Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-30
No NlCARAGUAN CANAL.
RATIFICATION OF THE TREATY
LOST BY FOUR VOTES.

LOST BY FOUR VOTES.
The Result Attributed to Attacks by
the Press-Mr. Hammond to Bury the
Hennepin Canal Scheme-Mr Hewitt
Again Fails to Get Up the Mexican
Treaty Bill.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29.-The Mica
raguan treaty is dead. The Senate, when
called upon to ratify 1t this afternoon,
refused tOdO so. The friends of the treaty
could not unite the twO-thirds majority
necessary, despite their confident predic-
tiOns that they would be able to do so
when the time to vote came. The fact is
the treaty was strongest the day it was
sent to the Senate. The Secretary of
State, it is now well understood, had the
positive definite information that the two
thirds Of the Senate would vote in favor
of its ratification. This was the result
OF canvass so careful as to
leave no doubt of its accuracy, but no
action was possible for several weeks,
and in the meantime came the Christmas
recess. If the treaty had been pressed on
the Senate then it might have been rati-
fed, but its friends made the fatal mis-
take of delaying on the suppOsitiOn that
II would gain votes instead of losing them.
The latter was the case. The treaty lost
friends. When it came to be considered
1t was weaker than it had ever been. 1t
has lost votes since the speeches of
Messrs. Sherman and Bayard neutralized
any effect that the speeches of Messrs.
Edmunds and Morgan might have had.
KILLED BY THE PRESS.
The other speeches were comparatively
Ineffective, but the opposition developed
to the treaty in the newspapers was what
defeated it. That is the whole story.
Some OF the friends of the treaty seem to
think tonight that 1t is not quite dead.
They talk about reconsideration, but it is
believed that it is impossible for them to
get the six votes necessary to ratification,
even on the suppOsition that they could
hold the votes they now have.
Various lists of the Senators voting
respectively in the affirmative and
negative on the treaty are in
circulation tonight. They are all sus-
piciOus. The only safe statement that
can be made about it is that all the Re-
publlcanS were In favor of the treaty, eX-
cept Messrs. Sherman, Harrison, Ingalls,,
Bowen and Van Wyck; and that all the
Democrats were opposed to it, except
Messrs. Brown, Fair, Farley, Morgan and
Slater. Senator Miller, Chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee, said, when
asked tonight whether the action of to-
the Senate to determine" From this it
is inferred that he entered formal motion
to reconsider.
HOW IT WAS BEATEN.
The Senate went into executive session
at 1888 O'Clock to-day and the suspended
vote of last night upon Senator Vance's
motion to postpone action upon the
Nicaragua treaty was continued, result
ing in the defeat Of the motion by vote
of y to %. Senator Sherman's amend
ment looking to the abrogatiOn or mOdifi-
cation Of the ClaytOn-Bulwer treaty was
then discussed for some hours. and coming
to vote in committee of the
whole was defeated by vote
Of 81 to %. The second
Sherman amendment, relating to dis
elimination in tolls, was defeated with
out division. The treaty was then re-
ported to the Senate, and the vote upon
Mr.. Sherman's amendment relating to
the ClaytOn-Bulwer treaty was again
taken up, resulting in its adoption by vote
OF 30 to 10. A vote was then taken upon
the treaty itself, and 80 Senators voted
for its ratification while % voted against
it. The affirmative vote being less than
twO-thirds of the whole number voting
the treaty, was not ratified.
A diagnosis of the vote SAYS that
Senator Riddleberger was the only man
on the Republican side who voted in the
negative. Several Democratic Senators
voted in the affirmative. Among them
were Senators Jonas, Jones of Florida,
Mcpherson, MaXey, PendletOn, Morgan
and Pugh.
The change of front upon the Sher-
man amendment is explained thus:
Several Senators who favored the amend
ment but were opposed to the treaty,
voted against the amendment in
committee OF the whole, fearing that
its adoption would help the treaty.
When the treaty was reported to the Sem
ate and the vote recurred upon the Sher-
man amendment, some Of the friends of
the treaty, who were opposed to the
amendment, voted in the affirmative as a
means of winning support to the treaty
itself, the failure of which if unamended
was toretOld by votes in committee OF the
whole.
MAKING PUBLIC OLD DOCUMENTS.
While in Executive session the Senate
adopted q resolution removing the injunc-
tiOn of secrecy as to the deliberations so
far as to permit of the printing of sundry
documents relating to the treaties with
Nicaragua. Among these documents is
the original message of President Zachary
Taylor, of April %, 1850, transmitting the
ClaytOn-Bulwer treaty to the Senate,
which has not. up to this time, been
printed. The National Republican of this
city will print the text of this message
tomorrow, and also the vote by which
the treaty was ratified, which has never
been made public, from which it appears
that the vote stood AZ to IL on the question
of ratification. In his message to the
Senate President Taylor said:
This treaty has been negotiated in accord
ance with the general views expressed in my
message to Congress in December last. Its
object is to establish a commercial alliance
with all the great maritime states, for the
protection Of the contemplated ship canal
through the territory of Nicaragua, to con-
meet the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and at
the same time to secure same protection to
contemplated railways or canals by the Te-
huantepec and Panama routes, as well as to
every other inter-Oceanlc communication
which may be adopted to shorten transit to
and from our territories on the Pacific.
1t gives no preference TO any one
route over any other, but proposes the same
measure of protection for all which ingenuity
and enterprise can construct,
WHAT THAT TREATY SECURED.
Should this treaty he ratified it will secure
in the future the liberation of all Central
America from any kind Of foreign coercion.
1t has been my object in nego-
tating this treaty not only to secure a pas
sage across the isthmus TO the government
and citizens Of the United States by the con-
structlOn of a great highway dedicated to the
use Of all nations on equal terms, but to
maintain the independence and sovereignty
Of all the Central American republics.
If there be any who would desire to seize and
annex any portion of the territory of these
weak sisters to the American Union, or to eX- |
tend our dominion over them, do not concur
in their policy, and | wish il to be understood
with reference to that subject that l adopt the |
views entertained so far as know by my pre-
decessOrs.
He referred, in the message, to the |
efforts of his predecessor, in 1S47, to Sc
cure treaty with New Granada for the
protection OF the Panama canal, and
said:
Whatever honor may be due to the party |
first proposing such a treaty justly belongs to |
the United states.
MR.. HEwITT'S CHANCES.
The House refused once more to-day on
a formal ave and no vote to consider the |
Mexican treaty bill. This time it had to
encounter not only all the bills competing |
with it Yesterday, but also the all-power- |
full river and harbOr bill. Nevertheless,
it got I04 votes against 81 on yesterday, |
but the river and harbOr bill people had !
147 votes, so its consideration was de- |
feated. However, SIR. Hewitt thinks |
that the bill is gaining rapidly, and is
more hopeful than ever. There is, OF |
course, a chance for it, but it is rather |
slim.
MR.. HAMMOND AND THE HENNEPIN
CANAL.
The House to-day began the considera-
tion of the river and harbor bill with
Mr.. Hammond, of Georgia, as Chairman
OF the committee of the whole. The Sc
lection of Mr.. Hammond is not satisfac- |
tory to the friends of the Hennepin |
canal. Last winter Mr.. WelbOrn, of