |
the point where it is first navigable to the sea-
By the convention between Spain and Portu- |
tugal, concluded in 1885, the navigation of the |
Douro throughout its whole extent was made |
free for the subjects of both crowns. 1t 1858
the Argentine confederation, by treaty, then
opened the free navigation of the Paraguay and
Uruguay to the merchant vessels of all nations
In 1856 the Crimean war closed by treaty
which provided for the free navigation of the
Danube. In 1858 Bolivia by treaty declared
that it regarded the rivers Amazon and La
Plata, in accordance with fixed principles of
national law, as highways or channels opened
by nature for the commerce of all nations. In
1859 the Paraguay was made free by treaty,
and in December, 1866, the Emperor of Brazil
by imperial decree declared the Amazon to be.
open to the frontier of Brazil to the merchant
ships of all nations. The greatest living British
authority on the subject, while asserting to
the abstract right of the British claims, says:
"It seems difficult to deny that Great Britain
may ground the refusal upon strict law; but it
is equally difficult to deny. first, that in SO do
ing she exercises harshly an extreme and hard
law; secondly, that her conduct With respect
to the navigation of the St. La wrence is in
glazing and discreditable inconsistency with
her conduct with respect to the navigation of
the Mississippi on the ground that she possess
ed small domain in which the Mississippi
took its rise. She insisted on the right to nay
igate the entire volume of its waters On the
ground that she possesses both banks of the
st. Lawrence where it disembogues into the
sea- She denies to the United States tbs right
of navigation though about one-half of the
waters of the Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and
Superior and the whole of the Lake Michigan.
through which the river flows, are the proper
ty of the United States. The whole nation is
interested in securing transportation from the
agricultural States of the west to the Atlantic
seaboard. To the citizens of those States it Sc
cures greater return for their Ia bor to the in
habitants of the seaboard it affords cheaper
food; to the nation an increase in the annual
surplus ofwealth. 1t is hoped that the gov
ernment Of Great Britain will see the Justice of
abandoning the narrow and inconsistent
claims to which her Canadian provinces have
urged her adherence.
OUR DEPRESSED COMMERCE.
Our depressed commerce is subject to which
1 called your special attention at the last ses-
sion aud suggested that we will in the future
have to look more to the countries south of us
and to China and Japan for its revival. Our
representatives to all these governments have
exerted their influence to encourage trade be-
tween the United States and the countries to
which they are accredited, but the fact exists
that the carrying is done almost entirely in
foreign bottoms, and " lille this state of affairs
exists we canrot 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 Amer
lean vessels l would recommend liberal
policy towards that line of American steamers,
one that will insure its success and even in
creased usefulness; and even the cost of build
ing iron vessels, the only ones that can COM
pete with foreign ships in the carrying trade,
is so much greater in the United States than
in foreign countries that without some assist
ance from the government they cannot be sue
cessfully built here There will be several
propositions laid before Congress in the course
of the present session looking to remedy for
this evil, even if it should be at some cost to
the national treasury. hope such encourage
ment will be given as will secure american
shipping on the high seas and American ships
building at home.
DEPARTMENT BUILDINGS
The condition of the archives at the depart
ment of State calls for the early action of Con-
gress. The building now rented by that de-
partment is frail structure, at an inconven-
lent distance from the Executive Mansion and
from the other departments. 1t is i'll adapted
to the purpose for which it is used, has not ca
pacty to accommodate the archives and is not
fire proof Its remote situation, its slender
construction and the absence of supply of
water in the neighborhood give but little hope
of safety for either the building or its contents
in case of the accident of FIRE. Its destruc-
ton would involve the loss of the rolls con-
tanning the original acts and resolutions of
Congress, of the history records of the revolu-
ton and of the confederation, of the whole
series of diplomatic and consular archives since
the adoption of the Constitution, and of the
many other valuable records and papers left
with that department when it was the princi-
pal depository of the governmental archives.
recommend an appropriation for the construc-
ton Of building for the nfnaFtme3nht es S.:e.
Iy of transferring to the Department of the I'm
terror, to which they seem more appropriately
to belong, all powers and duties in relation to
the territories with which the Department OF
~
from the Interior Department to the War De-
partment the pension bureau, sofar as it reg
ulates the payment of soldiers pensions. l
would further recommend that the naval pen
siOns be transferred to one of the bureaus of
the Navy Department.
ESTIMATED EXPENDITURES.
The estimates for the expenses of the govern
ment for the next fiscal year are $18, PA 346 Oh
less than for the current one, but exceed the
appropriation for the present year for the same
time IS, 81, 127 S.. In this estimate, however,
is included $22, 1886, 278.37 tor public works
heretofore begun under Congressional provls-
ion and OF which only so much is asked as
Congress may choose to give. The appropria-
tion for the same works for the present fiscal !
year was $11 1884, 518OS.
SPECIE PAYMENTS. |
The average value of gold as compared with |
national currency for the whole of the year
1869 was about 1. "a, and for eleven months of |
1870 the same relative value was been about |
10. The approach to a specie basis is very
gratifying, but the fact cannot be denied that |
the instability OF the value of our currency is |
preJudical to our prosperity and tends to keep |
up prices to the detriment of trade. The evils |
OF deprecated and fuctuating currency. are |
80 great that nowhere the premium on gold |
has fallen so much as it would seem that the |
Time has arrived when by wise and prudent |
legislation Congress should look to a policy /
which should place our currency at par with |
gold at no distant day.
REVENUE REFORM.
The taxes collected from the people has been
reduced more than $4,000, 900 per annum.
By steadinsss in our present course there is no
'eason why in few shot years the national
AK gatherer may not disappear from the door
If the citizen almost entirely. With the reve-
lue stamps dispensed by postmasters in every
a tax upon liquors of all kinds
md tobacco in all its FORMS and by wise ad
ustment of the tariff which will put duty
,pon those articles which we could dispense
With, known as luxuries, and on those which
We use more OF than we produce, revenue
houSh may be raised after a few years of |
'eace and consequent reduction of indebted
less to fulfill all our obligations. A further re-
ion OF the interest account may be relied upon
o make this practicable. Revenue reform, if
means this, has my hearty support If it i'm
lilies collection of all the revenue for the
Import of the Government, for the payment
# the principal and interest of the public
'eople, then am against revenue reform, and
onhdently believe the people are with me. If
means failure to provide the necessary means
o defray all the expenses of the Government
md thereby reputation of the public debt and
tensions then am still mere opposed to such
lind Of revenue reform. Revenue reform has
lot been defined by any of Its adherents to my
knowledge, but it seems to be accepted as
omething. which is to supply every mans
wants without any cost or effort on his part.
true revenue reform cannot be made in
day, but must be the work of ma
ional legislation and time. AS soon as T.
he revenue can be dispensed with all duty
hould be removed from coffee, tea and other
rticles of universal use not produced by
urselves The necessities of the country COM
'el us to collect revenues from our imports. |
In army of assessors and collectors is not
pleasant sight to a citizen, but that of tariff
or revenue is necessary. Such tariff as far |
$ it acts as an encouragement to home pro-