Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-25
SIR ULlAN'S VIEW
Tart Comment on the Way Congress De-
bated the Indemnity.
He Says the British Flag Was Violated
and the Facts Badly
Misstated.

The British embassy today received from
| the foreign office the full correspondence
| respecting claims for compensation on &C.
| count of British vessels seized in Boring
sea by United States cruisers. Brief cable
extracts from the report have appeared,
but the full correspondence Is of interest,
it shows the spirit with which Sir Julian
Pauncefote answered the criticisms of Sen
ator Morgan. Informing Lord Kimberly
that the House of Representatives had de-
feated the measure for the payment of the
claims, Sir Julian wrote: Strong party
feeling would seem alone to account for the
rejection of SO just and desirable an ar
| rangement and, as your Iordship will have
noticed from the Enclosures in my dispatch.
statements have been made in Congress,
which are entirely misleading.
1T Is urged that the present claims are
principally made out of indirect damages,
because they include. in some cases, the
loss of profits of the fishery season by seal
Ing vessels warned cut of BeriEg sea. Such
damages were allowed when claimed by the
United States in the Fortune bay case on
behalf of United States fishermen, whose
rights of fishery had been forcibly inter-
fered with by mob on the coast Of New
foundland in 1878
Again. it is pretended that a great ma
1ority of the sealing vessels on behalf of
which the claims are made were the prop
crty of United States citizens, whereas
there is no evidence whatever of any change
of ownership In those vessels which all
carried the British flag and British regis
ter. One speaker represented the total
amount of the claims to be only $4,000,
whereas 1t was over 100000. Another con-
Guided from the fact that the offer of the
lump sum ard its acceptance appeared in
notes of the same date, that the offer was
made without previous investigation, and
was instantly snapped up by her majes-
tvs government, whereas the compromise
recorded in those notes was the result of
laborious negotiations. which were carried
On during the whole summer
But of all the uni founded objections which
have been urged against the claims, that
which seems to have made the greatest i'm
preston on the public mind Is the state
ment that most of the vessels on behalf Of
which the claims are made were in fact
owned by persons whom Senator Morgan
stigmatized in the Senate 'recalcitrant
and rascally Americans. who hired them
selves out to the British flag to rob the gov
eminent of the United States, and to vio-
late its laws and dshonor the country
These vituperahve epithets are quite I'M
merited, and the objection in question is
not well founded in fact and apparently
based on mistaken view of the British
navigation laws After quoting the Brit
ish shipping laws, Sir Julian proceeds:
Why should that American citizen be
! called rascal?' What law has he vio-
lated by advancing money for the prosecu-
ton Of a lawful Canadian industry carried
on by Canadians in Canadian vessels? In
ment been robbed. considering that it has
no property in the fur seal. as was socmnly
adjudged and declared by the tribunal Of
arbitration at Paris?
These are questions which, I submit, can
only be reasonably answered in a sense
absolutely fatal to Senator Morgan's con-
tentions. Moreover, the principal alleged
transgressor referred to, whose name is
Boscowitz, has denied that he is an Amer
| lean citizen. The British flag and the law
Of nations have been violated on the high
seas. and 1t appears to me that in assess
ing the indemnity to the private individuals
who were the victims of the great wrong
so committed, any inquiry into the sources
| of the capital invested III the lawful indus
| try pursued by the vessel at the time of
| seizure is out Of place and inadmissible."
| Lord Salisbury in ackno Tledging the COM
munications from Wasilington wrote: Il
need scarcely say that the arguments which
you bring forward in support of the validity
| of those claims have the entire approval and
concurrence of her majesty's government.
| The attempt made by Senator Morgan to
| dispute them seems to be largely founded on
| Misrepresentation. and her majesty's govern
| ment cannot doubt that when the full facts
| are before the public in the United States.
| the liability of that country to make COM
| pensatioE, which has never been denied by
| the government, will be generally recogniz-
| ed both in and outside Of Congress"