The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-09
THE BEHRING SEA CONTROVERSY.

The intelligence that the Administration
has consented to temporary abandonment
of any especial claim to the seal fisheries has
been very quietly received by the American
people. 1t is not the result that was ex-
pected When Mr.. Blaine wrote to the
British Foreign Minister that "the Cana
dian vessels arrested and detained in
Behring Sea were engaged in a pursuit that
was contra bonos mores, pursuit which OF
necessity involves serious and permanent
injury to the United States" it was expected
that other Canadian vessels engaged in the
same contra bonOs mOres business would be
arrested and detained. But it appears that
the contra bOnos mores business can only be
stopped by Withdrawing from the North
American Commercial Company exclusive
privileges which have been granted for a
consideration since the controversy over the
right to make such grant was commenced.
If the rights of Canada in Behring Sea were
equal to the rights of the United States no
exclusive privileges could be granted by
either party. And if, as is now cOntended,
Canada had only such rights as are acquired
through international law the two countries
could give no exclusive rights The Ameri-
can position was stated with great force
some months ago by James A. Whitney of
New York in "a three-column review of the
correspondence as at that time published,
from which we take the following statement
of the American claims to especial juris-
diction:
cit is sufficient for the purposes of this
communication that our rights of property
and jurisdiction are defined by geographical
boundaries in the territorial grant comprised
in our treaty with Russia; that the invasion
of the seal fishery within those limits is in
hibited by the Revised Statutes of the United
States; that the Executive by proclamation,
as directed by the act of Congress, has
warned all persons against entering the de-
fined portions of BehriGg Sea for the pur-
pose of destroying seals; that said treaty
and statutes are part and parcel of the SUI
preme law Of the land; that our courts in
orderly judicial procedure have decreed ac-
cordiDgly: that our seal industry in that
region has been invaded by poacherS flying
the flag of a foreign power until il has been
well-nigh ruined, and that the course of our
State Department has been such as to invite
rather than repel the insult TO our national
dignity and the injury to our national
rights"
When this was written the Administration
had not consented that the lessees of the
seal fishery should have the same rights and
no others as Canadian poaehers On the
contrary, Mr. Blaine declared in an inter-
view with Sir Julian Pauncefote on the 22d
of May, 1890, that "the United States Gov
eminent would never admit that, as regards
the seal fishery, the rights of Great Britain
in the Behring Sea were equal to those we
own" This declaration drew from Lord
Salisbury formal protest, which placed
upon the United States Government the re-
spOnSibility Of the consequences if the pro-
test was disregarded. Mr.. Whitney says:
''The latter phase in its diplomatic meaning
was threat of war in case the President of
the United States enforced the laws of the
country"