The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-05-26

BosToN, May 22.-Goneral BUTLER
appeared before the Legislative Com.
mlttee on Federal Relations, and read
letter, making n twenty-four-pago
pamphlet, which he had addressed to
his son.in.lsw, Senator Ames, of Missis-
sippi, in which he claborately reviews
and generally condemns The treaty of
Washington.
Mr.. Butler first criticiscs tho scttlc.
ment of the fishery question, in which
he says: "Out of the four hundred
thousand barrels of mackerel caught
between Cape May or tho thirty-ninth
parallel and the northern extent of their
limit by our fishermen, only somo 3d..
600 barrels were taken last year east of
Maine in all waters, British or other.
In frankness it should be stated that
owing to the annoyances our fishermen
have suffered, and from other special
causes, that catch was smaller than
usual, but it may be safely put ut an
average not much exceeding 10000 bar
rels.
During t he reciprocity treaty, and
since its abrogation, when fishing under
full Brit ish license, our fishermen took
something less than one-fifth their catch
within the three.mile line, so that. the
amount of the concession by the present
treaty to us is the right of Great Brit
ain to 5000 barrels of macherel when
swimming in the sea within three miles
of her shores. Now, rs fishing is only
about Is per cent. business, or, in other
words, as So per cent. of the value of fish
taken consists in the use of capital en-
ployed, labor expended in taking, cur
ing, packing, and preparing for market,
il will be seen how inconsiderablo is the
right actually attempted to be coded to
us by the present treaty. Its extent is,
in fact, when reduced to money value,
from $1,000 to $1,000 annually only"
In this connection the General contin.
ues: 81 see it stated, in what purports
to be the protocol to the treaty, that the
American commissioners opened the
negotiations with an offer to pay 81 ,000,.
600 in gold for this right, or 100000 an
nually for all time for the right which
Nova Scotia offered to sell and did sell
for $1,000 a year. Where our commiss.
toner's got their extraordinary valua.
tions it is difficult to conjecture.
at is not wonderful that the English
commissioners thought they had some.
thing too valuable to dispose of, when
Yankees would offer a million dollars
for the right to begin with. AS the En-.
glishmen had ulterior objects to be
gained, they would put no money value
upon the fisheries, as they intended to
force open our ports by all means"
Further, General Butler says: "It
cost the British government SSOO,OOO to
guard the right of value of $7,OOO-yei
annum, which amount will be saved by
the ratification of the treaty to the I'm.
perial Govern ment and its adjuncts.
We are, by the provisions ofthe treaty,
in exchange opermit for this $1,000 all
British fishermen to fish in all our wa.
tiers for all kinds of fish except shell
fish and river fish, and to land on our
shores to cure their fish and dry their
nets from the 10th to the 39th parallel,
or from Eastport to the Delaware Bay"
The opening of our ports to British fish
free of duty and competition with Brit
ish bounty of one dollar per quintal and
French bounty of 10 francs, and other
features of the treaty, the General be.
lieves will substantially ruin our fishing
interests.
In concluding this review of the fish.
cry question, General Butler says: 81
grieve, therefore, that so complete an
abandonment of American fishing in.
terests should have been made by our
commissioners, and 1 trust the Senate
will not ratify this portion of the treaty
unless there shall be found another por.
tion sufficiently countervailing the ad.
vantages, so we can afford this great loss.
It is expressly stated in the protocol,
however, that the fishery questions
were considered by themselves"