The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-01-31
The Geneva Conference.-The Position of
the English Government.


The HERALD special cable despatch from
London represents that the English nation
generally predicts the failure of the Geneva
Conference to accomplish a final settlement of
the questions in dispute between their own
government and that of the United States.
Should the Conference arrive at conclusion
unfavorabe to the British view, and adjudge
the payment of damages for the destruction of
property caused by the Anglo-C Confederate
privateers, 1t is believed that no Ministry
would accept the result and no Parliament
would vote the money to pay the awards Oar
special cable despatch states, further, that the
article in the London Times, taking the ground
that England should, at the commencement,
demur to the consideration of any claim for
indirect damages, and in case the Court
should reject the demurrer, should withdraw
altogether from the case, is not piece of adj
vice offered to the British government or
suggestion volunteered for its consideration,
but is, in fact, semi-otlicial utterance, thrown
by the Cabinet as "feeler," in order to
test the popularity or unpopularity of the
position.
While it is an old practice of an English
Ministry-and one frequently resorted to by Mr..
Gladstone-to foreshadow through the medium
of a newspaper article some contemplated
stroke of policy out of the ordinary routine,
in order to ascertain in what spirit it will be
| accepted by the people, and then to adhere to
or abandon the idea as the public response
may warrant, we do not share the impression
| said TO prevail among our transatlantic
| cousins that their government will either
withdraw from the Conference it has invited,
on a preliminary question, or refuse to pay up
promptly if the judgment Of the tribunal
should be given against it. In the former
case q controversy most damaging and dan
gerous to England would be left open to fur
nish an awkward precedent in the event of
certain not improbable complications in which
| Great Britain may be involved In the latter
case, should England fail to settle promptly
any bill of damages that the Conference might
award against her. our government would
simply exercise the right of a judgment
creditor and pay itself out of such property
of the debtor as may be found nearest
! at hand and most convenient for seizure.
There is another and, we believe, more
correct Interpretation of the present British
buster. In English sporting circles there Ii
a process Familiarity known as Hedging.
When an English ''bookmaker" has made {
bad investment on a horse and finds thu
chances going against him be hedges,
sometimes by betting odds on the other side
and sometimes by bribing the "touts" to bring
the sporting journals to his rescue. Th'
English Ministers, familiar with the tricks o
the turf, are now engaged in putting these
tactics into operation with regard TO The
Alabama claims. They anticipate an adverse
judgment and naturally desire to make the
damages as light as possible. They will no
withdraw from the Geneva Conference, be
cause 1t is the interest OF the nation to Close
! up the controversy. They will pay like
honest men, should judgment be given against
T them, because they would find reputation 6
, fatal experiment. They are now simply en-.
, deavoring to ''bedge;" but, should the issue
> resolve itself into one between bank notes and
: bullets, their commercial instincts will pru-
IDENTITY dictate to them which horn of tho
9 dilemma to select.