The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1892-04-23
REsukEp sY HIs PARTY.
Republicans DenounOe HarrisOn's ActioI
In the Behring Sea Matter.


Republicans DenounOo Harrison'S Action
in the Behring Sea Matter.
II has rarely happened In the history
of parties in the United States that the
executive of the national government
has been deliberately and of necessity
rebulked and humiliated by majority
of its own party in the senate. To this
point the blunder of Blaine and Harri-
son has brought the republicans in the
upper house on the pending issue be-
tween Great Britain and the United
States.
That blunder has brought the coun-
try to the verge of war for, unfortu-
nately, a cause that does not command
the cordial sympathy of the masses Of
the people. The people on national is
sues are not partisan. This they have
demonstrated repeatedly. They ask
nothing of national administrations ex-
except ldehty to the constitution, and
In conformity with it they will support
any national administration against any
| foreign foe.
Unfortunately the course pursued by
the administration on the Behring sea
question has not been characterized by
that clearness of argument, that sim
certify of conviction, that directness of
method and that grave sense of respon-
sibility that should characterize every
transaction of the government of the
United States.
Mr.. Blaine claimed that we acquired
with Alaska exclusive jurisdiction over
one hundred miles of Behring sea from
the coast line and that within this area
only our vessels should have the right
to engage IN seal catching. The
British government contended that we
denied to Russia like claim in relation
to Alaska before we purchased that
country and cited our official state
papers in support of this position. Mr..
Blaine repudiated British interpreta-
tion of the papers.
Our revenue cutters accordingly
seized Canadian vessels in Behring sea.
The British government appealed over
the executive to the judicial branch OF
our government and sought to get def
milton of our jurisdictional extent
from the United States supreme court
in the Sayward case. The court threw
out the cause on the technical ground
that the question of jurisdiction was
not properly raised in the district court
of Alaska, whence appeal was taken
This brought the question back to its
foundation, and, all other resources ex
hausted, Great Britain proposed thai
our claim to one hundred miles should
be for the time conceded, provided We
agreed to refer ence without appeal 0.
all questions of law and fact to inter
national arbitration, the concession be
ing automatically modus vivendi By
which Canadian poachers were ex
cluded until May of this year.
Treaty stipulations were then pro
ceeded with and the secretary of statt
for the United States and the minister
of foreign affairs for Great Britain
jointly signed preamble to a treaty
providing for settlement of the entiYC
dispute by a court to sit at Paris. Mr.
Blaine signed this treaty without re
quiring that the temporary concession
of our claims should be extended unit
the arbitration court shall submit its
findings, to which both countries are
pledged in advance.
In failing to make extension of thu
modus vivendi a sine qua non of hi
signature to the proposed treaty Mr.
Blaine committed a serious error, whicl
has brought us to possibility of wa
with Great Britain. The president, VIII,
did not realize the danger until afte
the signature of Mr.. Blaine had beel
} put to the document, made the best o
! | q bad cif1, afion He oou1d not Y.ap7di