The semi-weekly Republican. (St. Francisville, La.) 1872-1872, 1872-03-15
eide both whether such q claim
should be satisfied, and whether it
should be urged.

should be urged.
It is too late for Great Britain to
say that she would never have con-
cluded the treaty if she had under
stood that such preposterous and ab-
surd claims were to be presented
IT she did not know it, it was GER
tainly her own fault. The American
Commissioners concealed nothing !;
and when they signed the treaty,
they left the tribunal to decide not
only whether such damages should
be considered and paid, but whether
any damages whatever for actual
losses should be paid. The London
Times asks with warmth how indi-
rect damages can possibly be esti-
mated in money, and suggests that
the vagueness of such q proposition
is fatal to it. eff the American
claim be true,' says the Times, there
is nothing to prevent any neutral
being called upon to pay q large
share in the expense Of any war;
Very possibly. But does not the
Times see that that is the very ques-
ton, among others, which the tribu-
nal is called upon to decide ? If the
United States should declare that
the English refusal to pay such dam
ages is preposperous, and that un-
less they will consent to pay them, if
aljudged, the United States will not
submit to arbitration, it would be no
more childish than the present atti-
tude Of English opinion. Mr.. Glad
stone is certainly aware that under
the treaty the equally preposter-
ous' English demand has been made
upon the Claims Commission sitting
in Washington to recognize the rebel
debt as valid, and that the United
States counsel, Mr.. Hale, pursued
the only proper course iii objecting
before the tribunal. Yet hero was q
claim involving probably not less
than fonr thousand millions of dol
lars. Nobody ever supposed it could
he or would be presented under the
treaty. But it was the right Of Eng
land to make her case as she chose,
aud because this Claim was presented
docs any Englishmen think that The
United States should have threaten
ed to withdraw from the treaty p
And because the United States claim
before the Geneva tribunal what they
have always claimed, and what Eng
land always knew that they claimed,
10 EnglisAmen gravely propose to
withdraw from the treaty?
The object Of an arbitration is to
determine losses and provide for their
settlement, and also to define certain
International rules. This is plain
If, therefore, the British Government
wishes to withdraw from the treaty
under tho plea that its Commission
ers did not know what they were
doing, ana therefore did what they
did not mean to do, the desire may
perhaps properly be considered
But in the light Of the full text oI
: the official documents and Of the or
,linary meaning Of words to declare
that the United States have demand
} ell what they were honorably bound
not to demand is most unreasonable
Ii, as English opinion insists, o''l
demand is, in the nature OF things
: preposterous, the tribunal will SO de-
clare, and we shall be left without
: sympathy. But surely the tribuna
must be considered competent to de
eide what, under the treaty, may
properly he brought before it. 1t il
can not do this what is it competent
, to do? Ii each country is to decide
in advance the propriety Of the cast
of the other, why was any tribuna
: constituted +? And unless each coun
t try may make its own case, howeve
absurd, and present it in its way un
der the treaty. the regulations OF th'
, two countries arc more critical thai
if there had been no commission
t and no treaty-