The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-18
SPAIN'S SHOTS AT OUR SHIP.
GREsHAM'S ACTION IN THE Cash,
KEEPING WITH THE LAW.

| Time of Peace Under Any Circum-
stanees-The Power TO Punish for
the Misuse of a Flag Rests With
the Government Whose Flag Was
shOwn-The Case of the Vfrginius
Recalled.
Washington. March 17.-Speaking of
the Allianca incident and Secretary
/ Gresham's dispatch to our minister at
/ Madrid, insisting upon disavowal OF the
/ unauthorized act, and that positive orders
| be given 10 Spanish naval commanders
not to interfere with the passage of
mail steamers through a recognized and
| legitimate channel of commerce, one Of
| the best informed authorities in interna-
! tional law in Washington said to the
United Press to-day; Assuming the
| facts TO be as stated there
can be no question as to the soundness
! of Secretary Greshams position under
/ the principles of international law as now
| recognized and practiced. One hundred
years ago. when the sea was overrun with
/ pirates and privateers the right of
visit or search was recognized. under
! certain contingencies, but these only ap-
piled TO a recognized existing state of
war. There is no such condition in this
/ case. Even If there were no nation of
late years has had warrant for stopping
/ a vessel flying friendly flag on the high
seas, nor has the right been recognized
for a war vessel under any circumstan-
| ces to FIRE a solid shot at the flag Of any
merchant vessel flying any flag except
| that of the war vessel attempting to in
/ tercept her
"Supposng, for the sake of argument,
| that the Alliance was misusing the
American flag (as was actually the case
/ with the Virg1nius, for the execution of
! whose crew the United States exacted
heavy indemnity from SPAIN, the power
| to punish the vessel for this misuse of
the nag would rest with the United States
| alone, and not with Spain. But, of course,
/ there is no such supposition as to the mis-
use of a flag possible in the case Of
/ steamer belonging to a regular United
/ States mail line"
us that actually a fact" was asked.
/ that the Virginius had no right to fly the
/ United States flag and yet the United
/ States exacted an indemnity and an apol-
/ ogy from Spain on her account"
/ Certainly" was the reply, but the ir-
! regularity OF her clearance from Jamaica
mand for indemnity and apology had been
made and acceded to. That, however,
was not matter that concerned the Span
] iards at all. 1t was purely a question
for the United States to deal
with. The only notice we took of it was
to remit the salute and hold on the in
/ demnity. If you Will turn to page 9l5 of
| Foreign Relations 1874 you will find
! this telegram from Secretary of State
Hamilton Fish to Minister Dan. SiclSles
| at Madrid. Washington, Dec. %. 1873
| The Attorney General decides that the
| Virginius was not rightfully carrying the
| flag of the United States at the time of
her capture, consequently the salute will
/ be spontaneously dispensed with"
But as 1 was about to say when you
interrupted me, the assumption that there
is the slightest obligation on the part
of the Allianca to show that she was more
than a marine league from shore when
fired on is entirely unwarranted. If she
had been within half mile Of the Gu
ban coast, the alleged action of the Span
ish man-of-war would have been just as
unjustifiable as if she had been fifty miles
out at sea. In the case of the seizure of
four American schooners off Cuba by
the Spanish authorities fifteen years ago,
our government successfully asserted and
sustained the principle that in time of
/ peace no forcible intervention with Amer
lean ships could be permitted whether
/ they were within three miles of the shore
or not Our state department then laid
down the dictum that the right of examin-
ing ships letters within the marine league
of shore in time of peace was confined
to revenue vessels and could not be ex-
| tended to warships, and we declared most
positively that the worlds commerce was
not to be impeded by driving ships of
friendly nations out of their course into
adverse winds and currents to avoid dis
courteous acts.
1.-THE same doctrine has been sustained
in many other casse. We have held open
the Straits of Magellan, though they are
barely a mile across at their narrowest
point and are absolutely within the domain
of one of the South American states. The
award of the Emperor of Germany, on
similar question in regard to the Strait of
Juan de Fuca, and the channels between
the continent and Vancouver Island sub
mitted TO his arbitration by Great Britain,
took similar ground. You will md that
case set out in Treatise and Conventions
Of the United States,' page 497 In Short
the right of any merchant vessel to
traverse any channel in times of peace
whether within three miles of shore or
not is sustained by universally accepted
international law, and no ship Of war Of
any nation under any pretext has the
right to stop or search her or even to ask
an examination of her papers.
THE case in point is almost exactly par
ellel to this. Suppose there was a Ferlian
uprising in Ireland and a French mail
steamer should be hailed off Queenstown
bv a British man-of-war, and, failing to
heave to, should be fired upon with
solid shot Do you thing that France
would wait for an Investigation as to
how far that steamer was from shore
before demanding an apology? Or do you
think she would have been satisfied by a
statement after ten days had elapsed
that no report had yet been received from
the offending warship and that it was
necessary to wait until both sides had
been heard2
'.Spain is in the wrong in this matter,
and / feel sure viii in due time ad-
NIT It,"
"What if she does not?'
''Why then, in such an unfriendly as
meet of affairs all that the United States
authorities need to do would be to relax
their vigilance at Tampa and other ports
and the Cuban question would soon settle
itself"
London. March 1.-THE Standard has a
dispatch from Madrid giving this YER
sion Of the foreign minister's speech in
-.,.rross yesterday on fha Af1fauoa Iva.