The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1888-10-03
clEvgIANpss LAsr MESSAGE.


ter Stroke.
BY this message the president has COM
pletely circurnycnted the Republican par
tisuns of the senate. BE has taken from
the Republican politicians the power to
& arouse New England md The country gem
orally with the cry that the administra-
ton Is lacking in pluck and dignity and
; that it is not equal 10 maintaining the
rights of citizens, The president. inidis-
cussing tho questions involved, shows
great familiarity Witf the subject in all
its phases In the absence of q treaty he
is;jnstified in calling for these measures
of retaliation New York World
Mr., Cleyela IDS message to congress on.
tho subject o. the fisheries marks another
stage of his extraordinary development.
His enemies are, dumfonnded and his
friends cannot restrain their admiration
It sas the act of "a master OF political
strategy. It belongs in ths category of
those bold, original md decisive ma
neuyers of which men of genius are alone
deemed capable. It fell like o thunder
bolt from 4 clear sky and surprised those
who honor as much as those who hate
and dread him. OAt of the ..hole'. Into
which his adversaries fondly Imagined
they had dropped him he suddenly springs
to n commanding aud imprcgnable po-
sition. False as was the charge that he
had in negotiating the rejected treaty
cravenly yielded to British dictation and
sacrificed the interests of our own citi-
zens. there were those whose partisanship
inclined them to believe it; but hereafter
even they can no longer harbor that most
unjust accusation Brooklyn Eagle.
BY disgraceful act of partisanship tho
Republican majority in the United States
senate has refused to adopt policy of
compromise with Canada ON the fisheries
question.
What devolved on the president as
matter OF duty was plain The alternative
proposition of conciliation is retaliation
Congress has already placed in tho presi.
dents hands authority to retaliate upon
Canada for any offenses committed toward
us, but the general scheme was not satis
factory. The United States cannot afford
to be petty In its reprisals any more than
in its concessions, and the general scope of
retaliation contemplated in the act of 1887
is not largo enough. The president. there
fore, sends to congress message asking
for legislation empowering the admins,
tration to proceed on a larger scale. and
pointing out q variety of ways of squaring
accounts with the disagreeable little pro,
vinciuls But he takes excellent caro- to
place the Republican senators in their
true position before tho country. They
must talSe tho responsibility in full of re-
jecting tho peaceful and magnani1nous
! following their own arguments out to
logical conclusion. Since they have in
sisted ON retaliation let them provide in
full for retaliatory measures. Brooklyn
Citizen.
If the senators were sincere in their
alleged reasons for rejecting the treaty
ttSy must welcome with satisfaction Pre-
a'sent Cleveland's proposition to author
iEo such rctaliatory measures towards
Canada IN the absence of a treaty Gs viii
most cffcctualiy establish tho fearless
American policy of woo unto those who
ebuse uSl"
1t would be absurdly inconsistent if the
senate should interpose to save Canada
from effective retaliation, after rejecting
tho treaty on the ground that it yielded
too much to Canadian intcrests.-New
! York World.
The Republicans of the senate refused
| to postpone or to aEIend tho fisheries
treaty. They took the untenable ground
that tho president has no right to ncgoti
etc cny treaty without express authority
frc:n the senate, and rejected it by
tempt to forco upon the president the ell
Tentative of exercising the retaliatory
authority conferred upon him year and
n half ago, and of cutting off all CONNER
cial communication between this country
snd Canada in the cvent of the seizure of
American fishing smacks that Disregard
! the thrce mile limit fixed by the old
| treaty.-St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Everything depends on Canada. If
| CancSa's Irritation at the rejection of the
treaty takes the shape of renewal of the
attacks on American fishermen. then the
4 president will DO compelled to practically
apply the provisions of the retaliation act.
! 1t is noticeable fact that no Republican
! who L2s argued against the treaty, which
I HHs
fcrcd an amendment. The plan seems to
be TO afford Brother Elaine Gf he sLould
| unfortunately come to be tho practical
president of tho United States) an oppor-
tunity to go to war with Great Britain.
Fortunately, there is no likelihood that
Brother Elaine will become acting presi-
dent.-Atlanta Constitution.
The presidents message on retaliation
| against Canada has stirred the Republican
senators to en- unsecInly fury, which
| shows that they have been baflcd in their
| efforts TO PIT him iii false position be-
fore the rcople of the country. Tue best
| they can do Is to cry out and ask why he
/ has not put in force the retaliation act of
| 1887 If there arc wrongs to be redreSsed.
| The all sufficient answer to this Is be-
cause he had more wisdom and prudence
than the makers of that act. The act of
congress of last year threw tho whole
responsibility upon him without defining
the limits of his Gction. That act care
fully excluded the most effective and
l. direct mode of retaliation and made
| it impossible to measure the punish
ment by the offense. II Canadian fish
! ing vessels were to be excluded from the
same rights and privileges IN our ports
| which our fishing vessels claimed but did
| not secure IN Canadian ports, it would
| amount to nothing. Such privileges are
| of no value to them, and they do not ask
for them. Tho privileges claimed were
] not accorded By the treaty of 1873. and
| therein is the sourcc of the ulain contro-
versy. But if we denied the trading YES
| sells Of Canada entry to our ports under
! the customary regulations, that would
! not be a fair rctal.at because our
/ trading vessels arc not denied the ordi-
nary commerciGf privileges in the ports OF
Canada.
In all this contest the course of the
| president has been c,ninently wise, saga
| cious and prudent and that of tho ma
! jority of the senate has been narrow,
! partisan and contemplate. They cannot
| retrieve themselves by blpster and the
| propounding of absurd questions. The
| people of this country have common sense
/ aud an appreciation of motives and
/ methods for which such men rs Mr. Ed
! Inunds. Eir Sherman and Mr.. Hale do not
! give them credit They viii see fle con.
/ sistency. the ightforwardncss aud the
! patriotism of the presidents course and
q