New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-30
rs ENGLAND DOING HER PARTf


If there has been any sealing in Behring Sea
since the arrival there of the United States
naval and revenue vessels, ii must have been
most slyly done. Returning seaerS report facts
and circumstances that show remarkable acuV-
ity on the part of the American vessels. Ihey
seem to be performing the whole work ansing
under the terms of the modus vivendi, while
their British coadiutors hang around and watch
the snort The Rush and the Thetis have been
the naval ships most heard from. The Thens
has arrested nineteen vessels serving them with
the Presidents proclamation, and allowing them
TO 90 on their ways with the warning that il
seen again in Behring Sea they will be seized.
The Rush, so far as reported, has intercepted
ten sealers, and has made two seizures. One OF
them was an American vessel, the other the
Victorian schooner Marvin. Both had dlSre-
garded their first warning. The vessels already
heard from as having been informed OF the
prohibition constitute two-thirds of the sealing
fleet and as our facts come from the six that
have already made their way back to Vlctora' ]"
is fair to presume that the whole feet mas Deeh
reached and warned. This is credltaDle WORK
Of course, as the party interested IN the ell
forcenent of the modus 1t Is natural that Eng
land should let her activity wait upon o'lfs' anu
il is not at all surprising or Hgnlhcanl .DaO
her ships have held back while ours did 1he
necessary service But the return OF the Mar
vim 70 Victoria has brought out facts that seem
to show an unfortunate laxity in the arrange
msnts Lord Salisbury has made for precautions
IT, is provided in the modus that the author-
ties of either nation may make seizures puC III
case the prize is OF one nationality ana 0he
cantor of another, the prize must be delVefed
for trial to the nearest court of its own nation
ality. There it is to be tried. The Marvin was
seized by the Rush and delivered TO Her
Maiesty's ship Nymph by whom she was d.
rected t0-report for trial to the custom house
authorities at Victoria Arriving there, the
Collector of Customs informed her owners thao
he had no function to perform with regard 70
her and the British Admiral commanding con-
sidered himself equally without responsibility.
The Marvin is therefore under no restraint 1t
does not seem to have occurred to the law
officers of the colony to recall their duty IN the
matter. and so far as now appears the Marvin
offence is to 20 without judicial inquiry or pun
shment.
This is altogether wrong 1t Is distinct
violation of the compact signed by the Actng
Secretary of State and the British Minister and
unless it is corrected 1T must lead to an I'M
pleasant complication. The regulation for
closed season was a condition precedent to ar
bitration and it is highly important that all It's
provisions should be carried out in good faith.
There have been several indications that Great
Britain's officials who are connected with the
proceeding ARE not operating in that spirit OF
regard for the compact which we are entitled
10 expect. 1t was highly unnecessary, If not
positively improper, for Sir George Baden-Pow-
ell, the British Commissioner, to declare at
Ottawa that the Mckinley bill was designed by
the Americans to force Canada into annexation.
In making such statement he did not speak
the truth, and whatever right he may have to
his opinion, he had no business to use his posi-
ton as a Commissioner in the interest of peace
TO promote discord and diStrust. Still more
offensive was the declaration of his colleague,
DR.. Dawson, at Victoria that the provision in
the modus permitting the killing of 1900 seal
on the American Islands looked to him like a
trick to render general slaughter easy. This
remark was made on the day before DR.. Dawson
sailed. Had it occurred earlier our Government
would have been bound to demand his recall.
The idea that an officer, appointed to carry out
a friendly agreement between nations, should
consider himself entitled to criticise provision
that his superiors had approved and to express
his opinion that it had not been proposed in
good faith is intolerabe. 1t is to be said, upon
the whole, that Great Britain's method OF car
rying out the modus is not calculated to pro-
duce good feeling in this country.