Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-05-11
WASHINGTON.
Synopsis Of the Reports on
the Fisheries Treaty.
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
Railroad Land Grant Forfeiture
Bill Reconsidered by
the Senate.
4Associated Press Dispatches to the HrhALDl /

iAssociated Press Dispatches to the HERALD
WASHINGTON, May 10.-The Ma
jority Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations in reporting adversely thu
resolution for the ratification Of tht
Fisheries treaty, refer to the passage
of retaliatory act and the failure o
the President to put it in operation
instead OF which negotiations were
initiated and conducted to the appar
ent end OF accomplishing the
purpose of the act in differ
ent way than as prescribed by Con
gress. The plenipotentiaries hay
ing the matter in hand came to con
clusion OF their labors on the 18th o.
February, 1888, and the Office of the
plenipotentiaries terminated, and 9
result was reached, without the advice
and consent Of the Senate having been
asked or taken concerning the cleo
ton of these public ministers and
without any com munication to either
House of Congress, concerning this
most important subject. 1t is not diff
cult to see that in evil times, when
the President OF the. United State may
be under the influence Of foreign and
adverse interests, such acourse OF pro-
ceedure might result in great disaster
to the interests and even safety Of our
Government and people.
The majority report criticizes the
President for Withholding information
upon the question from the Senate,
and summarizes its findings and
opinions as follows:
/. The United States recognize as
British territory, and renounce for
ever all claims of independent right
in all the great bays along the British
North America coasts named i'll the
treaty and admit that all such bays
form part OF and are within British
territorial sovereignty and jurisdic-
ton.
2. OF the few such great bays left
to be visited by American fishermen,
the larger parts are understood to be
valuable, and some are subject to the
French fishers rights, older than our
own.
8. If bay fishing is not profitable
now, it may be in the future.
4. Whether profitable or not, the
United States ought not to give up
upon any consideration, whatever,
the right of its vessels of every
character to visit and carry on busi-
ness in any partof the public seas.
Tho slxnofu ho
claim and right Of the United States,
which has been acted upon and exer-
cised for now more than century, of
its vessels engaged in fishing or other
occupations to visit and carry on their
business in these great bays, and the
the principle OF which claim and right
once had been solemnly decided
against by Great Britain by tribunal
organized under treaty with that
Government.
6. The new area of delimitations
described in the Treaty greatly in
creases the danger of our fishermen
inunintentionally invading prohibited
waters, and thereby exposing them to
seizures and penalties.
7. The Treaty, by its fifth article,
renounces any right Of the United
States in any bay, etc. however large,
that "cannot be reached from the sea
without passing within three marine
miles, menti ned in Article /, Con-,
vention Of 1885," thus excluding YES
sells OF the United states from all
waters however extensive, the dis
tance between. whose headlands is
however great, the sailing channel to
which may happen to be within three
miles OF shore.
8. The treaty, in complete, sur
renders any claim OF right now exist
ing, either under the treaty of 1888,
the treaty of 1918, the acts of Con-
gress and the British Parliament, and
the British Orders in Council OF 1880,
or the Goth article OF the treaty Of
1871, for vessels of the United States
engaged in fishing anywhere on
the high seas and having a
commercial character also to enter
any port Of British North America for
any commercial purpose whatever;
and puts in place Of these clear rights,
which in respect to British fishing
vessels exist in the United States to
blit Iull0bb GhbCnb, kiCdti1 JcSbIlCttu
and conditional rights as rising solsly
from the present grant Of Great Brit
ain.
8. 1t binds the United States to be
content with whatever is given by
this treaty as the full measure of it's
rights and to be content with it for
ever, or until greater hospitality and
freedom of intercourse can be OBJ
tanned by further concessions or con-
siderations on our part.
The majority go on enumerating va
rious other reasons adverse to the wis
dom OF ratifying the treaty, among
them one expressing the opinion that
its ratification will only increase the
source of irritation. The report con-
cludes with the hope that Her Majes-
ty's Government will secure justice to
American fishermen, and that friend
ship which ought to exist between
neighboring nations may be estab-
lished.
The minority say, in substance, that
in accepting the papers sent to the
Senate by the President as treaty,
and referring the same to the Com
mittee, the Senate has waived any in
formality. The minority believe it
Better for the country that the
treaty should be ratified, and
are equally convinced that IL Q
entire class OF people actively engaged
in the North Atlantic fishing industry
will be benefited by its ratification.
They believe the Interpretation of
the treaty of 1878, which had led to
its reformation in the treaty now be-
fore the Senate, is far in advance of
anything that any American diplomat
has officially demanded Of the British
Government, and will lead to full
and amicable adjustment of all the
troubles that have heretofore arisen,
and will open the way for liberal and
naiphborly agreement, as to such diff