Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-01-22

Law and Fact--A Means of Escape
Opened to Him.
New York Evening Post
Mr.. Blaine's diplomatic discussions
have always been full of surprises.
They are nothing if not dramatic. The
discussion he has been carrying on with
Lord Salisbury during the past year has
been mixed question of law and fact.
The question of fact has been whether
the United States cruisers had seized
British vessels in the open sea outside
the three-mile limit, for catching seals;
the question of law has been whether
the United States cruisers had the right
to do this for the protection of the
Behring Sea or any other seals, or for
any purpose, except the suppression OF
piracy. There has been prodigious
cloud of words raised about the matter,
but the above were the essential points.
There was no question of national honor
or policy involved no dispute about ter
ritory, or about belligerent or neutral
rights. The controversy has arisen in a
time of profound peace. In the hands of
Seward or Marcy the public would prob
ably hardly have heard of 1t all. Either
of these statesmen would, in fact, have
been very likely to leave the matter
wholly to the decision of the admiralty
courts, as the British government left
| the decision of the question whether
slave-trading was piracy. It is in part
for the settlement of such questions that
| courts of admiralty exist. When a
| Canadian or British sealer was captured
he had his remedy before the United
States tribunals. All that either his
government or ours needed to do was
| to agree on a suspension of sealing
| operations until the decision of the
court of last resort had been reached.
Instead of this Mr., Blaine has blown
the question up, as his wont is, into a
newspaper controversy, full Of digres-
sions and side issues, and tn quoques,
and tits-for-tat, and irrelevancies of
every description, illustrations that did
not illustrate, and precedents that fur
nished no light, and after writing 40 or
30 newspaper columns to avoid arbitrat-
ing, has finally agreed to some sort of
| arbitration.
In the meantime, British subject
has been slowly seeking his remedy in
our courts for the capture Of his sealing
ship by an American cruiser ON the high
seas, and has reached the Supreme
Court on appeal. This appeal
when decided would unquestion-
ably have closed the diplomatic
mouths of both Blaine and Sails
bury. If either of them had taken any
further steps, they would have had to
be belligerent steps. If the Supreme
Court were to award damages to the
appellant in the Sayward case, it would
leave Blaine without leg to stand on.
If, on the other hand, it decided in his
favor, it would put Salisbury in the
position, which he could not hold for a
moment, of disputing the Judgment of
the highest court Of admiralty in the
world-a position which he would be
only too thankful to keep out of. In
short it would settle the Behring Sea
controversy out of sight and out of
mind, and would leave the field clear
for some joint convention for the pro-
lection of that interesting animal, the
seal, In truth, the fact that this suit was
pending made the diplomatic contro-
versy somewhat ridiculous, because en-
tirely superfluous.
The Canadians have at the last moment
changed their policy as litigants by
abandoning the proceedings in the suit
for restitution and damages, ,and asking
the Supreme Court for writ of prohibit
ton annulling the proceedings in which
the vessel was condemned in the United
States district courts. Two petitions
for this have been fled one by the
owner of the vessel, the other by the
Canadian attorney general, who alleges
the approval of his proceeding by the
imperial government The contention
of Mr.. Blaine's friends now is that The
Intervention of this last-named official
is an impertinence if not foul insult,
inasmuch as it is an official attempt to
carry into ordinary litigation a question
already under diplomatic discussion.
We must confess that while it is per-
haps the greatest compliment ever paid
by foreigners to a court of justice, and
really ought to flatter the national
pride, it is ill judged and unfortunate in
that, while it will not make the Judgment
of the court when it comes any more
decisive, it will furnish Mr.. Blaine with
means of at least temporary escape from
a position which is both embarrassing
and humiliating. 1t gives him an open
ing for new controversy, involving
neither law nor fact, but raising numer-
GUS points of honor, courtesy, etiquette,
and the like, in which his Journalistic
pen will be able to rove about with all
the freedom of the wild ass on the plains
of Kittimengo. No one whose business
it is to follow him in his diplomatic ex-
cursions can hear without shudder that
he is beginning the preparation of
another diplomatic note" in which heis
to chastise the Canadian attorney-gen-
eral, and Lord Salisbury, and all others
concerned for their mean and dlscour-
teous behavior. The incident reminds
one of the wise old minister of the
Close-Communion Baptists, who was
consulted by his deacons as to what
they were to do in case the mother of
lady of his congregation who was visit
ing her daughter, should come second
time, uninvited and unqualified, to take
the communion. u would" said he, ''if
she repeats the offence, get my gold
headed cane out of the vestry-room, and
hit her over the head with it,"
QUESTION OF LAW. -
Baltimore Sun.
The question of the extent of the
jurisdiction of the laws and courts of
the United States over the waters of
Behring Sea, or any other sea, is neces-
sarily a question of law to be deter
mined in the last resort by the Supreme
Court. Grant that it is question of in
ternational LAWN the absence of any
international tribunal to interpret and
enforce that law-the courts of each
nation furnish their own Interpretation
and application of its rules, which are
binding upon their own citizens. This
the courts of the United States have un-
lformly done from the foundation of the
government, and the fabric of modern
international law owes much to the |
labors of Chief Justice Marshall, Judge
Story and others, their colaborers and