Evening journal., 1893-03-30
CRIMINALS ABROAD.
Important Treaties That Pro-
vide for Their Return.
HUMAN BEINGS IN SLAVERY.

!
A Prominent Republican Senator. Pro-
nounced in His Opposition TO the Treaty
with Russia Says That 1t is bordering
on An Attempt to Violate the Rights
OF Human Liberty.
WASHINGTON, March 3O-The criti-
cisms that have been made upon the
Russian treaty, whether just or not,
have had the effect Of putting the Sen
ate on the defensive ond IL is understood
that when it Is finally decided to give
the treaty out It will be accompanied by
the draft Of the convention as it came to
the Senate, so that comparison may be
made between the treaty as ratified and
the one upon which the Senate acted.
Accompanying this will also appear the
correspondence, for It is understood to.
| given its consent to the publ
cation of the messages that passed
between the representatives of the con.
tracting powers. The Senate had made
up its mind that it would act regardless
of the feelings of the state department and
that consent was readily secured, although
consent TO make public the text of the
instrument itself has never been with
held. Mr. Butler, acting chairman of
the committee on foreign relations, was
absent yesterday or it is probable that
the treaty would have been released
then
ExtraditlOn of Criminals
Extraordinary care has been taken
that this treaty should be kept as pro-
found secret and It has been almost i'm
possible TO get anything like an accur-
ate insight into the much-discussed con-
vention, The most recent treaty pre-
viously made by this government bear
ing upon the extraditiOn Of criminals
was that made with Belgium in 1882
and that contains a clause that is said
by senators to be almost identical with
the political clause" of the treaty
under discussion. Political clauses are
not at all rare in treaties made by the
United States, for frOm early days the
right of asylum has been protected
in all conventions that have been
negotiated In many cases the language
is exactly the same. while in others there
is different way of expressing the in
tention of this government, but it is ex
pressly stipulated that eXtradition will
not be guaranteed for offenses Of a politi-
cal nature in the treaties with Austria,
Baden Belgium, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador France, Hayti, Italy, Japan,
Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Orange
Free State Spsin. Sweden and Norway,
and the Swiss Confederation.
political Clause" stui Remains.
Some Of these treaties were made
many years ago, and although amended
and altered, the political clause" still
remains. The crime of forgery, by
which is meant-as stipulated in the
treaties-the utterance of forged papers
and also the countefeiting of public,
sovereign and governmental acts. which
appears in the Russian treaty, also ap.
pears in many of these earlier treaties,
but the fact remains as stated on the
floor of the Senate when this particular
treaty was up for discussion, that no
country maintains a frontier guarded
against the escape of it's citizens at all
comparable with the rigid discipline and
strict surveillance maintained by the
government Of the Car, and
what might be simple
! HiNNAaAN AnANnANA W HAnNAuD A0t
the capture of criminals, pure and
simple in any one Of these countries,
becomes, under the peculiar conditions
that exist i'm Russia standing menace
to the safety of every man who may be
able to get out of that country and reach
the shores of America.
The treaty concluded with Belgium in
the year 1882 and proclaimed November
20, within two days after the exchange
Of the ratification, contains the most
elaborate reference to crimes Of politi-
cal nature.
An additional clause provides that "a
, person who has been surrendered on
account of one of the common crimes or
offences mentioned shall consequently in
no case be prosecuted and punished in the
state 10 which his extradition has been
granted on account of a political crime OF
offence committed by him previously to
his extradition or on account of an act
connected with such political crime or
offences unless he has been at liberty TO
leave the country for one month
after having been tried and in case
of condemnation, for one month
after having suffered his punishment OF
after having been pardoned 1t is
understood that this provision is also
/ l lJuuu ia lhe AAunoiuN treaty. uhb ~ was
asserted upon the hoor of the Senate
that the extradition to- Belgium and
TO Russia under treaties of precisely the
same wording, meant two vastly differ
ent things.
! Arrest of one of Lincoln's Assassins.
Daring this debate it WAS brought for
cibly TO the attention Of the Senate by
one Of the leading constitutional lawyers
Of the south that this country had at one
time asked for and secured the extradi-
tion OF a man charged with what might
, have been under such a treaty called a
capital offence He referred TO the ar.
, rest of John Surratt. who was implicated
in the conspiracy which resulted in the
assassination of Lincoln. Surratt fed
20 Egypt and joined the army of the
: khedive; thence TO Rome, where he
became one of the papal zouaves He
was recognized by a citizen of Baltimore,
. who notified this government of his
l whereabouts. Upon application to the
! Pope, who then enjoyed his temporal
/ power In Italy, Surratt was sent to this