The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-08-25
THE PRESIDENTS PROCLAMATION.

The Argus which like the Irishman is
always bound to be ''agin the govern
ment'' administers stirring rebuke to
President Harrison for issuing his proc
lamation imposing tolls upon Canadian
vessels passing through the ST. Marys
canal, and alleges that the intent of the
Canadians in granting rebates to vessels
passing through the Welland Canal was
not to discriminate against the United
States. The Canadian government is
made up of intelligent men and it is a
fair presumption that they have intended
to do what they did do. They did dis
criminate against vessels of the United
States. Vessels which carried their freight
to Montreal were granted rebate, while
vessels that carried their freight to an
American port got none. The Argus
says with an innocence which is quite
charming that this was not discrimina-
ton against American vessels because
American vessels only had to car
ry their freight to Montreal to get
the rebate just the same as Cana
dian vessels. We suppose if some
Republican city government in Maine
should pass an order providing that all
voters who voted the Republican ticket
should have a discount on their taxes
whereas if they voted the Democratic
ticket they should have none, the Argus
would regard that as a discrimination
against Democrats. 1t would not be
found then taking the ground that there
was no discrimination because the
Democrats might have got the rebate
by voting the Republican ticket. Yet
this case would be precisely parallel
to the case of the Canadian and Ameri-
can vessels in the Welland canal. To
say that there has been no discrimina-
| ton against American vessels is there
fore the merest quibbling. The Boston
Herald is a pretty good Democratic Or
gan and has no love for President Harri-
son. But the Herald acknowledges free
| ly and frankly that the Canadian govern
ment did discriminate against our YES
sells. This is its language 'sThere is
no doubt that the drawbacks on the tolls
of the Welland canal, which have been
granted to Canadians, have constituted a
violation of that equality of treatment
which was assured to us by treaty" In
deed the Argus is the only paper, Demo
cratic or Republican, that has come UNI
| der our observation, that has contended
that the discrimination against our YES
sells assumed by the President did not
exist. A Democratic House of Represen-
| tatives considered the whole matter and
authorized and practically Instructed
President Harrison to impose discrim-
mating toll in the St. Marys canal if the
| Canadian practices ON the Welland canal
were not discontinued.
Even the Canadian government practi-
cally admitted the discrimination, and
| that it was in violation of the treaty
| of Washington, else why did they prom
| Use to discontinue it at the end of the
season? If they were contributing to
| the prosperity of the Montreal shippers
in way that conf1icted with none of
| Canada's engagements with this country,
why did they not reply to this govern
ment that it was none of our affair, as it
would not have been under those cir
cumstances2
The discrimination is as fully proved
as anything can be, and the only posi-.