Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-09-21
BLAINE on THE MESSAGE.
fle Says 10 IL the uost Extraordinary
Document Ever Issued.

tunity Of reading the full text OF President
Cleveland message on the fisheries un-
Ill recently. and with all due respect Ia
the Chief Executive Of the nation, riust
say that considering all the circumstances
II is the most extraordinary document
that ever was sent from the White House
10 the capitol. Here are the main facts
Of issue between Canada and the United
States. or. perhaps. 10 speak more exact.
ly. between Great Britain and the United
States. in respect To the fisheries Ii was
our belief. and is still, that after the ar
ticles Of the treaty at Washington re.
lating TO the fisheries had expired, the
Canadian Government behaved in an I'M
neighborly. unseemly and unjust manner
toward our fishermen in refusing them
the rights which they had long enjoyed
by prescription. In order 10 bring the
government of the dominion To a just ap-
| probation of the subject Congress au-
thorized the President in the spring Of
= 1887 TO adopt at his own discretion
! policy OF suitable retaliation, directing
among other things that whenever and so
! long as the American vessels were de-
! prived Of commercial privileges in ports
of Canada, Canadian vessels should be
! deprived Of like privileges in ports of the
u Il
appropriate slang. was the tit for tat
policy in which the punishment was adj
mirably fitted to the crime President
Cleveland declined to enforce this policy
and allowed outrage after outrage upon
our fishing vessels 10 20 unredressed. He
was bent upon some form of negotiation
with England even against the express
wish and will Of the United State Senate.
and in defiance of large share in the
treaty making power which the consttu-
ton assigns to the Senate. Finally, with.
out the consent Of the Senate and practi-
caily against its protest. the President or
gained a commission To- frame a treaty
that should settle all points OF the dispute
lie thus gave what was never intended
by the constitutiOn-partisa side to an
international discussion. IL was never
designed by the founders Of our Govern
nent that intercourse With foreign nations
should be conducted by the Republicans
or 10y Democrats or by Wings, or by Fed.
eralists. Ii should only be by the nation
as whole Why should railways Of the
United States that annually transport
fifty millions of Canadian goods in transit
be deprived of their business and endure
large loss on account Of a sudden within
OF the Presidents Why should transit
from Detroit, Buffalo and New York,
oyer both American and Canadian rail
roads be suspended when il has no rela-
ton whatever 20 the fishery question:
Why should the large traffic between
Quebec and Montreal on one hand and
Portland on the other. by which Portland
became winter port OF Canada be sum
marty stopped at the caprice of the
President because OF his chagrin over the
cost of an independent. but as he consd
ers. . refractory Senator Is il the design If
the President 10 make the fishing question
odiOus by embarrassing the commercial
relations and commercial exchange along
three thousand miles Of frontier and to
infiCi upon American communities
needless and peil6us confusion Of trade?
IL Congress will give him the enactments
which he ask ed, he will give them retail.
alton until they cry "lIoid, enough and
will allow him TO settle the fishery ques-
ton in the precise manner which the
Senate now contemporary rejects Or.
after all. fellow citizens. is not the Pres-
dents position mere political device 10
divert the attention Of the American PEG.
pie from his free trade message and from
the Mills tariff bill! Is not the buster
on fisheries TO be a plan Of campaign for
the Democratic party Are not permits
for bravado To be issued by the political
agents Of the administration. marked on
the back Good till after the first Tues
day in November. We have our partisan
differences ac home and settle them in
our own way and on our own soil. but
towards all foreign powers On the globe
we should present one united indivsable
American republic Blu this was not
done. The treaty was launched as
Democratic partisan measure rather than
a patriotic American measure. and Lon.
don papers have been following their
usual vocation OF enlogiZiug Democracy
and abusing Republicans with greatly in
creased vitupcratiOn against the Republi
can party ever since il was found out that
the Senate was bent on maintaining ma.
tional dignity. Ii is plainly apparent
from the text Of the constitution itself
that the men who framed il intended that
ordinary or legislative power should be
committed 10 the majority, however
small, but that no treaty could be formed
without overwhelming support Of public
opinion They provided, therefore, that
it should require in all cases two thirds Of
the Senate TO ratfy the treaty. but despite
this the National Administration went
the treaty. So repugnant 10 the American
instinct of National self respect. that in
stead Of securing the ratification by
two.thirds vote OF the Senate. il was ab.
soluiely rejected by "A majority vote
What them At the first rebound the
President has leaped so far over on the
other side that he asks authority 10 Grip
pie all our commercial relations with
Canada. from Passamaquaddy Bay 10 Van
Couver's Island Having for three years
offered 10 waive the right Of h,hermen
and the National dignity. at the same time
the President desires now 10 cross over
10 the other side Of the question aul out
IIerod lIerod in his demands for redress.
He seems eager to-day 10 discharge the
whole battery of Krupp guns on the
question when last year a blank cartridge
from pocket pistol would have settled the
whole affair. After subjeCting the coun-
try month after month 10 the humil iaton
Of an Unprecedented surrender. the Pres
ident and his supporters with the zeal Of
new converts rather than with an eXiray.
sgapt enthusiasm Of pretenders. are now
manifesting such renewed and deep and