The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-02-23
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~0MMIsSION TO SETTLE THE ALA
BAl1A CLAIMS

The Commission appointed By the
President are: Secretary Fish, ex-At-
torncy Hoar, Minister Schenck, Associate
Justice Nelson, and Senator Williams, of
Oregon. five able. honest men. The
country repose confidence in them, and
will approve their action.
The English members OF the Joint
Commission are: Earl De Grey, Sir
Edward Thornhon, Sir John A. MacDon-
aid, Sir John Rose and Mr.. Bernard,
Professor eff International Law at Oxford
Lord Fentendisan accompanies the Com
mission as Secretary.
This joint Commission is authorised
20 treat on all claims and other matters of
difference between the two Governments,
and the treaty entered into by that Com
mission is to be submitted to both Gov
ernments before being ratified.
In this difference with England, there
has great change taken place since U.
5. Grant took possession Of the Presiden
tial chair; then the United States felt
themelges deeply insulted by the treach-
erous conduct Of England during the re-
bellioat they felt and openly declared that
a mere payment of money for The inju-
ries sustained by English piracy could
never cancel the Insult that through
Englands indirect aid of our enemies the
war had been lengthend oat for years and
that England was morally responsible for
the hundreds of thousands af American
victims destroyed IN battle, in Southern
prison pens or hospitals that an expia
ton for such crimes could not be accom-
plished with money, but could Only be
measured according to the standard o.
eye for eye or tooth for tooth such was
the policy adopted by the United States
towards England The idea as then ex-
pressed was: ne can ecaH as long as
the Alabama claims are not settled, there
hangs over England the Damocles sword
Of Retaliation this is, in such case,
the only possible satisfaction.
This was the public feeling then;
feeling not very statesmanlike much less
christian, but it was natural and human.
It was thu public feeling expressed by
President Grant in his first message.
The change from then to now is a most
extraordinary one. Then the motto was:
IAN eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth :"
now it is: Love your enemies; bless
chem that hate you and despitefulIy use
you"
Then the Senate of the United States
almost unanimously rejected the Johnson
Clarendon treaty, now almost as unani
nously a Commission is appointed to
prepare new edition OF the same treaty;
for that is about all those Commissioners
are charged to perform The principal
Objection then to that treaty-that the
rash recognition Of the rebels by England
was not treated as an insult to the United
States, is done away by the United States
to-day without the least protestation.
The question, whether that recognition it
self was to be taken as an hostile or at
least unfriendly act towards the United
States has been completely left out Of
And further: while two
years ago we protested Indignantly against
bringing in any pretended or just Eng
lish claims to be deducted from our de-
mands of Naturalization for the pracies
OF the Alabama, noc our Government
agrees to this stipulation of England with
out the least objection. Thus it will hap
pen, that English subjects will claim the
payment Of the Confederate so-called
Cotton bonds, the mere mention Of which
would have been considered a great in
suit to our Government if not even
cause for war.
Such complete retreat of the United
States from its position Of two years ago,
may possibly be satisfactory to the pres
snt popular feeling; It may Be that the
Americas people is as averse to retalia-
ton towards England to-day as it was de
string it only two years ago, but we have
no evidence of such reversion of public
feeling, on the contrary we believe that
our Government has taken its present
position. which is entirely opposite to the
one it formerly held, very suddenly and
without giving any opportunity for the
expression of public opinion
Should this concentration to the rear
Co which England has ample reason TO
congratulate it,elf-boen caused by an
evil conscience? This conscience which
makes towards of us al" Have
President Grant and the Secretary of
State, Mr. Fish conceived. that, il view
OF the traffic of the neutral" American
Government in arms and munitions of
war with France, complaint against
England 'unfriendly neutrality would
be quite out of order? Very probably
For how would Summers COMPLAINT ::
"that England by lis indirect aid had
extended the war and was morally re-
sponsible for the injury, sound to-day,
when the neutral Government of the
United States &tended the French Ger
man war for three months ard spilled the
blood of at least fifty thousand men +?
The British Government did not sell arms
from Its arSenals 10 the American rebels.
but the 4naerfcun Government hos sold
from its arsenals (under he cowardly
hypocritical cover of sale to middlemenl
nearly million of guns and canncns,
amn,unitions, etc, to France, for the
purpose of killing Herewith SO many
thousands of 'dutchmen. to make wild
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