The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-05-22
What to DO with the fraudulent Treaty
OF WashtngtOn-whc True Policy Of
President Grant.

London published to-day gives the substance
of an outspoken, sensible article from the Pal
INaH Gazette on the pending negotiations be-
tween England and the United States which is
well worth the attention Of the noisy, persistent
and self-interested lobbyists who are laboring
with the administration and with Congress
for the endorsement Of the supplemental
rule to the Treaty Of Washington dictated
to us by the English government, and who
have been 50 loud in their protestations
that the failure Of the negotiations would be
serious injury to the United States as to in
| duce general acceptance of the assertion. Our
people have been led unthinkingly to believe
that the treaty renders certain the payment of
all our claims against England for the depre-
dations committed by the Anglo-rebel priva-
teers, except those for indirect or consequent
tial damages, and that in this and all other Of
its provisions it is more satisfactory settle
ment than has ever before been offered to us
by England So far from this being true, the
Treaty of Washington makes no valuable
concession whatever TO the United States.
The payment of our claims for direct
damages is less secure under it than
under the rejected Johnson Clarendon
Convention, and the treaty, stripped of our
right to argue the whole question of Englands
action during our rebellion and to decide
finally the full measure of the injury her dis
eliminating neutrality inflicted upon the Union
cause, would become nothing more than
fraud upon the American people. But, inde-
| pendent of it's value to ourselves, the treaty
would miss its main professed object should it
fail to remove all the differences and ms,nder-
standings that have SO long existed between
the two nations and to inaugurate new era
of confidence and friendly feeling. 1t is with
this thought, which has already found utter
ance in the HERALD, that the Pal lLaN Gazette
declares that the worst thing to do with the
treaty is to save it 10y offence and humiliation
to England or America, or to both nations In
no other manner can it now be saved An
| abandonment of our case means humiliation
to us an assent to the consideration of
I indirect damages means humiliation to Eng
land an evasve, dishonest compromise, such
as our Washington advioes indicate is to be
adopted by the Senate to-day, means hu,nilia-
ton and dishonor to both. As the
London journalist says, ''Who shall eat the
leek, or shall both eat it together? is the sole
question now in controversy, and We entirely
coincide with his conclusion that the only safe
and peaceful way of disposing of the treaty
and the negotiations is to drop them ''as an
irremediable blunder for which the two gov
ernments are alone to blame In the present
condition of the controversy, with an excited
state of feeling among the people, its protrac-
ton for day is full of danger, and in this
country, at least, the popular sentiment is in
favor of the course suggested by the Pal Nal
Gazette.
There is indeed, nothing in the Treaty of
Washington that, even under more favorable cir
cumstances, could recommend it to our people,
1 The Johnson-C Clarendon Treaty was rejected
! in the Senate by the emphatic vote of 81 to /.
II provided for the submission to a commits
sion specified in the treaty of ''all claims on
the part of individuals, citizens of the United
States, upon the government of Her Britannia
Majesty, andali claims on the part ofindividuals,
subjects of Her Britannia Majesty upon the
government Of the United States" presented
since February, 1853 The commissioners
We're to investigate and decide upon these
claims in their order; to examine the evil
dencc presented in relation thereto, and, if
necessary, to hear one person on each side in
argument thereof Provision was made for
the final settlement of the sum to be
awarded in each case in the event
Of non-concurrence among the arbitrators or
commissioners, and the result was to be ac-
cepted as binding upon the two governments
There was no expression of regret on the part
of England at the escape of the rebel priva-
/ teers from British ports but the liability of
that government for their depredations, so far
as the losses of individual citizens of the
United States are concerned seems to have
been tacitly conceded The duties of the
commissioners and arbitrators appear to have
mainly been the assessment of the amount of
damages to be paid in each separate case. In
the Treaty of Washington the liability of
England to pay any damages whatever either
individual or national, direct or indirect-is
explicitly contested. The words of the open
ing article are, s'Now in order to remove and
adjust all complaints and claims on the part
of the United States, and to provide for the
speedy settlement of such claims, which are
not admitted by Her Britannia Majesty's gov
ernment," &c. 1t is, then, made the first
duty Of the Geneva Conference to decide a
question not mooted in the Johnson-C Clarendon
Trea,y-to w.t. whether England is liable at all
for any damages done to the property of our
citizens by the Anslo-rebel plivateers-
should the judgment of the tribunal on this
point be adverse to our government, our whole
case falls to the ground. In this respect
the Johnson-C Clarendon Treaty was a better
settlement for the United States than that pro-
posed under the Treaty of Washington through
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