The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-06-14


ures.
The Extradition Treaty with Eng
land.
From the Standard. the Cabinet organ in
the London press, we have curious utter.
ance on the attitude of the English govern.
ment on the question Of the Extradition
Treaty with this country. At the same time
the President has laid before the House OF
Representatives brief report from Secre-
tary Fish on the matter, together
with the correspondence, of which we
have already given the main points.
The Standard, speaking semi-oficially
for Mr. Disraeli, comedies that the American
position on the Interpretation of the treaty,
and possibly, also, on the application. or,
rather, want of application. of the act of 1870
to the treaty, is technically right, but adds
unaccountably that our position is also Sub
stantially wrong" Leaving such odd logic
to its self-destruction we meet with
proposition in the same article
which may fairly be put as fol-
lows The British government being
technically wrong in the position it has ''re-
luctantly" taken, we must hope that the
United States government will soon find it
self in position to assent to an interpreted
ton of the pres mt treaty or the conclusion
of a new one which will insure the objects
the two governments have in view, for the
British government, cannot depart from
its present position. There is q mas
*. al, kl~ok
portion which suggests that America
should assent to an admittedly wrong inter-
probation of q document which from its very
nature must have technical construction
that is absolute. Mr.. Fish in his able
correspondence has left Earl Derby liter
ally nothing to stand upon except unlicensed
stubbornness. Hence we cannot wonder
that it should be as difficult for an .'organ"
to find arguments for an official in such an
attitude as it was for the servant Goldsmith
tells of to give plausibility to the story of
his lordly master, who said he shot a buck
through the right hind leg and the ear
with the same bullet. The servant, after
buck was scratching his ear; but he begged
his master in whisper, "For Gods sake
don't make it SO hard to make both ends
meet" The task given the Standard was
more difficult, or the writer less ready wit.
ted, for we find that he can only wriggle in
the difficulty, and not out of it.
Mr.. Fish, in his report, confines himself
on the vexed question to the simple but EN-.
phatic statement that "Great Britain has
declined to surrender the fugitives unless
the government of the United States would
give certain stipulations or make certain
guarantees not contemplated or provided for
by the treaty between the two governments"
Since it is admitted on all hands that
the treaty does not contemplate or provide
for the guarantees the British governments
demand, and that, notwithstanding, Earl
Derby refuses to surrender the criminals
committed under the treaty, we think
its infraction by Great Britain is
clearly made ont, and it must lapse.
This leaves the British Foreign Office in
O position not creditable to either its ingenu-
BUSINESS of purpose or felicity in argument.
There was q plain and honorable course
open to Great Britain if it found fault with
q treaty which has, however, stood the test
of thirty -four years-.-namely, by giving the
usual notice of its intention to withdraw there
from. BY waiting until it had a batch of
American criminals and then endeavoring to
force . wrong Interpretation upon us it has
put itself in sinister light before the world,
and given Mr.. Fish mastery position in the
negotiations to come.