New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-07-11
THE BEHRING SEA DISPUTE.
A SOLUTION OF 1T LIKELY TO BE FOUND
IN ARBITRATION.
WHY Mr. BLAINE COULD NOT ACCEPT SIN
JULIAN's PREVIOUS PROPOSAL FOR AN AR.
BITRAToR-wHAT THE CoRREsPoN.
DENCE CALLED FOR BY THE
HOUSE PROBABLY
CONSISTS OF.
tBY -rxnxGaAPH 10 THE TKIBUSR..

Washington, July 1O.-"The diplomatic oorses
spondence between the Government OF the Unite1
States and the Government OF Great Britain, touching
the subjects in dispute in the Behring Sea-, called fos
under resolution Of the House, will probably be ready
for transmission in a day or two Those who expect
to find in the documents referred TO any evidence OF
the strained relations which arc said 10 exist at tho
present time between the Governments Of the two
countries will seek 1t in vain. Those, on the othes
hand, who have looked for firm and disnifed fnt
sstence upon the rights Of the United states In ths
premises, by those charged with so important truss
will not be disappointed.
OF the official documents in the case called for BY
the House, little need be said The fact that Mrs
Hitt chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee OF the
House, received nmation that call for the docu-
ments would promptly be honored by the state De-
partment is sufficient guarantee for saying that they
contain nothing in any way sensational. The House
and the country in possession OF all tine corro'
spondence touching upon the subject OF the Behrine
sea dispute down 20 March A, 1889. Since uen as
previously intimated. few notes have been exchanges
by Mr. Blaine and Sir Julian Pauncefoe In this matter
The negotiations nearly all been carried on orally.
What Is on record in writing is able presentation Oh
the position occupied by the United states, whlcd 10
said TO bear all the marks OF Mr. Blanes individualy
a proposition by Sir Julian for modus vivendi, ana
the outlines of a plan for regulating pelagc sealing
upon an international basis, and refusal on the pars
upon grounds which orcbly and with great clear
ness set forth in note of some length. These three
documents probably the most Important OK tne
batch which Mr. Hits resolution will have called out
The remainder consists Of merely formal corresponds
encc
The subject Of the frequent conferences on tne
part of the British Minister and Mr. Blaine as well a.
NJ de struve who as the representative Of the Russian
Government was admitted to some Of these, and tho
Canadian Minister Fisheries, who acted as an a0'
wiser to Sir Julian last autumnof these conferences
the documents will disclose next to nothing No pro-
toco no record Of these meetings. was left at the tme
except it be the reports which Sir Julian may have
sent to his Government Such reports must necessarily
have been of less confidential nature, ana II
is doubtful whether they will be submitted In their
entirety to Parliament. Yet these conferences muss
always be considered, having the final result 10 Do
looked for, the most important feature In the nego
tiatons. They were, many Of them, OF the most ln"
formal character, and were made the occasion for
free and unrestricted exchange Of views between the
Secretary of State and the British Mnmter-
Late last fall and to the time the international
American Conference finally adjourned in the spring. the
negotiations not actively prosecuted as ME-
Blaine or Sir Julian might perhaps have desircos
But this was partly TO the great demand upon Ar.
Blanes time which his presidency in the international
American Conference involved and partly also 10 the
family sorrows which overlook the Secretary OF State
at that period and which made 1t impossible for him
to attend to all the multifarous duties Of his oicet
The negotiations, however, were actively resumed
In the latter part OF April and have continued. with
here and there Interruption, ever since then
OF a final suspension abrupt termination there
was at 10 time the slightest danger Neither has the
hope been abandoned that the whole matter Will DO
satisfactorily settled In the near future The assur'
ance to that effect of both Mr.. Blaine and Sir Julian.
given to persons entitled to know, is warrant enough
for expressing the belief that this will be done.
There is one feature Of the negotiations TO which
attention may proftaby be drawn perhaps since 1t ID
likely that the official documents will not disclose
it. This is "a proposition the part Of Sir Julian.
made about six eight weeks ago, to submit certain
questions involved in the dispute to arbitration Mr..
Blaine not unwilling to accede to this PROPOSE
ton, but he wished to define clearly beforehand the
facts, such, which should be submitted to the
were unable TO agree. 1t is believed that Sir Julian
desired the power conferred upon the arbitrator to de-
eide what facts and what were not, In other
words, he wanted the arbitrator to have 0ppOrtun,
ity to go, as it were, behind the retums,' But
this Elaine, it is thought, would not agree to- and
so the whole proposal fell through. AS TO who the
arbitrator TO be, that was question not reached.
of course since the basis OF arbitration could not be
settled. 1t is probable however, that the chief Of
non maritime pOwer-Switzerand for instance-w0uh
have been chosen for the Office.
The failure to adopt In the foregoing instance tho
principle arbitration does not exclude the possibility
of its being employed ultimately after all. On the
contrary 1t is believed by those in position to know
that the present drift of negotiations Is still In that
direction, and that in arbitration will be found
practical and honorable solution of existing difficulties
touching the seal fisheries of the Behring sea.