The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-04-20

Conscuuential Damages to be Pressed.
It will be gratifying intelligence to all
Americans who have the honor of their coun-
try at heart to learn that the report, which
has in the past few days gained certain
importance in reference to Withdrawing
our claims on England for consequential
damages is entirely void of foundation. The
rumor was one Of those intangible things that
took shape, no one knew how, but was whis-
pered here and there on Change at the na-
tional capital, limited at by newspapers and
finally boldly asserted by the opponents of
the administration. Thus, on the 9th inst,
a resolution was introduced into the House of
Representatives by Mr.. Peters, of Maine, call
ing for the withdrawal of our claims for con-
sequential damages. In the natural order this
was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and was in time discussed by them. The
first and perfectly logical step taken in
the matter was the calling of General
Banks, as Chairman Of the Committee, on
Secretary Fish, and demanding of him if there
was any intention on the part Of our govern
ment to withdraw the claim for indirect losses.
The Secretary of State met this with an
unqualified avowal that no such step had been
taken nor was in contemplation thus effectu-
ally trampling the life out Of the rumor.
AS the partisan journals made blatant
use of this sinister resolution of Mr.. Peters,
parading it as the premonitory symp-
toms of an administration breakdown" per-
haps they will now admit for once their error
Looking back over the history Of this canard,
it is speaking mildly to call the action Of the
introducer Of the resolution unpatriotic as
well as unprincipled If its underground sup
porters could be induced to come into the light
of day, where oil men might see their faces, it is
not improbable that some well-known reckless
stock jobbing, claim-collecting faces would
appear whose ideas Of national honor would
disgrace any country under the sun. AT the
moment too, when the counsel for the two gov
ernments were exchanging their counter cases
at Geneva the force Of this rumor was well
understood by its authors. The applause and
favorable comments" which come from Eng
land for the promoters Of this rumor are per-
fectly natural for there is no country in the
world into whose diplomacy the alienation OF
threatening with cajoling is SO well understood.
1t is what they have been contending for SO
long and SO persistently, and it is matter Of
small wonder that the ripple Of dissatisfaction
should spread itself into compliments on
the ''good sense Of the government
and people of the United States. AS we
have not been moved by the vindictive clamor
of the English press on this matter through
all the stages of the negotiations since it was
first known that our elaborate and logical
case included claims for consequential
damages, we have passed by in
quiet scorn the unprincipled efforts of those
enemies of the President and his administra-
ton who tried to shear our "case" here, as
though 1t was the stock of some balloon specu-
lation on Wall street
The position, therefore, really remains un-
changed in all particulars. The English
counter case asserts nothing new, and the Eng
lish protest against the indirect loss claims is
the only feature which admits Of grave
treatment. Earl Russell has given notice in
the House Of Lords that he will defer until the
goth inst the introduction of q resolution
praying the Crown to suspend proceedings on
England's part before the Geneva Tribunal
until we withdraw these terrible claims.
1t may, viewing this fact, be ques-
ton for the future makers Of histories
to trace the possible connection between this
ill-timed menace by Earl Russell and the I'M
timely resolution of Mr.. Peters in the House
of Representatives. There is as little
excuse for the one as for the other. The di-
lemma Of the Gladstone Ministry seems to be
as great as ever, and the injudicious
course of its friends to hold their
power appears only equalled by the poverty
of manly policy visible in the opponents of the
administration here.
All eyes then will turn to the next utterances
of the State Department in the grave front
which matters have taken. The mastery
statement Of our "case," which has 80 exer-
cised the English mind, shows, as the
controversy progresses, how it preserves
its strength. England seeks to establish the