Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-06
How Far Treaties are Binding.


The regulation of commerce, under
which certain degree of reciprocity eX-
lists between the United States and the
Hawaiian Islands, proceeds from treaty
entered into on the part of this country Dy
the President, with the consent OF the
Senate. There is now pending IN the
House of Representatives a joint resolu-
ton. directed to the President, providing
for a termination of the treaty.
Commenting upon this existing
,o,,1;tion the New York
Times SAYS: ''As the treaty-making power
of the Republic is lodged in the President
and Senate jointly, it will be observed that
the Joint resolution cannot possibly be
mandatory. The House has no right to
instruct, although it may advise, the
executive branch of the government as to
what shall or shall not be done in this
direction"
There is something to criticize in the
manner of the House proceeding. 1t is
very questionable if that body be lawfully
empowered to take any part in the abro-
CATION of treaty entered into
bv the President and Senate. But
this objection is merely formal,
and may be considered as tri-
fling. The real question is as to the
power of the President and Senate to bind
all branches of the governmental any sort
of a treaty they may conformity agree to.
just where, under the Constitution, the
line marked out for legislation by Con-
gress ends and the treaty making power
of the President and Senate begins, is,
always has been, and probably will ever
be a matter of intense argument and bit
ter discussion, and there are cases In
which the most earnest and honest inVestl-
cation may admit itself perhaps at fault.
But. on the other hand. there are other ln-
stances of the exercise of the treaty max
ing pOwef4n which it is an abuse, and the
Hawaiian treaty is one Ofthat kind. BY this
arrangement certain articles exported by.
us. some 123 in number, may be imported
into the Sandwich Islands free of duty,
and in consideration thereOfOther articles,
numbering %, may be imported into the
United States from Hawaii duty free.
There are few more provisions OF
the treaty not specially applicable In
this connection. Now if the President
and Senate have the right by treaty to
allow Hawaii to send here free OF duty
certain of its productions, why have
they not the same right by reciprocity
treaties with all other countries to practl-
callv repeal our tariff laws and shut up
our custom houses? If they have not, why
haven't they? tits well known that the
real object of the Hawaiian people was to
send their sugar duty free into this cOun-
try, and the result of the treaty has been
in fact to cut off all custom house reve-
nue. from such sugars coming into san
Francisco, and it is suspected sundry
other lots from various quarters of the
world which as a matter of form are
shipped from Honolulu.
In the face of these conditions, it is
hard to see what reason such a paper as
the New York Times can have for saying
that 1.-The House of Representatives has
no right whatever to NEEDLE in the mat
ter. except by way of expressing its
opinion" So long as there is
a House of Representatives there
| is no danger that it will submit to this
| opinion of even so influential journal as
this New York paper, but will both claim
and exercise the right of fixing. altering or
abolishing such duties with the Hawaiian
Islands and all other countries as it may
see fit. leaving the President and Senate
| to interpret the treaty-making power
| their own way, until Entertainments are
made upon the right of legislation in Con-
| eress lodged by the Constitution.