The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-23
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THE CONSEQUENCES OF COLD PORK.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF COLD PORK.
Prom the N. Y. Tytttne.
About eleven years since, legitimate an
swer TO the popular conundrum, what
makes more noise than pig under gate p
would have been, that international pig in
San Juan Island. And, strange to say, it was
dead before it began to make noise. This
was the way of it; An exasperated Yankee
settler shot the trespassing pig of Scotch
man, and the Scottish Shylock, unwilling to
accept double the value of the animal in re-
turn, must needs have his pound of flesh;
and, getting officer and warrant from Vancou-
yer's Island, would have impounded said Yam
kee in some Vancouverian British bastile,
had not the latter threatened the same pro-
cess with the officer which had previously
proved so effectual with the pig.
The Yankee denied British jurisdiction
over that island, and proposed resistance %
ct dT7QtS. He was not arrested; and the i'm
pulsive Harney sent over company OF
troops to protect the interests of American
citizens on the island The authorities of
Vancouver protested, and two or three British
shiDs of war anchored off San Juan, but did
not venture to fire upon the American troops
encamped within short range of them A
little international breeze at once blew up
between this country and Great Britain,
which bade fair to brew into storm, until
the pacific and paternal old General Scott
was sent over to settle matters. He did it
with patched-up plan for the joint military
occupation of the island, which, for want of a
better, has sufiiced up to this time.
The question of the right of possession to
San Juan is not complicated one. The ply
steal situation is this:-The British island of
Vancouver, curving along the coast line from
the northwest as if it were huge marine mon
ster, seems to have bitten and swallowed
large mouthful of land out of the northwest
corner Of the United States territory. The
island of San Juan, and several others occu-
pying the straits between, appear like crumbs
dropped from the mouth of Vancouver when
the bite was stolen. The 10th parallel of lati-
tude cuts off quite slice of Vancouver, and
the British Government, in agreeing upon
that boundary line, made an express stipula-
ton that gave them the whole of it, to which
our Government assented.
But Britain has way of taking an ell when
she is given an inch and, though for time
satisfied with Vancouver, finally set up a
claim for San Juan. The injustice of the
claim is clear enough when we consider the
principle on which the Canadian water boun-
Diary line is settled elsewhere, always follow
ing, in the case of disputed islands in rivers
and straits, the deepest channel, principle
which gives us, for instance, Belle Island,
opposite Detroit Now, the Straits De Haro
are the deepest channel between Vancouver
and the United States, and San Juan in con-
sequence, justly belongs to us. The channel
of Rosario Straits, which the great Britannia
Pecksniff concluded to claim as the water
boundary, and which cuts of San Juan from
us, has an average depth of fifty fathoms less
than De Haro. Previous to 1850, we held
San Juan in peace. Between that time and
1859, Great Britain cultivated hankering
after the tidy little island, till, in consequence
of cold pork, in the latter year the dispute
took open form, and was only pacifed with
patchwork.
Within few days, an injuncton-not OF
Barnard but of secrecy dissolved, and
the proceedings of the Senate in executive
session last April upon the proposed treaty
with Great Britain for the settlement of the
water-boundary line in Puget Sound were
made public.
1t appears to have been proposed that the
distinguished President of the Swiss Con-
federation, whose name most unfortunately
escapes us, should arbitrate between the two
countries as to this water boundary. Vigor
GUS and exhaustive speeches were made, op
posing any such settlement, and the distin
guished President has not yet been requested
TO arbitrate. The question now is, Shall the
patchwork policy continue, or shall we de
mand our rights and prosecute the demand?