Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-06-22
AN INTER-OCEAN HIGHWAY.

cepC under the above conditions, h2
never become popular, and the speech o
Senator Miller, of California, on Wednes
day last, at the request of the Chamber
of Commerce, Board of Trade and Manu-
facturer's Association in the rooms of the
Chamber OF Commerce on the proposed
inter-ocean canal by the Nicaragua route
and the relation of the Clayton-Bulwer
treaty to the construction and control of
the proposed canal by the United States, is
a departure in the matter of summer polit-
ical speaking. The speech has additional
interest from the fact that Senator Miller
is the Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Foreign Relations. The Senator was
under the necessity of discussing the
treaty with Nicaragua from the text as it
appeared in the New York Tribune some
time ago, the rules of the Senate forbid
ding him to discuss the treaty as it is.
1t is to be presumed that the Tribune
text was correct in the main. The chief
thing that the Senator discussed was the
over which Mr.. Blaine, when Secretary
of State, made so much ado by ignoring
it, and having to be informed from
across the waters of its existence The
Senator first devoted his remarks to that
treaty and said that it was founded on
an ignoble terror of England" 1t GER
fol, lxr 10 !
'ignoble terror" in the absence of duress
and fear of bodily hahn has never yet
been held to be a sufficient reason for
violating solemn compact. Neither is |
the fact that person or a nation may
not have made a contract or treaty of |
greatest advantage to them valid rea-
son for avoiding its terms. 1t is to be
expected that things Will change in |
thirty-five years, but because they do is
no reason for repudiating an obli-
CATION that was made for a
longer period, especially when the
obligation is as valid to-day as then.
On this point Senator Miller makes the
following rather curious comment in
speaking of the commerce of the Pacific
Coast:
''This commerce is the result of deyelop-
ment which has taken place almost entirely
since 1850. Shall it be said that such an ar
rangement with Great Britain made with
reference to the conditions of 1879, and for
the specific purpose which has failed shall
be held to restrain this Nation from provid-
TnCTD n 1O11fa of 4ro, |
and growing commerce?'
Soon after President Cleveland entered
upon his official duties he withdrew the
Nicaragua treaty, and the withdrawal [
leaves the country without any route [
IN Nicaragua to discuss. Whether '
that treaty was inconsistent with the {
provisions of the Clayton Bulwer treaty !
IS rather more a matter of speculation t
than anything else, as the country {
has no schemes for an inter-oceau canal I
at present. I
Senator Mil!er's position on the canal {
question is what may be termed the Jirgo I
position. He says: S
''Shall we be shut out from the Istbmne Il
and our Pacific Coast and cities, and our y
merchant marine left at the mercy of
european fleets? Once in Masses /
SION OF that line of trar Sportation, no sin n
gle power, nor the allied powers of half the
Norld could dlslodge her, and there in the Z
security of that interior sea, she would con- Il
'entrate her fleets of warships and the ma
erlal OF war, and be able to send forth her q
commerce destroyers to SWAIN upon either W
ocean, and her iron-cads to devastate the ~
owns and cities of either coast"
1t is a terrible picture and one which
ends thrill OF horror through every
american heart. Why is it not lust as
eas0laDIc 10 demand the surrender of
he British possessions on our north rs
he country may be invaded from there ID
NY time. 1t is the theory of the English y
lth regard to India that any highway. p
neither by land or by sea, which ~
lay possibly give access TO India is U
English interest, and English interest IN
lust dominate it. 1t is the theory of 4 lie
losen nation that must be preserved at Of
e expense of the rights of other not;onn
I" canal Is built, either at Panap =
caragua, 1T is more than prob "a or !; =
{ control OF it will pass int .Dle that ~ ~
that nation which has , the hands u
which interest will most interest in 10
on the amount De dependent more q
n sends thr" Of tonnage that that ma ."
erations Jugh it than upon anv con- IN
e ST. of coast or seaboard towns is
-ez Canal, although projected and IL
-istructed by the French, has passed al
Ito the control of the English because re
le number of English vessels which Use al
is tar greater than the aggregate number Is
vessels OF all other nations. The total 1
umber OF vessels which passed through Sa
lie Suez Canal in 1888 was 1907 with = WI
'nnage of S,l06,0O1. OF this number of pc
sssels, 1857 were British; 272 were vi
rench, and other nations far less num- VIC
II. Not an American vessel passed th
rough the canal in 1888. Of the total OF
mount OF tonnage, 6,136,S47 tons were oe
I1tlsh. This explains why England OBJ en-
med control of the Canal. Had ENG be'
nd changedpositions with Egypt. which Gel
lly sent three vessels through the Canal. laf
latter would have had the control ant
1t will be with any canal that NAV be up'
instructed to unite the Atlantic and mol
nation which has most COM CHI
'rcial use for the canal will naturally OF
tain the control, to obtain which there tho
/ be no need to disregard solemn lot
atty obligations. not
den