New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-04
GRESHAM AND THE SEALERG.
CONGRESS MAY NOT CARRY OUT HIS
BARGAIN WITH CANADA

MENT OF THE COUNSEL AT
THE PARIS ARBITRATION.
TsY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE1
Washington Dec st is certain that there will
he n thorough Investigation before Congress accepts
the recommendation made by the PRESIDENT III HIS
message to-day that si25OOo be paid to Great Britain
AZ damages growing out of the fur seal controversy
Last summer when IL was reported that Secretary
Gresham had agreed to pay Sk0Op TO the Caha-
dans on this account. he made heated DENIAL
though 1t now appears that the statement was
strictly true, with the exception that the nsuieS
were $4,000 too high. The members Of the Behrng
ea Court of Arbitration confirmed the denial or the
Secretary of State without consulting him. lot 'hey
cou,d mot conceive how he could make such az
agreement in the fac, Of the facts But Sr 'har'e7
Tuppor who was here at the time succeeueu ~
persuadlng Secretary Gresham to accept the br''s"
claim without investigation or consultation with the
attorneys or the arbitrators of the United states "
the Paris Tribunal even reading, az IL wou'o
, IN. defonce which was made by this Govern
ment against those claims. The exact. amount
claimed by tho Canadians was A39,o'i
Great Britain wanted to submit the quesuo" oi
,aoos ~ the Arbitration Tribunal. President
Harrison said that he willing to do So pro-
v,ded the claims Of this country also were submit
tod and tina. II the Tribunal decided that the "a
nadians had no right to take seals from behrihs
uoa tho British t;oy~rnment would agree 10 pay 10
tho United States tho value Of all the seals JUS SUD
iects had taken out of American waters III the last
fifteen or twenty years which would amount l"
MANY millions Of dollars. Lord Salisbury dared nor
take this risk so it agreed by Article VII vi
tho treaty that the amount Of damages should not
he submitted to the Tribunal OF Arbitration put
that the principles might he decided ana the
amount of damages made the subject OF furtne'
negotiate The United States. under the oe
cree of the Tribunal is liable for whatever damages
have been suffered by English seaiers. put INV
amount has never been determined. The President
:, bis message says that claims have been sub
iected bv both Governments to thorough exami-
nation upon the principles as well as the 1sc's
which they involve" but no one here - aware wnen
or by whom this examination was made
The Tribunal at Paris found that the United states
had no right TO seize foreign vessel taking seals
on the high seas and II this Government has done
so IT was responsible for whatever loss was s"s
,slned by the owners OF that vessel. Nothing what
ever was said about the amount OF the hao'h'y'
and the attorneys OF the United states resisted the
British claim OF ss39.5T not well founded tn fact
and excessive The exact terms OF the finding on
this question are as follows;
THE question as TO the value Of such vessels
or their contents or either Of them, and the ques-
ton AZ TO whether the vessels mentioned In inc
schedule Of the British case or any OF them were
wholly or In part the actual property OF citizens OF
tn. United States has been withdrawn from ana
has not been considered by the Tribunal 1t being
understood that 1t Is open TO the United states to
raise these questions any OF them. II they think
TT In any future negotiations as to the liability OF
the United States Government to pay the amounts
mentioned IN the schedule OF the British cases
They agreed that certain vessels. eighteen In num-
Der had been seized upon the high seas by the
authorities Of the United States and one vessel
within the waters OF the United States, but they did
not concele that these vessels sustained any dam
whatever. In fact. they claimed that most ot
them did not In their arguments the attorneys OF
the United States Messrs Foster. Phelps. Carter.
Bodgett and Coudert. insisted that ten OF these VS.
sells belonged TO citizens OF this Government. AL
though thry had nomnally British registers II APP
pears by the evidence that ten vesselsLthe saywarn
Thornton. Dolphin. Pathfinder Black Diamond. Ana
beck Grace Carolina. Alfred Adams and Lily were
purchased for 81 by blacksmith living IN san ran
cisco who happened to be Englishman By birth
and unnaturalIzed In order that they might get 2
British register bu: they actually belonged TO ana
thousands dollars OF the total claim entered by
four other vessels which were never seized by the
warned of the sealing grounds. Their owners de-
mand pay for the seals they did not catch-that is.
full damages for the money which they claim they
might have made during the season II they had not
Another claim for s. 90 was from Canadian YES
sci which was detained a certain length OF time I'M
counted for. which claim $500 for detention and
general damages. and s54. $50 for the value of the
cruise they did not make because they were inter
fered with one OF the vessels asks $1,000 another
1850. another 81. 100 and another 400. In addi-
ton TO this the captains and mates OF the nine.
teen vessels claim 81. 90 damages for wear and
OF mind, loss OF reputation and personal NORTH
cation or this $4,000 is claimed by American
a,,r.rs ~ Amorican vasse,s nd nv the off,
Of British vessels.
This is the character OF the claims which secre-
tary Gresham has agreed to pay, In opposition to
the arguments OF the attorneys or the United
States who spent months in their investigation