New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-30
4 SENATOR ON TIRE RAMPAGE.

One of the main grounds for criticism Of the
Fisheries Treaty is The lack of reparatiOn for
outrages committed Systematically on the Do
minon seaboard. The treaty does not contain
single line in reference to the long series of
insults and wrongs from which American fish
ermen have suffered American grievances
are ignored precisely as American rights are
surrendered. 1t has been natural for Repub-
lican Senators to contrast this dishonorable
feature of the convention with the firmness and
dignity with which reparation was demanded
and secured in other days for the Fortune Bay
outrage. Senator Morgan on the Democratic
side has sought to break the force of this COM
parison by disappearing the facts of the
award made for that invasion of American
rights. This is the cOntemptuous manner in
which he refers to the matter:
In Fortune Bay fishermen went in with twenty
sal! of vessels Of Saturday night, expecting.
SUPPOSE the influx Of school Of mackerel herring.
On Sunday they found tho bay full of fish. and these
delightful Sabbatarlsns these beautiful Puritans these
sweetscented Christians, who absolutely odorzed the
whole universe with their pley got out Of their ships
and threw their nets around the fish In that bay enough
to load twenty.one sail on that Sunday morning.
|. There they bound by their own laws
against fishing on Sunday, and here were the pous
Yankees In there with their nets They surrounded
immense shoal of herring, enough TO load tweny-one
ships II the Canadians were not at church, suppose
they were little too mad to go to church-whe1 they
saw the Yankees scOoping up their fish, although held
back by their local laws, what did they dot Some Of
the Yankee fishermen ventured ashore. Whom they got
ashore for the purpose Of drying their sclnes drawing
them up on the banks, mob and they drove
the Yankee back TO their feet, and they tore up
their senes and inflicted upon the Yankees all Of that
severe cruelty Of which we have been speaking.
have always felt that the Secretary Of State perhaps
little bit ashamed in pushing that claim upon the
Government Of Groat Britain although he is applaudcd
very highly for his heroic diplomacy that occasion,
because that did look very badly ia us
At Fortune Bay American fishermen fisned
where they had right to fish, and landed
where they had right TO land The invasion
of their rights was promptly made the subject
of remonstrance by Republican Secretary of
State. The British Foreign Office pleaded that
the local laws of Newfoundland modified
American fshep4s rights which had been con-
veyed by treaty, and refused to discuss the
question of reparation. Republican Presi-
dent at once advised Congress to abrogate the
existing treaties with Great Britain. There
upon the damages were paid in hot haste by
the British Government. These are the facts
Of the Fortune Bay case, of which Senator
Morgan presents so contemplate a travesty
Everything in that transaction was honorable
to American diplomacy. The grievances of
American citizens were taken up by the State
Department, and reparation was secured for
them under threat of the immediate abrogation
of existing treaty law if the British Foreign
Office should continue its wretched quibbling.
Firmness patriotism and dignity then char
acterized the administration Of the State De-
partment
Senator Morgan seems to consider it great
Joke that one Of Mr. Bayard's predecessors
should have ventured to secure reparation for