The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-08-25
SENATOR EDMUNDS ON THE MESSAGE
A ForcibIe Arraingment of the Ad-
nninistration's Course
And President Cleveland's pisreeayd
of Existing Law.
Maine Senators Express Their opIn-
ion OF rhe Document.

ion OF the Document
| WASHINGTON, Aug. 24.-The message
from the President on the subject of The re.
lection of the fisheries treaty was read in full
in the Senate, today, by the clerk. When it
came to close Senator Sherman moved that
it be printed and referred to the committee
on foreign relations.
Senator Edmunds said: On that motion /
would like to say word. although am in
favor it, If had been five or six wears
younger than am, should have been sur
prised at that message. But am not. and
am only very highly gratifed at the pa
triotic expression of hopes, wishes. almost
intentions, of the President Of the United
States. in reference to the protection
of American interests and rights.
But the popularity of the situation is fhat
having had statute providing for self de-
| fence approved by the President of the Unit
ed States and passed by substantially un-
animous vote of both houses, ,Qf that made any
difference to his duty in faithfully exec uting
the laws) and after due consideration Of ali
| its points and bearings,the extent to which il
should go, the objects to which 1t should be
limited and circumstances under which it
should pc Drought into play, Is months have
gone by and we were now informed by the
PRESIDENT OF the United States for / take
| it that is what he means, although no word
OF that kind Is in the message) that no steps
OF any kind have been taken to carry into ex-
| ecutl0n the plain provisions of that law,
1t Is true that the law did not require the
PRESIDENT to put it into effect in the way of
sell defence las l prefer to call it, rather
than retaliation) until case should have
arisen OF wrong and injustice which should
satisfy him that American rights and inter-
ests were being unjustly dealt with Now
what has happened since the passage of that
act? If nothing has happened, If there have
been no instances of injustice, of denial of
american rights, of unjust treatment to
American citizens in the provinces Of the
dominion, then of course the President has
been entirely right in taking no step in res
pect to the matter. If. however, in his opin-
lon, as he now states it, there is an instance
OF denial of their just rights to American citi-
zens engaged in the business described in the
act OF 1886 why is it that the President has
not taken any step in the exercise of the
hlgh duty which the constitution imposes up
QUINN, On MN, OF taking, care that the laws are
faithfully executed?
Ihere was law which he was to execute
Wnen tne contingency should arise, or on the
existence OF particular fact, and, when he
was satlshed that the fact existed, then it
was made his duty to take steps to obtain
redress in the method which the statute
pointed out, so that we have now the case of
period OF nearly eighteen months during
wnlch. as ne states In his message, action has
He tells us that in one instance in 1889 an
american nshlng vessel was catching fish ON
the nigh seas, outside of the 10 and Of the %
mile delineation, and sailing as purely
eommerciai enterprise, to port of British
North America for the purpose of sending
ner cargo OF fish by rail to Boston way by
privilege
Now the President says that that was a
great and most important and grievous in
1urY tO American infaroefc
rights. Why has he been silent for IS
months with the whole power of the law in
his hands? And why has he remained in
actlvey Doubtless under the patriotic ad-
cabinet and doubtless with the most patri-
otto motive that it might be best to submit
TO what is now declared to be a grieyous
wrong, with the means at hand of redress or
deIenec against 1t, and enter into discussion
with the wrong doers to provide for a new
arrangement on the broader basis of British |
Tree trade. And so we must suppose that |
tnese Important and urgent powers which |
Congress unanimously put into his hands to |
pc exercised as a. duty in case he found the |
iacts 10 exist, which were described in |
the statutes, have been suspended by execu- |
1--WE authorlty-by prerogatiye,as think it is |
mentioned In some of the minority reports |
as being one OF the prerogatives of the Presi- |
dent, Just as an English king in the olden |
time would undertake to suspend an act of |
Pariiament-not TO carry them into effect so |
long as you can talk with the nation which |
is continuing, even while talking, the very |
wrongs now so fully and well set forth in |
this message. must confess my astonish- |
ment at such course of action on the part |
OF the President of the United States. |
must express my surprise and regret, mot /
using the language of the message) the |
regret Of the partisan, but the regret Of the |
cltlzen that, for more than year, with the |
means In his hands to redress them, he has |
failed to take any step and now sends to us /
message asking that additional powers bear
tng9i sa9a of as otd1?. ne supp9ses, on broader
be given him. | suppose, under the principle |
ne has already acted upon, that until these
powers be given him he will do nothing at |
all. This business is very odd and we ap-
parently DO not know what was the cause Of |
negotiation which led to this treaty as re-
CARDS sub stipulations, engagements, under
standings, protocols and gossip and / call
special attention to discussion of whether |
artlcle ~ OF the treaty OF 1871 Is in force or
not The Cananadian government does not
refuse TO transshlp fish on the ground that
IT was not, but refuses on the ground that
the article did not over ride the convention
OF 1878, relating to the three mile limit.
