New-York tribune., 1872-05-20


noon LIFT OPEN FOR ENGLAND.
Try TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNBl
WASHINGTON May 19 1872.
Tho Foroion Relations Committee of the Senate
as in session five six hours, yesterday, and hav-
inc agreed to report the result of Its Iabors, MI
Cameron, at about 81 o'clock, moved In the Senate
an Executive Session. The report OF the Colnmlttee
was at once made, but it is understood that no
debate upon it took place. 1t is reported that while
no minority report was made, the members Oh 'uo
Committee are by no means unanimous IN ther
opinion ms to what it is best to do in the premises
The protocol which has been submitted by the
British Government is found, on careful examina-
tion and study by the Committee, to be very one
sided affair On the part of the United states, IL
reouires an unconditional withdrawal OF the
claims for indirect damages, whlle
the principle which England, in return,
10 establish, would not, in all probability, ever
prevent her from presenting and pressing Tor the
payment of Indirect Claims which might arise
from failure on our part to observe our heu-
tral obligations. The language OF tins is' tla'
the United States adopts, for the future 'ho
principle contained in the second of such conten-
tions as far as 10 declare that it will hereafter gue
the conduct of the Government of the Unlteu states
The second of the contentious referred TO
is that "such indirect claims as those now
presented by the United States the loss sus-
tanned by the transfer of our commercial maIlns
TO the British flag the enhanced payments OIL IN
surance and the prolongatiOn of the war, should
not be admitted in principle as growing out OF the
acts committed by particular vessels, alleged TO
have been enabled to commit depTedations on the
shipping of belligerent"
II will he seen that England thus binds herself to
a principle which, while it includes our present
claims against her for indirect damages
hor frpr Iu-
direct damages of us at some future time
provided the claims arise in a slightly
different way. This has been strongly brought out
in the discussions of the Committee and will be
urged before the Senate when the debate takes
place, TO illustrate how loosely the proposition
to establish this sO-called principle has been
drawn 1t has been argued that it is only neces-
sarv TO suppose for a moment that Great
Britain is at war, and we neutral; 1t would be I'M
possible for her, under any possible circumstances,
to suffer damage by the transfer of the British COM
me1cial marine to the American flag, because, under
the laws of the United States, no such transfer
could take place; second, the rates Of in
surance in England could hardly be raised
by the acts of any cruisers which might
escape from the United States, because Great
Britain in time Of war almost invariably furnishes
an armed consort to her merchant ships, powerful
enough TO afford protection against any cruiser
third, nobody ever expects that damages for the
prolOngatOn of the war, by the acts of
cruisers which escape from neutral port
Will be paid by a neutral nation. These are the only
kinds of damages that are to be excluded. But
while England by this protocol gives up the right to
present claims against us at any future time for
damages which there is probability she viii ever
suffer she retains the right to present claims for
other indirect damages that may be of more conse-
qnence.
Should Fenian raid into Canada occur, it could
be claimed that any of the damages resulting grew
out of the acts committed by particular vessels, and
if England were under such circumstances, TO de-
mand payment for the most exorbtant and in
direct or consequential damages could
not object to them as barred by the
the terms of the proposed Supplemental Treaty
This is but a single example illustrating how Gran
vile proposes to leave the door for consequential
damages open for England, while he will shut the
door upon
Again, ii was urged in the meetings of the Com
mittee that il not for the disastrous results
that might follow the failure of the Treaty. the
course Of our Government would be per-
fecty plain. Members argued as follows:
1t is evident that Great Britain is herself
in doubt whether the Treaty includes
the claims for indirect damages not; if she was
perfectly sure that it excluded them, she would be
willing TO allow the question to 90 to the Geneva
Conference. There is reason to believe, moreover,
that Granville fears that the majority of the Geneva
Board is not in sympathy with Great
Britain. These facts it has been urged IN the
Committee, are complimentary to the American
members Of the Joint High Commission, as they
show that though Great Britain sent her best trained
dplomatists Gen. Grant was able to than
match them. If, therefore, the Committee did not
believe that there danger that the two nations
would drift into war, if the Treaty failed, they
would be almost unanimously in favor of standing
by our Case, as presented at Geneva, and refusing
TO withdraw or modify it in any particular.
They would throw upon Great Britain the
responsibility OF Withdrawing from arbitra-
ton and go before the world on the
facts; but, while Senators believe that
no harm cOuld come from failure to
settle these particulars at this time from sus
pension Of the sessions of the mixed Claims Com
mission sitting in this city; the arbitration of the
San Juan boundary question, they do fear that hos
tilites might, in spite of all the Government might
do, break out between fishermen on the Banks and
finally draw us into war.
What, then, ask some members of the Committee
will be the position held by the United States before
the wOrldf viii not our people and those of
other nations say that it has all grown ont of an
absurd demand the part of the United States for
damages of kind that no court in this country
would award under any circumstancesi
THE SENTIMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN.
AN ABSOLUTE WITHDRAWAL OF THE INDIRECT
CLAIMS DEMANDED-THE HUMILIATION OF
THE UNITED STATES DENIED-THE FEELING
IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS