Connecticut western news., 1888-05-16
THE FISHERIES TREATY.
Majority and Minority Reports o1
 the Senate Committee.

 Majority and Minority Reports of
 the Senate Committee.
 The Senate has removed the injunction of secrecy from the report of the Committee on Foreign Relations upon the fisheries treaty.
 The majority, after reciting the history of the fishery question from the colonial times down to the passage of the act of March 3, 1888 to authorize the President to protect and defend the rights of American fishing vessels fin certain cases, says that, as Tar as known, no step whatever was taken by tho President to put this law into execution, but negotiations were initiated to the apparent end of accomplishing, what Congress had thought it unfit to under take in such way, an adjustment of these diffi- culties. These negotiations culminated in the appointment by the President, during the re- cess of the Senate and only ten days before the meeting of Congress, of three plenipoten- tiaries to consider with like plenipotentiaries appointed by her Majesty, the whole subject with . view of coming to solution thereof. These plenipotentiaries began their work in Washington while both Houses of Congress wore sitting, and without any communication by the President in his annual message, or otherwise, of the fact that such important and extraordinary operations were in progress. These plenipotentairies concluded their labors on Feb. 15, 1888, and the result was reached without the advice and consent of the Senate having been asked or taken concerning the selection of these public Ministers, and with out any communication to either House of Congress concerning this most important sub- ject.
 Ike report then discusses the provisions of the treaty, and summarizes it's findings and opinions as follows:
 1. The United States recognizes as British territory and renounce forever all claim of in- dependent right in all the great bays along the British North American coasts named in the treaty, and admit that all such bays form part of and are within British territorial sove- reignty and jurisdiction.
 a Of the few of such great bays that are left to be visited by American fishermen the larger part are understood to be valueless, and some oR them are subject to French fishery rights older than our own if they are British 3: If bay fishing is not profitable now, itmay be in the future.
 {. Whether profitable or not, the United ation whatever, the rights of it's vessels of every character to visit and carry on business in any part of the public sens.
 g. The treaty surrenders the claim and right of the United States, which has been acted upon and exercised for now more than cen tury, of it's vessels engaged in fishing or other occupations to visit and carry on their business in these great bays, and the principle of which claim and right has once been solemnly de- cided against Great Britain by tribunal or ganized under treaty with that Government. 6. The new area of delimitation described in the treaty greatly increases the danger of our fishermen unintentionally invading pro- hibited waters, and thereby exposing them to seizure and penalties.
 2. The treaty, by it's fifth article, renounces any right of the United States in any bay, &c., however large, that ''cannot be reached from the sea without passing within the three ma rine miles mentioned in article l of the Con- vention of Oct. 20, 1S1S," thus excluding ves- sells of the United States from all waters, how ever extensive, and the distance between head lands is however great, the sailing channel to which may happen to be within three miles of the shore.
 g. The treaty Is complete surrender of any claim of right now existing either under the treaty of l7s3, the treaty of 1918, the acts of Congress and the British orders in council in 1880, or the twenty-nine articles of the treaty of 1871, for vessels of the United States en- gagged in fishing anywhere on the high seas, and even having 8 commercial character also, to enter any port of British North America for any commercial purpose whatever, and puts in the place of these c,ear rights which, in respect of British fishing vessels, exists in the United States to the fullest extent, greatly restricted and conditional rights arising solely from apresent grant of great Britain.
 9. It binds the United States to be content with whatever is given by this treaty as the full measure of its rights, and to Do content with it forever, or until greater hospitality snd freedom of intercourse can be obtained by further concessions or considerations on our part.
 10 In the face of all this, it leaves British North American fishing vessels possessed of all commercial rights in all the ports and waters of the United States.
 II. Whatever privileges of commerce, hospi- tality, or humanity are thus provided for in the treaty are to be obtained only upon condi- tion that no fishing vessel of the United States shall receive any of them unless such fishing vessel shall under regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury of tho United States, be branded with an official number on each bow, and that such regulations shall, before they become efYectual, be communicated by heI Majesty's Government.
 12. It provides that general, and even then much limited, commercial rights and rights oi be obtained only at the price of exempting all Canadian fishery products from our custom duties.
 13 Its provisions concerning the executive and judicial treatment of American vessels and fishermen that may be seized or arrested foI supposed illegal conduct are to make the most of them, nothing other, and probably some thing less, than a statement of what the laws and conduct of any administration of every Government protesting to be civilized should adopt and exercise as an act of duty and jus tice.
 14 Instead of diminishing sources of irrita ton and causes of difficulty, different inter pretations and disputes, 1t will, the committed thinks, very largely increase them.
 Various other suggestions adverse to the wisdom of ratifying this treaty, the report says, might easily be made, but the committed does not think it necessary to go into them.
 THE MINORITY REPORT.
 The minority of the committee held that in accepting the paper sent to the Senate by the President as a treaty, and by referring the same to it's committee, the Senate have virtual ly waived any informality. if there is any, ir the negotiation and signing of the instrument and that the only duty of the committee was to consider and report upon the merits of tho treaty. The minority believe that it is better for our country that the treaty should be rati- fled, and they are equally convinced that the entire class of our people who actively en gagged in our North Atlantic fishing industr will be benefited by it's ratification. The mi nority then enters upon historical and argu mentative consideration of the fishery uuos tion from the treaty ISIS.
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY will make tn study of practical horticulture prom inent department. Professor l.. H Bailey, of the Michigan State Agri