The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-28


gentlemen having no connection whatever
with the Geneva Court of Arbitration.
All the intelligence we receive indicates that
this is the true Interpretation Of this
settlement It would seem that the arbitra-
tors, as SO many private individuals, have in
formed both sides to the controversy that they
did not regard indirect damages as admissible
in such cases as that before them, and that,
should they have come up for adjudication in
the Court, they should have 80 judicially de-
cided The American government has there
upon abandoned the claims instead Of insisting
upon their submission and adjudication, and
the proviso that each arbitrator shall write
out his opinion on the point amounts to moth
ing, and does not in the slightest degree change
the character of the settlement In plain
language, it appears to be backdown on the
part Of our government. The indirect claims
have not been officially before the Court; they
have not been judicially acted upon; they have
been withdrawn from our case before the Eng
lish argument was presented, and hence before
issue was fairly joined.
our present information this backdown has been
voluntary, and not rendered necessary by
judgment Of the Court. When the arbi-
traitors volunteered their opinion as to
the inadmissibility of the class of
claims known as indirect claims we
might have replied, 'very WELL gentlemen,
they are in our case; when they come up for
adjudication you can SO decide" Our action
would then have been consistent with our
words, and we should have secured such
judicial decision as we have pretended to
desire. AS it is, England's triumph is unques-
tionable. Indirect claims are withdrawn; they
have been abandoned before England would
consent to plead in the case not an allusion
to them will appear on the records of the trial
under the Washington Treaty. All that Lord
Granville has from the first commended for has
been conceded, and all that Secretary Fish has
so persistently declared should be maintained
has been abandoned. We are in worse
position to-day than we should have been in if
the original supplemental article dictated by
Lord Granville had been Internationally &C
copied From that, in return for our national
humiliation we should have secured substan-
tial advantage by the definition of the limit of
a neutrals liability in the treaty. We have
now yielded everything and received nothing
in return. It is unfortunate that for several
days past we have been persistently assured
from official sources in Washington that in
direct damages were still in our case and would
never be withdrawn; that the govern
ment was resolved to stand as firm as
rock against the English demands, and
that imperative instructions had been sent to
our agent at Geneva to insist upon full con-
sideration and a judicial decision upon our
full claims. The people will be disposed to
ask whether these boastful announcements
have been designed to head off the general
indignation likely to be felt when it should be
known that we had finally yielded to the
arrogant demands Of England and Inundated
ourselves before the world For this, we fear,
will prove to be the position into which we
have been drawn by this unfortunate con-
troversy and it's more unfortunate
ending. At the same time we have
no doubt that q general feeling Of satisfaction
will prevail at the termination of difficulty
that had got to be scandal and re-
proach upon both nations The settle
ment of the direct claims will now
proceed without further obstruction,
provided the arbitrators should find
that England is responsible at all under the
strict rules regulating neutrars obligations
by which the two countries are now respec-
lively bound. The fishery question and the
San Juan boundary will also be disposed
of, and as the American people never
cared for indirect damages, and never, indeed,
wholly approved of their advancement in our
case, we may conclude that the obligations of
the treaty will be henceforth cheer
fully and hopefully observed, SO far
as America is concerned. However
much we may condemn the blunders of the
administration in the conduct of the negotia-
tons, there will probably be universal thank
fulness that the matter is settled, and this may
do much to reconcile us to our national de-
| feat.