Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-07-25

/. Lord Salisbury that the President of the
United States should regard him as want
ing in conciliatory spirit. But he re-
peated his inability to forbid Canadian
and English ships from cruising for seal in
the waters of Behring Sea, even for one
season, pending negotiations for settlement
of the matter. Mr.. Blaine then asked
Lord Salisbury by proclamation to simply
request the English shippers to withdraw,
and if he would do SO, the United States
would be satisfied. In reply the Minister
intimates that England would wish guar
antee that no seizures should be made
pending negotiations, and that our reve-
| nue. cruisers should withdraw from pa
trolling the sea. Mr.. Blaine would not
reply favorably to this amiable PROPOSE
| tion to allow the Canadian and English
fishers to 60 free and ply their sealing un-
obstructedly while time was consumed in
letter writing between the dignitaries.
Thereupon the Minister, in the name of
the Queens Government, renewed his pro-
test against our claim and the act of our
ships Of war and revenue in enforcing the
laws against illicit sealers. This protest
| winds up with threat that the English
Government will hold the United States
responsible for any further seizures that
may be made. However, on the 9th of
June, England made proposition to the
United States that the former would issue
! the proclamation referred to by Mr.. Blaine,
on certain conditions, to wit:
| That the Governments agree forthwith to re-
| Ter 10 arbitration the question of the legality
! of the action of the United States in seizng or
| otherwise interfering with British vessels en-
gagged in Behring Sea outside of territorial
waters during 1856, 1887 and 1889. That pend
ing an sward all interference with British seal
ing vessels shall absolutely cease That the
| United States, If the award is adverse to them,
| Will compensate British subjects for the losses
which they may sustain by reason of their
compliance with the British proclamation.
Just what the outcome of this PROPOSE
ton has been is not made clear by the dis
patches to this date. 1t is provoking that
the news on this head should be so unsat-
| isfactory. We are told that the final
letter, dated only last Saturday, is very
lengthy; that it reviews the whole case,
and that in it Mr.. Blaine reasserts the
claims of the United States, affirming that
Mr.. Adams reply to the Russian Govern
ment In 1921 concerning seal taking, has
been misquoted, misinterpreted, and can
not be tortured into admission by the United
States that Behring Sea is an open sea.
On the contrary, Mr. Blaine tells the Min
lister very emphatically that the marine
territory is ours by purchase; that we have
exercised over it the same character of
jurisdiction that Russia maintained undis-
putedly for ninety years before our acqui-
sition. Considerable space is devoted to
the correction of certain assumptions by
Lord Salisbury, and certain erroneous in
terpretations by him put upon some pre-
vious correspondence, and some supposed
admissions by Minister Phelps when rep
resenting us at the English Court but
these are not apparently gravely material
to the issue.
There Is final offer to consider an
agreement made in 1888, in the interest of
Russia, as cancelled so far as the
rights of the United States are con-
cerned, and that the English Government
shall remain bound by the agreement be-
tween Mr.. Phelps and Lord Salisbury in
1888 while the negotiations for settlement
may continue. Precisely what this under
standing was has not been communicated
by the telegraph, and is not found in any
available records. The correspondence
discloses these facts, that the claim of the
United States has been asserted with
vigor; that the claims of England were
not nearly of so belligerent character as
have been supposed; that they do not at all
justify the rant and shouting of our Cana
dian neighbors. 1t looks very much as if
the whole matter is to be settled by agree
ment upon close season and the with
drawal of the Canadian claim to take
seals unrestricted by any regulations of
the United States