The Portland daily press., 1870-11-24

|
Of force? Besides China had not been admit
led into the family of nations. When the
United States decides not to bug British goods
until she Settles the Alabama claims. am will
ling 10 see Great Britain il she thinks best
send her fleets to our ports to force us to take
her manufactures iron and wool.
We know to conduct defensive war wheth-
er by sea or land
TAKING OUR TRADE AND PRODUCTS FROM ENG
LAND WOULD WORK REVOLUTION IN THEIR |
GOVERNMENT.
do not deem it either unmanly or unfair to |
say 10 England that she shall have none Of our |
cotton or breadstuffs until this question is set |
tied, although such deprivation to Manchester,
Birmingham and Bradford might work revo- |
luton in her government in six months.
NoN-INTERCoURsE is RIGHT THOUGH WE TAKE |
ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY.
Nor would it be more unmanly or unfair to
declare such non-intercourse, because now is
our opportunity i0aSmuch as Prussia and
France will be ready, in recovering from their
exhaustion, to take from us all the surplus that
even if they become sellers of the first to Eng
land. Now is it our fault if Englands delays
in doing us justice have postponed our demand
for it till her complications with Russia, have
substantially put her at our mercy.
BY THIS COURSE WE SHOULD SAVE MORE THAN
THE AMOUNT OF OUR LOSSES BY THE ALABA-
MA, WHICH THE U. s. GOVERNMENT OUGHT TO
ASSUME.
The saving to the country by non-importa-
ton of British goods-the impetus given to eur
manufactures the protection thus afforded to
American industry would very soon quite make
good to us all that we have lost in money by
| the Alabama outrages. The United States
Government ought to assume and pay all that
| there is of ascertained loss to the individual
| citizen because Of these claims.
| THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF WRONGS STATED.
The magnitude of the claims by this country,
,aksn and v1d IN nlo "a noc Of
| individuals as individuals upon either gov
ernment is very different. When the individ
| ual claims upon the government, he cannot
| make go)d his claim if, being insured, he has
| been paid insurance, because if his claim is al
lowed he will receive his pay twice. Nor can
| the insurer, even if he has paid the insurance.
| make any claim, because the war-premiums
which he demanded for his insuring were equal
| to the losses which he paid. Such is the very
| theory of insurance; SO that if he were paid by
| the Government too, he would be twice paid.
| The loss has fallen upon the merchants, who
| paid the war-premiums and had their COM
| merce crippled by British interference, who are
| too scattered and too numerous to have their
! losses adjusted as individual claims, and upon
| the nation whose sovereignty and honor were
| defied and insulted.
Therefore, it seems to me but proper that the
United States should undertake to remunerate
small amounts due the individual claimants,
| and then add the amounts SO paid to its own
| great claim to be adjusted by Great Britain as
| whole
ENGLAND, AS PREPARATION, OUGHT TO REMOVE
| ALL DANGER OF COLLISION IN THE FUTURE.
For, after all, the great injury and wrong is
| one to be compensated in money. The better
reparaion to this nation " ould be for England
| to remove all opportunity cause of collision
| between the two countries in the future. But
those must always exist so long as England has
| a government under her control, and for the
acts of which she is responsible, stretching from
| ocean to ocean, across our northern border, and
for many hundred miles interve ming between
| us and our newly acquired territory, Alaska,
and while she holds her naval stations aud de-
pots at Jamaica, Nassau and the Bermudas,
from which our commerce and our coast can
be meDaced in any future war on this side the
Atlantic.
TO so DO SHE SHOULD REMOVE HER POWER
FROM THIS CONTINENT.
Therefore would suggest that that which
would best satisfy the people-that which
would best meet the exigencies of the occa-
sion. and that which England could part with
herself in most honor, by showing a desire to
take away all ground OF possible unfriendly re-
lations in the future would be that she should
withdraw her power from this continent.
SUCH REMOVAL AN HONORABLE AND sUFFI-
| GENT EQUIVALENT FOR THE ALABAMA
| CLAIMS
| do not ask her to give us Canada and her
Provinces. I should be willing to assume all
the Alabama claims and settle all possible diff
|
if Great Britain will leave the Western CONT
nent Simply divorce herself from them, and
permit her provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island New
foundland, and British Columbia, each to set
| tie for itself by the action of its own people,
what shall be its future am asked, will the
| Provinces vote for annexation to this country :?
