New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-08-22
REJECTION OF THE TREA7I.

The Fisheries Treaty has been buried ou}
of SIGHT This was meet right and patriotic
It was a convention that abandoned everything
for which the State Department has been sIieh-
uously contending since the he ldland preten-
sion was advanced by England in 1888 tha'
renowned the commercial rights acquired by
maritime reciprocity in 1880 and defended by
Mr.. Bayard and Mr. Phelps in their preliminary
correspondence; that secured the bare privilege
of humane treatment of shipwrecked crews ana
condoned a campaign of outrage on the DO
minion seab GARD, in the course OF whicn TOUT
hundred American vessels had been seized.
harassed and subjected to expense ana annoy
ance, and more than two thousand had oeeU
boarded by arbitrary customs offlcia'S; ana
that proposed the repeal of duties amounting I"
$500. 900 a year as an adequate compensation
for license to buy supplies worth. perhaps
s5o moo This was the treaty which the Ad-
mnistration persisted in negotiating alter II
had consulted the Senate and had been not on
warned against arbitra ton. but also armed
with adequate powers Of retaliation. 1t was
tbe most barren and dishonorabe compact ever
made by an American Secretary OF State with
foreign Power. For twenty-three days II
has been publicly debated in the Senate and
its defenders have beer unable to point ou'
any practical advantages to be derived from 1t
in return for the abandonment OF historic
American rights and the best traditions OF
patriotic diplomacy. Al last it ia cast out with
CONTEMPT as the most senseless and un-Amen-
can Of treaties.
While the Senate has rallied to the defence
Of American rights and covered the State De
partment's pusillanimous retreat before the
combined diplomatic forces Of Canada and Eng
land. it has not shown an unbroken front The
treaty has been rejected by strict party vote
Of 30 to q. The Democratic Senators a'te'
taking patriotic stand ir 1888, loe6 and the
sprine of 1887. have been whipped in by the
Administration to the support OF the treaty
This Is most unfortunate. since MIR. CHAMBER
lain and the English press will be able 70 snee'
at the rejection of the convention as TRIUMPH
| of political partisanship. The Repubncan op
position. the Birmingham diplomat Will be Ger
tain to explain to his English admirers coult
rot afford to allow the Administration to &c
tbe credit of a great stroke of Craftsmanship
On the eve of the American elections. The
/
Senators could not afford to abandon the Ad
ministration in the heat of a Presidential can
yass. II was partsanshp OF the most servl'
character that compelled them to reverse thei
records. to vote against their convictions AM
patriotic impulses. and to condonc the Adr'ln
istrations disgraceful surrender of American
rights II was the sheer force Of political ne
cessity that caused them to retreat from tn
position occupied by them two years ago, AM
to act as partisans in standing by the Admin
istration. If the elections had not been clos
at hand many of them surely would have bee
IS patriotic and consistent as the Republica
Senator'S
Two years ago the Senate was united i
condemnation of diplomatic negotiations d
rected toward arbitration, and also in tn
enactment of retaliation legislation. The Ad
ninistratiop at the same lime was ably pre-
sentine the American view Of the commerce;
rights of the fishermen and protesting agaln'
outragcs The Republican Senators have r.
NAMED where they then stood, and the releC
tion If the treaty has followed. The Admin
istration. meanwhile. has cohdoncd the wrong
ful seizures and wanton oItrages which rei
nerpet rated for the purpose Of driving it int
djshonorable bargain. Unmndful OF tn
6rmness with which Republican Admnistrt
ton had secured apologies and compensate
for the Fortune Bay affair, it has not sousl
reparation for wrongs done to American cit
zens and insults offered to the American fa
Il has not resented the attempt OF forelgne
= by such outrages to force the Government
; alter its tariff in their favor 1t has wanton
, dishonored the memories Of three generation
, of American statesmen by compromising al
3 surrenderns patriotic and historic contention
In State Department and Senate for Nation
rights. The Democratic Senators with tn
q shameful record before them have yielded
political necessity and vot,d as partisans
5 favor Of the treaty, thereby making the Al