Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-02-15
THAT BRITISH TREATY.

senate in executive session on the British extradition treaty as made public by the senate. does not remove from the repub- lican committee on foreign affairs the infamy of having tackled onto the treaty amendments suggested by Lord Sack ville- West and copied substantially from the British explosives act of 1883. In fact, from the refusal by a strict party vote to remove the injunction of secrecy from the proceedings of the committee in relation to the treaty as suggested by Senator Morgan, the presumption is strengthened that the obnoxious amend ments were the result of republican catering to British sentiment.
 Just previous to the election letter was published in the Boston Pilot signed by lmber of prominent Irish patriots, and backed by a strong statement by Congressman Collins, making the charge that the republican senators on the for eign affairs committee had been guilty of inserting in the treaty the clauses by which Irish politicians charged under the atrocious crimes act, now in force in Ireland, should be given up by the United States at the claim of the British government. It was alleged in this letter, and proven pretty conclusivel. by Congressman Collins, that the fourth clause of the first article of the treaty was amended by the republican com mittee, at the request of Minister West
 by inserting provision which made it identical with the Irish coercion act of 1883. Every detail connected with the progress of the treaty from its original draft, as shown by the record now made public, bears out the statement made by Congressman Collins and places on the | foreign affairs committee the responsibi- | lity of the obnoxious clause. According l to the record on the second day of Feb ruary, 1888, the following amendments were reported from the foreign affairs committee to the fourth clause of the first article: After the words injuries to" insert ''persons or and after tie next word, " property" insert ''by the use of explosives or malicious injuries or Instructions to railroads After the words thigh contracting powers" in the | last line of the same clause the committee added 'or according to the laws of that political division of either country in which the offence shall have been com mitted, and of that political division of either country in which the offender shall be arrested" It was the addition of these words to the original clause, by which it would be imperative to ex- tradite single person from the United States, that made the treaty specially vicious in that by it man could be taken from one of the United States for an act which is no offence under United States law and carried to Ireland to be tried for the act which is no offence under the laws of Great Britain generally, but only in Ireland under an exceptional statute. Among the nine senators who voted in favor of the amendments thus made to the clause we find seven repub- lican senators, among whom was our own Hawley, while Senator Platt, to his honor be it said, voted in the negative. On the main question, too, of the ac- ceptance of the treaty we find Hawley voting in the affirmative, while the more manly and less English Platt was again found on the right side. When secrecy from the proceedings of the | foreign affairs committee came up on a | motion of Senator Morgan we find every republican senator, even those who were willing to have the senate proceedings | made public, voting solidly in oppo- why, if the republican senators were not responsible for the obnoxious am- endments to the fourth clause of the first article, should they hesitate to have it known who the responsible person was? Republicans have not been wont to exhibit any par ticular concern to shield democrats in a dishonorable transaction, and it will take good deal to make the public be- lieve that their objection to letting in the light on the committee proceedings is due to any desire to shield democratic offenders.
 Look at the matter as we may, weigh it up as we will, the conclusion is ire sistible that the obnoxious amendments were the work of republican senators, and that it was not deemed advisable therefore to blazon it to the world. And
 we think that those republican editors who have been limiting that the senate disclosures might have something un- pleasant for democratic journals who have been holding to the charge as first