The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-05-25
THE NEW MINISTER TO FRANCE.


At the brilliant reception given him by
the Algonquin Club last night the Hon.
T. Jefferson Coolidge rightly charac-
terized the period at which he goes
abroad as a most interesting one.
"There are two great questions" said
he, coming up within the year which
have seldom been equalled in import
ance. refer first to bi-lnetalism. The
President has invited the nations of
Europe to send delegates to conference
and this invitation has been accepted.
"There never has been better time
for such convention. Bi-metalisn has
grown steadily in England. The boards
of trade all over the United Kingdom
have petitioned i'm favor of it, and it is
supposed that Lord Salisbury and Bal
four and Goschen and many other lead
ing statesmen are favorably inclined.
Besides, the disastrous condition of the
trade in India, caused by the deprecia-
ton of the silver rupee, may induce Eng
land to go farther than it has ever been
willing to do before. There is already a
law allowing % per cent. of the bank re:
serve to be held in silver and If she
should agree to hold so per cent. it
would occasion purchases of about $780,
600, 900 of silver and give strong moral
support to the nations which, like
France and ourselves, wish to establish
a bi-metalic coinage at fixed ratio be-
tween gold and silver.
"The other matter is the Bering sea
controversy. This conference on this
matter is much more important than
the Alabama treaty. The amount of
money involved is greater, as you win
see by rejecting that 100, 900 seals year
at $40 head means 81, ,OOO, 900, the in
terest on much greater sum than $15,-
600, ,040, which was the award of the
Alabama reference. Besides, it involves
more interesting questions of Diterna-
tional law. At Geneva the matter in
dispute related to the policy of nations
in the treatment of privateers or cruis-
ers belonging to belligerents. This ar
bitration embraces the question of what
rights we inherited from Russia, how
the three-mile limit is to be construed,
and whether the right of self-preserva-
tion and common humanity and justice
do not extend on the ocean beyond the
three-mile limit; in other words, whether
civilized nations cannot protect, even in
the open seas, the lives Of valuable ami
mails, harmless i'm themselves, and which
confer revenue on the United States,
and give occupation to several thousand
people in England in dyeing and curing
the skins before they are ready for com
merce."
Paris is likely TO be chosen as the
meeting place of the silver conference,
and one of the Bering Sea arbitrators
is to be chosen by France, so that Mr..
Coolidge is justified in considering the
time at which he goes TO represent this
countrys interests in the French Repub-
lie a most important one.
that il is the Republican party which
has at heart the nations welfare in both
these matters. Now that the quarrel in
the ranks of the Democracy over the
silver question has growled itself down
10 an angry silence, the common sense
of the people will lead them to OBJ
serve that the only possible way in
which the problems involved could be
met is the way which has been chosen
by the Republican leaders. Joint ac-
ton with other nations is necessary,
and, as the event is proving, easily pos.
sible.
In the Bering Sea matter the Democ-
racy has cried down American interests
from the beginning. II has ridiculed
the notion that national principle or ma
tional repute was involved. For Ameri-
can business interests its record would