I am willing to take the risk that men and
| countries will act for their own best interests.
THE DANGERS OF WAR FROM OUR FISHERY
| COLLISIONS
But there & re other and more difficult COM
plcations arising daily which demand in the
interest OF peace between the two nations, the
immediate settlement of the Alabama claims,
In manner which shall take away all posi-
| bility of future entanglements. For the pur-
pose of forcing reciprocity treaty upon the
United States, the Canadian government has
been fer the past two years renewing its pre-
tensions to the exclusive right of the fisheries
in the great bays and estuares along shores
adjoining the British provinces, pretensiens
which are only to be examined to be found I'M
Just, pretensions under which they have seized
number ofvessels belonging to the United
States upon the fiimsiest pretexts, broken up
the voyages; turned loose the crews who are
part owners; and subjected the owners to the
hardship of defending their claims to their own
property before British Vice admiralty
| Court, only to find their vessels, if they sue
coed, returned to them stripped of their lines,
cordage and running rigging; allowed to go to
| waste, while in the hands of the court; with
their cargoes persisted; the voyage broken up.
| and the means of continuing it carried off
without any responsibility for the loss. Cana
ola claims to enact laws providing for the seiz-
| ure and confiscation of our vessels ifthey fish
| within the lines which her laws prescribe, and
| also if found taking shelter for more han
twenty -four hours in her bays and harbors,
whatever the inclemency of the weather, or
even if buying provisions supplies therein,
with which to fish anywhere upon the broad
expase of the ocean. This condition of con-
ficting rights and claims cannot long resl
without collisions which will severely endan-
ger the peace of the nations. American sea-
men are not too patient of wrongs from that
| power which impressed their fathers and
searched their ships on the high seas-till we
went to war for sailors rights.
Here follows long historical account of our
rights to the fisheries and our relations with
| Great Britain touching the fisheries.
By GRIPPING OUR FISHERIES ENGLAND FORCED
THE RECIPROCITY TREATY.
This Gripping of our fisheries had the de-
sired effect: AID in 1854 President Pierce, who
was New fcngland man and deeply imbued
| with the value of these fishing privileges to
| get them made treaty of reciprocity Of COM
| merce with Canada, which remained in force
| until 1855, when fortunately the exigencies of
| the war and the unfriendly legislation of the
| Canadians caused its abrogaton sand we are
now free from its unwise and onerous provs-
| IONS
| TREATY HIGHLY BENEFICIAL TO CANADA AND
| INJURIOUS TO THE UNITED STATES, SAVE ITS
GRANTS TO FISHERMEN.
How greatly it benefited Canada will be
| seen In this, that while in 1854, at the date of
| treaty, our total of exports into Canada was
| VA OO0, 0O0 her exports into the United States
| were only $S,000,000; yet in five years what we
| sent Canada had dwindled to 1922 600 600 an
| nually, while she sent US $24OOOO0O worth of
her products, Or quite treble tho amount before
| the treaty. 1t is to be hoped that reciprocity
| treaty SO onerous, especially to our agriculture
| al interests, will never be renewed.
| NO COMPLAINT MADE RY CANADA OF CONDUCT
OF OUR FISHERMEN WHILE THE TREATY Ex-
listed.
| During the existence of this treaty our fish
ermen exercised the same rights and privileges
| Ill British waters and on British shores as
| their own subjects, with complaint, murmur or
collision, and the British fishermen did the
same upon ours-a privilege, by the way,
which we still permit them to enjoy unmolest-
ed. The fact of the peaceful relations between
the fishermen of the two countries during the
treaty makes curious commentary upon tho
pretext upon which the prohibitory laws of
canada were passed prior to 1852 to shut out
| our fishermen from Canadian waters 1t was
then said that the fishermen trespassed SO
much upon the shore, and were SO trouble
some, that 1t became necessary to exclude
them from British waters. All complaint of
any such trouble ceased when Canada had got
per reciprocity treaty, although our fishermeu
| hshed even in the very ports and harbors of
| the Provinces. "
| SINCE ABRoGATIoN OF THE TREATY CANADA
HAS REVIVED HER LAWS TO CRUSH orr
FISHING INTERESTS.
canada w HAT ,a{ rao -.