New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-08-25
THE BEHRING SEA QUESTION.
SHALL THE DISPUTE BE REFERREDP
rnRp sALBBURY's OFFER OF ARBITRATION
AN APPARENT DESIRE TO SAVE THIS
SEASONS WORK no THE
SEAL, PIRATES.

Lord Salisbury has offered to arbitrate " the diff
ference" between the United States and Grea1
britain as to American rights in Behring Sea, but
60 far as the public is informed this suggestion
has not been made in any definite way. In inc
last days of May or the first of June. after the
British Government had for a second tdme receueu
from its own offers of satisfactory close season,
ond when it became evident that the Ihl'eo
States was not to be persuaded TO accept sum
coturc as Canada was willing to grant, Dir julian
Panncepotc limited ut arbitration Inc fresiuehO
and Mr.. Blaine quite disposed to accept ti''V
solution of the controversy, but they felt that
pending its award, Great Britain ought not to give
rs any further cause for complaint In tms splrlc
Mr. Blaine asked the British Minister whether
Lord Salisbury. in order to promote u friendly So
lpton Of the question, would twilD make for
single season the regulation which in 1873 he Of
fered 10 make permanent" This was a regulation
cstabIi. ing close time for fur seals in Behring
Sea between $50 degrees Of longitude, west, and
10 degrees of longitude, east from April Is to
Novenbcr L. This was Secretary Bayards orlgl-
nal propostion to which on February 3D. 1883, our
Minister in London, Mr.. Phelps, informed Mr. bay-
ard that Lord Salisbury asSents, and that TIC
will cause an act to be introduced in Parliament
to give effect 10 this arrangement, ana that lie
will also Join the United States Government In any
| nreventiye measures il may be thought best to
odopt by orders issued 10 the naval vessels OF the
| respective Governments in that region MI
Blaine did not fail 10 inform Sir Julian Pancefotc
of the significance which the President would at
ach TO the temporary establishment of this rcgula
ton for 1890. 1t is step, wrote Mr.. Blaine,
which will lead most certainly and most prompt
| ly 10 friendly agreement between the two Gov
crnments.'
DODGHs OF THE BRITISH PREMTER
| However much Sir Julian Pauncefotc may have
desired friendly agreement he did not desire
il enough TO make any concessions lie met this
| most amicable suggestion with brusk refusal.
His instructions were such, indeed, that he did
not think it worth his while to wait for de-
cision from Lord Salisbury but on thc very next
day he wrote Mr.. Blaine that Her Majestys Gov
| eminent ARE not prepared to agree TO such
| regulation rs is suggested in your letter for tile
present fishery season, as apart from other con
sideratons there would be no legal power to
enforce its Observance on British subjects and
| British vessels Mr.. Blaine did not conceal his
| ANNOYANCE az this curious decision. lie directed
! Sir Julians attention to the ruinous results OF
these Canadian attacks upon the sealhcrd ana
| expressed the Presidents disappointment that
| even for the sake Of securing an impartial ar
| bitr,tion OF the question AT issue Her MaJesys
Government is not willing 20 suspend for single
season the practice which Lord Salisbury de-
scrihed in 1855 ms the wanton destruction Of
valuable industry and which this Government
has uniformly regarded as an unprovoked IN
| yasion of It's established rights These remarks
were cahled to the British Premier, but they
elected nothing more than a pcrfunctory express
sion Of rcgscI that the President should think
| him wanting i'm Cancellation, and an explanation
/ land MIA cod
Do entirely beyond the power of Her MaJestys
Government TO exclude British or Canadian ships
from any portion OF the high sens even for an
! hour. without legislative sanction As might
have been anticipated Mr. Blaine made haste to
inquire how IL Happened that, in the face OF this
| disability Lord Salisbury, I'm 1888, had addressed
10 Mr. Phelps the offer to enforce such regula-
ton by orders issued 10 the naval vessels
afterward explaining 10 Mr. White that these
orders were to issue from the Queen IN COUNCIL
| H. was obviously imnossible that his Iordshlp
| sbould lie able 10 make any other reply to this
pregnant question than that he Ind been mis-
understood 10y Mr.. Phelps and Mr.. White, nm
answer which, OF course, the intelligence ana ca
paclty Of those responsible officials forbade MI
Blaine 10 accept
LORD sAIHsBURY'S ASSUMPTION.
With equal force WAS he forbidden to accept l:
| bv the fact that Lord Salisbury had just eX-
erciscd upon the coasts OF Newfoundland the very
| authority which now he claimed TO he without
| Tie modus viycnd arranged between Loru
Salisbury and NJ Spullcr last March includes n
promise on the part OF England temporarily 10
restrain her subjects in Newfoundland from the
pursuit Of what they claimed, and England
claimed for them, u De lawful business. NO
British lobster factory along the so-calicd frehch
| shore not in operation on July !, 1889, was 10
be allowed 10 open during the season Of 1880
| Those in operation before that time were 10 CON
tinue pending settlement of the main ques
| ton which was as 20 the right OF the British 10
catch and can holsters on that strand. The au-
| thority Lord Salisbury assumed and has been
| actually eXcrting this summer was purely arDi-
| trary II found is justification in no statute
either Of the Imperial Parliament or Of the
Colonial legislature The Prime Minister knew
this perfectly when he made the modus, for
the absence of such enactmerts had been the
subject of constitutions and correspondence be-
tween Lord Knutsford the Colonial Secretary
and Sir Robert Thorburn, the Newfoundland
Premier And yet Lord Salisbury did not hesitate
on this account 10 enforce the restraints of the
modus upon the Queens subjects in Newfound-
land. Indeed, at the very moment when he was
explaining to Mr. Blaine the powcrlcSs cOndi-
ton in which hc was left by the British Con
sttu,ion and desiring Mr.. Blaine TO believe that
Minister Phclps's official dispatches were faulty
and inaccurate and based on an imperfect under
standing Of his Lordship's language, the British
naval commander in Newfoundland Sir Baldwin
Walker, was forcibly closing Colonial lobster
factories with no other right or power than that
conferred by Lord Salisburys Instructions Is
tire British Const tuition thing which British
Ministers in their foreign relations may set aside
when it is in their way, and reordain when it will
serve convenient purpose?
TRYING TO SHIELD TIE PIRATES.
Mr.. Blaine did not ask this question nor cite
this Newfoundland case, though he might well
have done had they occurred to him. He
simply modified his request that IL could not
possibly he decricd without the acknowledgment
Oh Great Britains part that she looking for
| ilnr inuslr Inn N