The Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1870-1875, 1870-12-07

anu 10 luUlCL upUu UlLu nSAFy poOu-
mary penalty if true answers were not
given; and if such a vessel IS found
preparing to fish within three marine
miles of any such coast, bays, creeks or
harbors without license, or after the
expiration of the period named In the
last license granted to it, they provide
that the vessel, with her tackle, etc.,
ETC., shall be coniscated. 1t Is not
known that any COMBINATIONS have
| been made under this statute. Should
the authorities of Canada attempt to
enforce it, it will become my duty to
/ take such steps as may be necessary
to protect the rights of the citizens
of the United States. 1t has been
claimed by Her Majesty's officers that
| the fishing vessels of the United
/ States have no right to enter the open
ports of the British possessions in
North America, except for the
purpose Of shelter and repairing
I damages, or of purchasing wood
and obtaining water; that they
have no right to enter at the
! British custom house or to trade ex-
cept for the purchase of wood and
water, and that they must depart
within tWenty-four hours after notice
to leave. 1t is not known that any
seizure of q fishing vessel carrying
| the flag of the United States has been
made under this claim. So far as the
claim is founded on any alleged con-
struotion of the convention of 1878 it
/ cannot be acquieseed In by the United
! States. It is hoped that it will not be
insisted upon by her Msjesty's govern
ment. During the conference which
| preceded the negotiation of the con-
| vention of 1918, the British commits
sioners proposed to expressly exclude
| the fishermen Of the United States
from the privilege of carrying on trade
with any of her Britanic Majesty g
subjects residing within the limits as
signed for their use, and also that it
should not be lawful for the vessels of
| the United States engaged IN such
fishery to have on board any goods.
wares or merchandise whatever, ex-
| cept such as may be necessary for the
prosecution of their voyage to and
from such fishery grounds; and
any vessel of the United States
which shall contraVene this regula-
ton may be seized, condemned and
confscatod, with their cargoes. This
proposition which is identical with
| the construction now put upon the
| language of the convention, was en-
phatIcally rejected by the American
Commissioners, and was thereupon
abandoned by the British Plenipoten-
/ tiaries, and Article l, as it stands in
the convention, was substituted. If,
however, it be said that this claim is
founded on provincial or colonial
statutes, and not upon the convention,
| this government cannot but regard
them as unfriendly, and In contraven-
ton of the faithful execution of which
the Imperial government is alone re-
sponsible. Anticipating that an at
tempt may possibly be made by the
/ Canadian authorities, in the coming
season, to repeat these uDneighborly
acts towards our fishermen, I recon-
mend you to confer upon the Execu-
tive the power to suspend, By procla-
nation, the operations of the laws
authorizing the transit of goods,
wares and merchandise in bond across
the territory of the United States
to Canada. And further, should
| such an extreme measure be-
come necessary, to suspend the
| operation of any laws where
by the vessels of the Dominion of
! Canada are permitted to enter the
/ waters of the United States. A like
unfriendly disposition has been mani
tested on the part of Canada in the
maintenance of claim of right to
exclude the citizens of the United
| States from the navigation Of the st.
Lawrence. The river constitutes a
natural outlet of the lakes to the
ocean, with an aggregate population
of about II GOO. 600 inhabitants, and
with an aggregate tonnage of 66l, S67
tons upon the waters which discharge
into it. The foreign commerce OF
our ports on these waters is open to
British competition, and the major
part of 1t is done In British bottoms.
If the American seamen 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 transatlantic voyages hav-
ing an access to our lake ports which
. would be denied to American vessels
on similar voyages. To state such a
proposition is to refute its justice.
During the administration of Mr..
John Quincy Adams, Mr.. Clay I'M
questionably demonstrated the natur-
al right Of the citizens of the United
States to the navigation of this river,
claiming that the act of the Congress
! of Vienna, In opsning the Rhine and
other rivers to all nations, showed the
Judgment of European nations and
jurists, that the inhabitants of coun-
try through which a navigable river
| Tok 20 Ia
| navigation of that river from and in
to the sea, even though passing
through the territory of another DOW
er. This right does not exclude the
coequal right of the sovereign possess
sing the territory through which the
river debouches into the sea, to make
such regulations relative to the poll
cy of the navigation as may be reason
ably necessary. But those regulations
should be framed in a liberal spirit of
comfy, and should not impose need
less burdens upon the commerce
which has the right of transit. Il
has been found in practice more ad
vantageOus to arrange these regula-
tons by mutual agreement. The Uni
ted States is ready to make any rea-
sOnable arrangement as to the police
of the st. Lawrence River which may
be suggested by Great Britain. If the
claim of Mr.. Clay was just when the
population of the States bordering on
the shores of the lakes was only
3,400. 600, it now derives greater force
and equity from the increased popula-
ton, wealth, production and tonnage
OF the States on the Canadian from
tier. Since Mr.. Clay advanced his
argument in behalf of our right. the
principle for which he contendcd has
been frequently and by various ma
tions recognized by law or by treaty.
and has been extended to several
other great rivers. By the treaty
concluded at Mayence in. 1881. the
Rhine was declared free from the point
where it is first naVigabls into the sea
By the convention between Spain and
Portugal, concluded in 1885. the navi-
cation of the Douro throughout its
whole extent was made free for the
subjects of both crowns. In 1853. the
Argentine Confederation BY treaty
threw open the free navigation of the
Parana and Uruguay to the mer-
| chant vessels of all nations.
In 1856 the Crimean war was
closed by a treaty which pro-
Vided for the free navigation of the
Danube. In 1858, Bolivia, by treaty.
4 declared that lie regarded the rivars