The morning news., 1888-08-14
GAIL ON THE FISHERIES.
He MAKES THE POINT THAT a
PRECEDENT IS AT STAKE.

ment.
WASHINGTON, Aug 13-The senate this
morning resumed consideration of the
fisheries treaty in open executive session
and was addressed by Mr.. Call in support
of its ratification. He argued that the con-
tention of Mr. Sherman that the great
tays of the Canadian coast were high seas
aud public property would apply to the
open sea fisheries of Florida between Key
West and the mainland, and to the coasts
of Alaska and the northwest, and would
amount to q surrender of territorial posses
SION and jurisdiction over all that vast line
To his mind, a treaty which asserted
jurisdictional power and exclusive right
over those waters, was TO be commended
as establishing a principle far more i'm
portant than the enjoyment of the lnshore
fisheries of the Gulf of the st Lawrence,
and be said that to the United States and to
bis own state of Florida, abounding in fish
and fisheries, the right TO say on what terms
md conditions the privilege Of fishing
might be engaged by foreign people was
most important consideration, and that the
PENDING treaty did affirm that principle by
recognizing the right of Great Britain to
declare what portion of her inshore fishe-
ries should be the privilege of American
fishermen.
NOT A BULLDozING NATION.
AS to the powers of the United States, he
said that the United States was great and
powerful but only SO long and 30 far rs it
conformed to right, TO justice and TO
humanity in its relations with other nations.
He declared that he would not be willing to
grant commercial rights in Florida waters
20 fishing smacks, and he was not willing
that Canada should be retaliated against
Tor taking that position. At the close of
Mr.. Calls speech the presiding officer (Mr
Cockrell being in the chair, announced the
question to be on Mr. Morgan's motion to
postpone consideration Of the treaty till
December next, and asked whether the
senate was ready for the question.
Mr.. Hoar-On that motion l call for the
yeas and nays
Mr.. Gray said that before the vote was
taken he desired to say something on the
motion. 1t had become evident from vari-
Gus outgivings on the republican side of the
chamber that the treaty was not to be rati-
fed at this session. The senate had been
told in a more or less mandatory tone that
1t was not only to be objected to, but was
20 be rejected at once and without delay.
No special reason for that had been given,
but there were reasons for it which lay on
the surface, and were easily related.
NOT AN oPPoRTUNE TINE.
The treaty was being discussed in the
very midst of a very excited political cam
paign, and the democratic senator's had
been told that they were arguing the
British side of the case. Why, be asked,
should not consideration of the treaty be
postponed to a more quiet season9 Why
should not those Influences that came from
sober second thought and free from
extraneous influences and excitements. be
invoked! The issues involved in the debate
nd tha
quences that might arise were
too serious and grave to be
lightly dealt with. No interest involved
could be affected injuriously by the pro-
posed postponement. The burden was on
those who denied that postponement should
be made to give some good, strong and
broad reason for their opposition. He pro-
EUening Bulletin, and purporting
to b. from Charles Levy Woodbury.,
on the subject of the twelfth
article of the treaty las giving away the
Tighes of the states to control their terri
torial waters) and he spoke of it as an abso-
lutely fatuous argument and as unlawyer-
like and nonsensical Congress could not,
Mr. Gray declared, divest the state of
Maryland of its jurisdiction over Chesa-
peake bay, nor could it divest the states of
Delaware and New Jersey of their jurisdic-
tion over Delaware bay, and he did not
believe that Mr. Woodbury. ever risked his
professional reputation Ia high one) by such
an argument. He (Mr Gray would not
for moment think of voting for the treaty
if it were susceptible of the Interpretation
which that paper attempted to put upon it.
CANADIAN RIGHTS ADMITTED.
Mr.. Gray asserted in open session las he
was forced to speak there or not at alD that
the claim of Canada to jurisdiction over its
bays lall of them was complete and as
absolute as the claim of the state of
Maryland to jurisdiction over Cheapeake
bay, or as the claim of the states of Della
ware and New Jersey, to jurisdiction
over Delaware bay The proposition
could not be stated otherwise unless the
>he position was taken (which no honorable
man would take that United States fisher
men had a right to enter Canadian bays on
account of their public character, and that
at the same time Canadian fishermen had
no such right in American bays on account
of their private character These waters
we're as much part of local jurisdiction as
the solid ground covered by corn fields and
houses.
OPPOSED TO IMPOSITION.
He would never try to impose upon a
ueighbor which had been sneeringly spoken
of by the republican senators as weak in
population and resources rule which the
United States would never submit to if
sought to be applied TO itself. The pending
treaty came TO the senate ear-marked with
the justice and magnanimity which
should belong to a great people. 1t
surrendered nothinecThich belonged to the
United States, and it asked nothing which
@proud and free people should not ask from
those with whom it was brought into rela-
tions. As TO the taunt that the democratic
senators were arguing the case of
Great Britain, Mr.. Gray said that no taunt
was so irritating as that to a democrat.
The democratic party had no history, and
no policy in relation to foreign matters that
1t was ashamed Of.
TRUE TO THE CoUNTRY'S HONOR
1t had always been ready to press to the
extreme everything that concerned the
country's right and honor. The democratic
senators were endeavoring in this matter to
give it such a position, and such status
that they could stand upon it
and calf for the opinion of
all mankind to justify the rectitude
of their motives. In doing this they were
not trifiing, or bartering or traiiicking, but
they meant business When that sort of
negotiation and that sort of appeal should
fail he knew that the country felt safe in
the hands of the democratic administration
felt a security which it did not feel in the
hands of any other party. There was an
abiding faith in the country that demo
cratic methods and the democratic admins
tratIon had never sacrificed the honor of
4