The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-06-04

The Chair laid before the Senate
,ReveIal me sages from the President
'eyetoing private pension bills. They
have been already published.
ii Senator Dawes pre- sented petition
from the City Council of Gloucester,
Mass, which was appropriately re-
ferred, praying for retaliation on the
Canadian GoveIRn ent for the seizure
of the American Fl hing vessels.
In presenting the petition Senator
Dawes said there seemed to be dis
position on the part of the Canadian
Government to harass and embarrass
citizens of the United States engaged
In what 81 ould be but considered law
full commerce. Simple commercial
transactions such az the purchase of
provisions merely had been the cause
of seizure Of vessels of the United
Sta'es. 1t seemed to many persons,
Senator Dawes said, that there was
some dilatorinesg on the part of those
clothed with the duty of prote citing
our commerce. He had no doubt the
Committee of Foreign Relations were
giving the subject proper considera-
HULL buU ADChh'Ol ia WOO
whether the committee could give
some assurance that might go to the
public that mea ures would oe taken
which would protect our citizens in
their rights.
Senator Edmunds said the Commit
tee on Foreign Relations had no power
to protect American commerce or
American citi8sns. That belonged TO
the executive depai tment of the gov
eminent and was part of its duty I'M
der the laws Of the United States and
the laws of nations. In the absence
of definite information we must pre-
sumo that the executive department
of the government was doing every
thing it could to protect the citizens of
the United States, whose vessels had
been seizsd or unkindly dealt with by
the Dominion of Canada. OF course
it might have happened that some Of
these vessels, it might possibly have
happened that al OF them had been
gui ty. of vic alton Of existing laws of
canada. AS hey had been seized by
the public authorities of Canada, Of
course there must be public pTeten-
sion en- the part Of those officers that
euch was the case. Senator Edmunds
! hoped it would turn out that the ves-
sells were innocent of any violation of
Dominion law, or of public law, and
that they bad been engaged in what
was allowed by the intercourse Of ma
TORS, by the laws Of their own country
land OF The country 10 which they had
gone, aud that seizures would there
fore be d smi,sed without even the
semblsnc5 OF probable cause. But that
depeuded, Of course, upon q judicial
inquiry in the Fl instance. He did
not mean TO say that we would be
bound 10 scQuie &c in the results OF a
canadian Judicial iuquiry, if we
Thought those results unjust and inn
proper. II any of the vessels should
BE- condemned, and the United States
were of the opinion that The cor denim
alton was III inst, We should not be
bound by any principle of public jus
tice to aCquiesce in it. II we any
spirit Left, as he thought we had, and
any strength left, as he thought we
had, though 70 some Tea on we had
not been very successful in getting q
navy or arming our seacoast, yet in
zone way the rights of citizens OF the
United States would be vindicated if
they had been violated. Continuing,
Senator Edmunds said the President,
II he had signed the recent Get Of Com
grtsl on this subject, now had the
power to raIalists for any injustice
done our vessels ia Canada or else
where. II that set had become a law,
Bnd If our BnaEh brethren we've