The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-08-11
MR.. RAYARp's BLUNpERs.

Mr.. Bayard has been in the habit of attrib-
uting all his woes in the fishery dispute to
Mr.. Frye, who was largely instrumental in
strangling 1.-THE commission scheme. His
woes in the Mexican imbroglio he attributes
to "Mr Blaine's friends who, he alleges,
have been urging the Mexican government
to resist hisdemand for the surrender of Cut
ting. Mr.. Bayard is hardly to be blamed for
looking round for scapegoat, for his admin
istration has been an exceedingly unfortu-
nate one from the beginning, and it is only
natural that he should seek to show that its
misfortunes have been due to the machina-
tions of enemies rather than to his own
laundering. It's first misfortune was the
sending of Kelley to government which he
had denounced as an usurpation, and which
would not receive him. It's second was the
sending of Kelley to another government,
which also would not receive him. These
misfortunes we believe Mr.. Bayard admits
were brought about by himself Neither
Mr.. Blaine nor Mr.. Blaine's friends have
ever been charged with digging up Kelley
and foisting him upon the innocent and I'M
suspecting Secretary.
But if it hadn't been for Mr.. Frye and the
Senate there would have been no fishery dis
pute, says Mr.. Bayard. Probably that is so,
simply because the State department would
have conceded everything which the Canadi-
ans demanded. Mr.. Frye and the Senate
are undoubtedly guilty of putting an end to
the shrewd diplomacy that was going to set
tie the fishery dispute by opening our
markets to the Canadian fishermen and driv-
ing our fishermen out of business.
But to charge that in this Mexican bust
ness Mr.. Blaine's friends are responsible
for the Secretary's unfortunate predicament
is simply nonsense. The House of Repre-
sentatives with forty Democratic majority
or Mr.. Blaine's friends. yet the House of
Representatives refused to endorse the reso-
buttons on this matter which Mr.. Bayard
prepared with his own hand and pushed
through the committee ON foreign relations.
The fact is Mr.. Bayard in this Cutting af-
fair made just the opposite blunder from the
one he made in the fishery dispute. In the
latter he was too slow and in the former too
fast. Before moving in the fishery dispute
he took great pains to have the facts thor
oughly investigated, while in the Cutting
matter he moved while the facts were in
doubt, and as it turns out was guided by a
version of them which was incorrect. In a
letter to the House of Representatives he
announced that the question at issue was
whether an American citizen could be tried
and punished in Mexico for an act commit
ted in this country. To such question
there could be but one answer. Our govern
ment without pusillanimous abandonment
of self-respect could not admit such a claim
as that. But the facts of the case raise no
such question. The act for which Cutting
was tried and sentenced was not committed
in this country, but in Mexico.
1t is true the libel complained of was print
ed in this country. But the mere printing of
SANDER does not of itself constitute libel
Circulation is the essence of the crime. Gut
ting procured the publication of the SANDER
Gus matter on the American side in the
Spanish language, and then carried the pa
pers containing it into Mexico and circulat-
ed them there. He procured his weapon on
American territory, he used it on Mexican
soil. Had he been arrested for murder it
would have been just as sound for him to
have denied the jurisdiction of the Mexican
court on the ground that the crime was COM
mitted by means of pistol bought on the
American side, as to say when caught circula-
ting libel on Mexican court and arraigned
for contempt, that the libel was printed in
Texas, and therefore, though he circulated it
in Mexico he was not amenable to the
Mexican law. Cutting has violated Mexi-
can law upon Mexican territory, and is amen
able to Mexican courts. Perhaps his pun
case may be- one l where our government may
very properly ask mitigation of sentence,
but there is nothing in it that calls for our
State department to bristle up and play the
ri If q hull