Senator EdmundS discussed this point at |
length and the intention of Congress 10 limit
the Tetaliatory law to simply fishery in
terests.. Continuing he said This is the
very thing the President is, for the first time
soilcltous : about, although it was considered
passage Of the law of 1856 and that, as pro-
posed and passed, was fully adequate to the
protection OF American rights. The act Of
1000 does not touch those topics at all, as it
lelers 70 tne treatment of American fisher
men IN Canadian ports and not to any canals
ana when the Canadian government denied
american fishermen the right to transbip |
nsh from Halifax to Boston or New York,
tne PRESIDENT should have retaliated on fish
ana any other Canadian goods as fast as he
deemed it necessary to redress the wrong
committed. It was his competency and duty
70 lnfopm the British government that
artlcle ~ was no longer in force. The only
dsneay dsnga wrong WI the President mentions is the
aenlal Dy Ganada of the right to tranship
hsh from Halifax to Boston or New York
without duty
Ihe President says he will apply the means
~ ~ redTess. Why don't he do it? He would
have pleased me had he given his reasons
an6 what were the impediments to his en-
leayoring to execute faithful statute OF
Lne Unlteg States in a state of circumstances |
le enhciaily reports TO exist when that
o,aeuse asae max makes II his duty to employ the
means wDicn the laws have given him. 1t
was SAID, during the late war, that the more
lroops a certain Union general had, the
greater difficulty he had in moving on the
1reaiS,a s1nemig, and was continually telegraphing
sbe eSiSei Pras hineon iGr more troops. Does
,adnnot an take apy step provided in the act Of
1851 until Congress shall give him further
power, and particularly and chiefly the very |
power which the Senate thought was unfit Ia |
give him? Alas, Mr.. President think II is
IN Infinite pity that in so simple a case an !
adequate and full statute, the force or Weak
less OF which has never yet been tested by
ne trst step, should remain unexecuted and ;
n state Of ''innocuous desuetude." until
he President of the United States may sea \
whether Congress will NOS put more ainmns ,
lltion into his hands before the fires the first ;
,un. w. ''~'''' - u
."' SENATOR HoAR,
Senator Hoar said that confession
vas good for the soul The Senate bad re-
eived the message within three months
rom the time when the President said; ST
believe the treaty will be found to contain a
uSt. honorable and, therefore, satisfactory {
olution of the difficulties which have cloud-
"a our relations with our neighbors on the
lorthern border" The Democrats side III | |
he chamber had fairly laid down before the | !
emands, threats and pretensions of the little
dominion of Canada. They thought thav s
we're lying down by the side Of the Presf- | {
lent TO comfort him in his own position bnt |
low, behold, poor man, the President un- z
eertook to get up and, shaking the mud from c
lis own coat, leave them where thew |
lad placed themselves. How han {
'ened 1t that the administration | I
egotiating this treaty had been dumb DIR a
ng the last three years on this subject. If
When the representatives of Great Britain | |