The Portland daily press., 1888-08-27

Congress, and that if they kept annoying
the country about it, they would, in the end,
drive Congress into giving the free markets
Of the United States to all the fishermen of
the Dominion, and now they applaud the
Presidents new move.
Perhaps the national administration, the
Democratic party, and its newspaper organs
think this dodge will put them in a heroic
attitude, but to the average mind of the
American citizen it merely places them all
in supremely ridiculous position.
What possible sense is there, gentlemen,
in disturbing the commercial relations be-
tween our country and the Dominion at re-
mote Western points because there is a dis
pute between Halifax and Gloucester that
can easily be settled on the ground? Why
should the railways of the United States that
annually transport S5O,OOO.OOO of Canadian
goods in transit be deprived Of their bnsi-
ness and endure large loss on account of a
sudden whim Of the President? Why should
the transit from Detroit to Buffalo and New
ork over both American and Canadian
lines OF rail be suspended, when 1t has no re-
lation whatever to the fisheries question:
Why should the large traffic between Que
pee and Montreal on the one hand and Port
land on the other, by which Portland be-
comes the winter port Of Canada, be sum
marily stopped at the caprice of the Presi-
dent, when that caprice is founded on cha
grin over the course of an independent, but
as he considers refractory Senate?
Is it the design of the President to make
the fishery question odious by embarrassing
commercial relations and commercial ex-
change along 5000 miles of frontier and in
tlct upon American communities needless,
ayexatlous, perllous confusion Of trade?
Does he not practically say to his supporters
| that II the Republicans VIII not Join him in
surrendering our fishery rights to England
he will give them some medicine on the 9TH
er side, and If they. will give him the enact
ments which he asks that he will give them
| retaliation until they cry, Hold, enoughv'
and will allow him to settle
else manner which their Senate now con
temptuously rejects. After TALL, fellow-citi-
| zens, is not the Presidents position, a mere
political device to divert the attention Of the
American people from his free trade mes
| sage and from the Mills tariff bill.
Is not bluster on the fisheries to be the
plan of campaign for the Democratic party.
Are not permits for bravado to be issued by
the political agents Of the administration
mafked mar 4l on the back, Good, till after the
My friends, history repeats itself. Let me
| call your attention to remarkable parallel
| between the course Of President Cleveland
| and the course of President johnson after
| he returned to the Democracy, in more
weighty negotiation with England than that
| relating to the fisheries.
| You. will readily remember that under in
structlons from Andrew Johnson's admins
tration, our minister to England the late
| Reverdy johnson, negotiated a treaty de-
signed to settle the Alabama claims. 1t was
negotiated with Lord Clarendon, the foreign
| secretary of England, and Is known as the
| Johnson Clarendon treaty. 1t was communi-
Gated to the Senate just before the expiration
OF Johnsons term, and the Senate had it un-
ger consideration when President Grant was
naogaTsted emnsass 1t Was rejected with
the Senate has now rejected the fisheries
| treaty.
A few months later President Grant sent
to Congress communication on the whole
n loh Oln DNf&
| to the J0hnson-C Clarendon treaty he used
these weighty words, which beg to read to
you
Believing that treaty thus misconceived in its
scope and inadequate in its provisions, would
nave not produced the hearty. cordial sentiment
| OF pending questions, which alone is consistent
with the relations which | desire to have firmly
Britain, regard the action Of the Senate In re-
| Jecting the treaty to have been wisely taken in
| the direction Of aperfect and cordial friendship
between the two countries. sensitive people,
conscious OF their power, are more at ease under
a great wrong wholly unatoned than under the
restraint OF a settlement which satisfies neither
Their ideas Of justice nor their grave sense of
grievance they have sustained"
| In his next annual communication Presi-
dent Grant recommended to Congress to au-
thorlze the appointment of commission to
take proof Of the amounts and the owner
| SHIP. OF the several Alabama claims, on notice
to the representative of Her Majesty's
| tnority be given for the settlement of those
claims by the United States, so that the
| government have the ownership of the
private claims as well as the responsible
control OF all the demands against Great
Britain.
The result you know was that the British
government proposed joint commission to
settle all claims between the countries: that
President Grant, unlike President Cleveland
secured the assent of the Senate before ap-
pointing commissioners in return, and that
the Joint commission made a settlement
which, on the whole, was satisfactory TO
both parties.
This was brought about to the honor of
both nations in consequence of the firm
position assumed by President Grant.
why would not like attitude today on
the part OF the President produce a like re-
suit, peacefully, honorably, and to the last
ing advantage of both nations?
The, truth is, my friends, the Democratic
party has never been fortunate in conduct
ing diplomatic negotiations with Great Bri-
tain: The English partiallty for the Demo-
cratic party Is not difficult to explain. 1t is
not solely because the Democracy are free
trade party, and are now proposing to open
our home market for the benefit of British
manufacturers at the expense of American
workingmen, but it is that in every negotia-
ton with Democratic administrations Eng
land has succeeded in attaining the precise
result which she desired A great historic
case. in point Is familiar to all who have
the Democratic party was first organized,
and from the administration of Mr. Jefferson
onward. There was dispute between the two
countries as to the rights of each ON the ter
ritory bordering the Pacific Ocean, and the
question was adjusted from time to time, by
our earlier Presidents, and lastly by a treaty
made by Mr. Clay, when he was Secretary of
state under Mr.; Adams, providing for joint
occupation of the country for an indefinite
period, neither party losing rights.
But from Durn 1pmaQ0Qigm the namnorafs
raised the cry in the national election of
1914 that the whole of what now constitutes
British Columbia, up to lat. 54o 40 belonged
unquestionably to the United States. The
pretence was put forth as a blind in order to
show that they were as jealous to secure
northern territory as they were bent on ac-
acquiring southern territory.
The Democratic national convention af-
firmed our right to $40. President Polk
made his campaign on It,. They were ready
to do anything to secure it, and they pressed
1t so far that as soon as Mr.. Polk was inaug-
urated the Democratic Congress asked that
notice be given to England for terminating
the treaty of joint occupation.
The next thing the country heard was that
MIR. Polks administration was compelled to
surrender the whole territory to Great Brit
ain cOnfessing that they had made pretences
which they were unable to maintain or de-
fend. Ii they had not raised their demagog-
ic cry and thus forced the questionlto a set
tlement Of the joint occupation which had
come uOW0 IRON JeU6fSOu 10 tIdL nOur WOulu
have peacefully continued, and. with our ac-
quisition of California two years afterwards
and the immediate discovery of gold, the
thousands of American citizens who swarmed
to the Pacific coast would have occupied Brit
ish Columbia and the final settlement would
doubtless have been in favor Of those who
were in actual possession, and
but for the laundering diplomacy
of the Democratic party, which prematurely
and without any reason, forced the issue, we
should today see our flag floating over the
Pacific front from the Gulf of California to
Behring's Straits.
President Cleveland Is exactly following
the Presidents of his party in his negotia-
tions with Great Britain, an alienation Of
bluster and Of surrender, both of which are
equally inconsistent with the dignity OF
nation conscious of its great power.
We certainly do not desire continuation
of the diplomacy which, after studying
subject for three years, can radically change
the position of the national administration
between Wednesday afternoon and Thurs
day morning. ~
On Wednesday the President was still urg-
ing the Senate, through the entire body Of
Democratic Senators. to surrender all our
rights in the fisheries by agreeing to the
treaty, and on Thursday he put these Sena-
tors to shame by directly reversing the posi-
tion he had strenuously held for three pre-
ceding years.
do not helieve the American people will