The Portland daily press., 1888-08-29
The Presidents InconsIstencv.

The inconsistency Of the Presidents retail
iation programme is nowhere more clearly
perceived and more mercilessly exposed
than in the Dominion. Notwithstanding. .
says the Halifax Herald shat article fifteen
OF the treaty. which President Cleveland SO
heartily approved, expressly stipulates that
United States fishermen shall have the priyi-
lege of transsEipping their catch Of fish at
Canadian ports for transport to the United
States, only when Canadian exports of fish
are admitted to the United States market
free Of duty. the President now demands
this privilege of transshipment gratis, and
threatens retaliation if Canada does not
comply with his pereniptory and immodest
request"
The Herald interprets the message as
simply political trick to recover lost
ground Having found" 1T says, shat
the Republican party were gaining votes by
their anti-British and anti-Canadian vapor-
iRgs, the Democratic party have determined
to go one better in the attempt to coerce
Canada into reputation of the rights
which were guaranteed to this country not
only by the treaty of 1918, but as well by the
treaty Of 1885,"
The ST. John Sun sees the inconsist-
ency of the Presidents performance and its
true inwardness quite as clearly 1t says:
A year ago President Cleveland might consist
entity have taken a different view and maintained
that our position was SO churlish and unneighbor-
ly as 10 justify retaliation. He is not in position
TO do so now. Last January three dplomatists
appointed by the President met three British and
treaty defining the rights and privileges Of each
nation on the matter OF the fisheries This treaty
President Cleveland sent to the Senate with the
and his official recommendation. This treaty es
tablshed the right of Canada to prevent the for
warding Of fish by United States vessels, and pro
vided for the continuance Of the conduct of which
the Presidents message now complains But it
is not necessary to compare the last message
with that recommending the treaty to the Senate
IN order to show the inconsistency of the Pres-
dents course The message of last Thursday in
one place says that the refusal of transit "const
tutes provoking 1nSistance upon rights neither
mugated by the amenities of national intercourse
nor modlned by the recognition of our liberality
and generous considerations" In the same mes
sage the treaty Of last winter is called afair and
just calculated to remedy existing wrongsD
adequate for security in the future from vexa-
tons incidents and for the promotion of friendly
neighborh0od and intimacy without sacrificjng in
the least our. national pride and dignity" II
would hardly be believed that this flair and iust
treaty authorizes the same srefusal of transit
which the President in the message condemns In
the terms above quoted and which he desires to
punish by retaliation This refusal of traffic is in
fact the only Canadian offence which is specif-
caly mentioned in the letter. 1t is scarcely nee
essary to do more than to call attention to these
things in order to show the weakness of the mes
sage considered as piece of international bust
ness. No one crediting the President with ordi-
nary common sense could assume that he pre-
pared the despatch with view TO the foreign
relations OF the nation.
And then the Sun goes on to say that the
whole scheme is political trick about which
canada would not feel much concern. 1T
70 matter Of United States politics and no
\ concern OF ours" concludes the Sun.
The st. John Globe construes the message
as not necessarily evidence that the tender
feeling of the President towards the Cana
dian government has met with any change.
"Mr. Cleveland" it says, ..bas beretofere
shown disposition to pursue a fair and inst
foreign policy, and Canada cannot find verv
much fault up to the present with his atti.