Morning journal and courier., 1884-12-24
THE SPANISH TREATY

SN3FEYs mayor AGWES ana u0&0
 Sheldon.
 A bright halo of radiance was shed over the bald heads of several of New Hayen'p leading merchants last evening in the Court of Common Pleas, where the Spanish treaty was discussed by members of the Chamber of Commerce. Among those who tilted back in their chairs and listened to the speeches were Postmaster Sperry, Judge Sheldon, James D. Dewell, Thomas R. Trowbridge, joel A. Spery, L. H. Freedman, Talcott H. Russell, Collector Beers and Maier Zunder.
 After few remarks by the president, May or Lewis, Postmaster Sperry arose to say that he was opposed to special or commercial treaties as general thing. It was not, in the speakers opinion, best for the govern ment to enter into such treaties. They have in past times given us trou- ble. More difficulty has arisen out of the construction of treaties than out of any other thing. Then the revenue which we derive would be taken off The speaker referred to the reciprocity treaty with Canada which resulted in no wise as it was ex- pected. The balance of trade was against us and in 1875 we refused to renew the treaty with that country. The treaty with the Hawaiian kingdom presents an astonishing record. The present commercial treaty with Spain asks us to let the sugar come to this country, free and tobacco substantially free and for all this we are al- lowed to send some articles free and some not free. Of the former most are articles not used by the inhabitants of those islands, and as to the rest the people are too poor to buy if they wanted to. We won't sell enough more to pay for the $5O,OOO,OOO on sugar and the $e5, ,eoO, ,OOO on tobacco that we will lose
 Continuing MT. Sperry said; ttGentlemen, what would you think of q country of 50,- GOO. 900 of inhabitants embracing all varieties of people, and occupying acountry embracing every variety of soil and climate, making a reciprocity treaty with two islands of2, 500,- 900 inhabitants and large percentage of them paupers?> Gentlemen, we don't swap four-bladed knives for one -bIaded knives un- less we get something beside And believe that the four-bladed knife of the United States is great deal better than the one- bladed knife of Spain. The sorghum inter est would be crippled if sugar is admitted free. The tobacco interest in this country is immense. If this treaty goes into effect that interest would be seriously injured, at least Connecticut farmers interested in it think so. Sugar is admitted free in San Francesca by the Sandwich Islands, but is it any cheaper there than in New York? Mo-"
 70, you are wrong there," said Mayor Lewis.
 q am right" said Mr. Sperry ''I will read telegram received to-day to prove it. Sugar is one and one-quarter cents dearer there than it is in New York"
 lr. Sperry, after speaking some time, was occasion to remark that thirty minutes was sufficient for discussions. He was anxious to hear other views. Mir. Sperry said he would withdraw if the Chamber wished, but he was melted to go on. He made the point that we should have 6 navy before making commercial treaties and spoke of the ''South American government" 8 good one to make treaty with. Mir. Sperry also said that the fact that the great advantage in the treaty was on the side of Spain was evident from the way the Spanish commissioner was feted and presented with diplomas for his skillful manipulation of the treaty. Another point made was that the United States, which had abolished slavery, is to put itself in the posi- ton of the chief patron of slavery and make our free labor compete with slave labor. Spain would tax the sugar products and plan tations after the trade became prosperous, and the price in this country would go up. The speaker thought the resolution presented at the last meeting i1structipg the represen- tatives of Connecticut in Congress was unnec- essary. He hoped the Chamber would not vote to ratify the treaty.
 The president asked MT. Sperry to take the chair as he had @ few words to utter. He ~f city of New Haven where he had lived for half 8 century, and added that unless we made some treaties with some nations the na- tion was bankrupt.
 Judge Sheldon denied the soft impeach- ment of the Mayor that he had been at the last meeting on the currency question. He said that the question of overproductien was very important. He claimed it was not an excess of production, but the capacity to buy in our people which had lessened very mate rial1y. He thought the treaty was altogether one-sided. It takes out of the treasury money that could be expended in other ways more proftably, notably for the education of the uneducated The treaty also doesn't give us the exclusive advantages it should. Judge Sheldon also alluded to the question of slave labor.
 Judge Sheldon moved to amend the reso- lutien offered by MT. c. P. Armstrong at the last meeting by substituting the word 'agalnst for the word for so that the resolution would read: Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of New Haven re- quest the Senators from Connecticut to use their influence against the ratification of the Spanish treaty now pending be fore the Senate of the United States" MT. Sperry moved to indefinitely postpone the resolution. His motion prevailed.
 The resolution introduced at the last meet ing by Edwin s. Wheeler in favor of the bankrupt bill now pending before Congress was laid upon the table until the next meet ing.