Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-27
AMERICAN SEIZURES
Discussed in the Ottawa
House of Commons.
ALLEGED INDIGNITIEs SUFFERED
Canada Resisting Her WrOngs-A
Settlement Insisted Upon-0ther
Foreign Matters.


Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD
OTTAWA, April 26.-In the House oi
Commons to-day, Prior brought up the
question of the alleged illegal seizure OF
British vessels in the BehriDg Sea. He
said the. United States, England and
Russia signed treaty in 1921, in which
Russia abandoned her claims to exclus-
i've jurisdiction in Behring'S Sea. He
referred to the seizure of three ships
from Victoria, British Columbia, in
Behring's Sea in 1886, by American
cruisers. The greatest catch confiscated
at the same time was caught
long before the alleged American
waters were reached. No settlement had
been arrived at for those seizures, nor
had any compensation been offered to
owners who had been ruined. The
amount of original claims reached $153,-
600. Eight other vessels were seized in
the following year. He referred to the
hardships experienced by British sea-
men on these vessels, who, after being
landed at Alaska, were obliged to re-
turn home in a penniless condition.
He knew the Dominion Government had
asked England to secure the settlement,
and he wanted the information 80 as
to delay in bringing the inter-
national negotiations to close.
If any blame existed he wanted to know
where it rested. He contrasted the
delay in settling the Behring's sea affair
with the haste shown by the United
States in the Samoan affair. He con-
tended that the majority of the Ameri-
cans on the Pacific Coast were opposed
to the monopoly enjoyed by the Com
mercial Company in Alaska. Nothing,
he contended, could justify the seizure
of British vessels, in several in
stances many hundred miles from
land. He referred to the issuance of
the proclamation by President Harrison
and said it was violation of interna-
tional right. Blaine he regarded as the
author of the proclamation by which it
was simply proposed to enrich the Al
aska Company. Monopoly, he said,
had its agents and lobbyists at Washing
ton. He urged the Government to ask
the Imperial authorities to send British
war vessel to Behring Sea. He felt GER
tain that, even if little gunboat put its
nose near the Aleutian Islands, we would
hear of no further seizures.
Davies (LiberaD agreed with Prior as
to the Importance of the matter. Delay.
he said, simply showed that Canada
could never secure summary justice until
she had an agent at Washington. If the
English and American relations were un-
friendly, no reason existed why Canada
should suffer. The present unsatiafac-
tory state of affairs would continue until
Canada had right to make her own
treaties. Davies then turned his atten-
tion to the alleged indignities committed
by American cruisers in Behring Sea, to
show that Americans had no jurisdiction
outside of the three mile marine limit.
Sir John Macdonald replied: He said
he would not deal with the question of
the establishment of a commercial agency
at Washington. Parliament has already
decided the question. The United States,
he continued, had claimed exclusive
jurisdiction in Behring sea. The Ameri-
can and Canadian vessels had suffered
equally from the aggressive monopoly.
The question was not local one. 1t was
one that affected all the maritime nations
which he felt certain would resist the
iniquitous attempt of the United States
to claim Behring's sea. England was
pressing for a settlement. Sir Julian
Pauncefote, he felt sure, as British
Minister at Washington, would do all in
his power to bring the matter to termi-
nation. England had endorsed Canada's
claims and recently admitted American
contentious were unfounded. If the
United States insisted upon its preten-
sions, grave complications would arise.
What the result would be, he dared not
say, nor did he dare think of the results.
Canada has resisted her wrongs. She
would continue to resist them and the
COMPENSATION was inevitable. The
marques of Lansdowne, Ex-Governor
General of Canada, took warm personal
interest in the quest, and when
he went to England he took with him the
statement from Dominion Government
The speaker said he felt Sir Julian wac
equal to the occasion. Sir Richard Cart
wright took occasion to show what he
considered a necessity for Canada, de-
manding the establishment of an agency
at Washington, as Canada was alone un-
able to settle her grievances owing to
interminable delays in the Foreign Office.
He declared that the claims of the United
States were absurd. Weldon blamed the
Government for the delays in pressing
for settlement. Sir John Thompson,
Minister of Justice, followed. He de-
MED the truth of assertions that a Can
adian could appeal from the judgment of
the Alaskan courts.