Evening star., 1899-12-05

| intimacy with Mexico.
| The year has been marked by constant
| increase in the intimacy Of our relations
with Mexico and in the magnitude of mutu-
| ally advantageous interchanges. This Gov
ernmert has omitted no opportunity 10
show It's strong desire to develop and per
petuate the ties of cordiality now 50 long
| happily unbroken.
! Following the termination on January -.
1899 by Mexico of the convention Of extra
| dition of December H. 1861. a new treaty
| more in accordance with the ascertained
| needs of both countries was signed FehrG-
| airy -. 1s.f9, and exchanged in the city of
| Mexico on the 22d of April last. Its opera
| tion thus far has been effective and salts
| factory. recent case has served To test
| the apple alton of its INth Article which
! provides that neither party shall be bound
| to deliver up its own citizens, but thai the
executive authority of each shall have the
power to deliver them up if in its discretion
| it be deemed proper to do SO.
| The extradition of Mrs. Matte Rich. a
| citizen of the United States. charged with
| homicide committed in Mexico. was after
| mature consideration directed by me in the
! conviction that the ends of justice would
| i,e thereby subserved. Simiiar action. on
| appropriate occasion. by the Mexican En-
| ecutive will not orly tend to accomplish the
desire of both Governme that grave
| crimes go not unpublished, bat also to re-
| press lawlessness along the border of the
| two countries. The new treaty stpulateS
| that neither Government shall assume
| jurisdiction in the punishment of crimes
| committed exclusively within the territory
! of the other. This will obviate in future the
embarrassing controversies which have
| heretofore arisen through Mexicos asser-
| ton of claim to try and punish an Ameri-
| can citizen for an offense committed within
| the jurisdiction cf the United States.
The International Water Boundary Com
| mission. organized by the convention of
| March 1. 1889 for the adjustment of ques-
tons affecting the Rio Grande frontier. has
| not yet completed its labors. y further ex-
| tension of its term for one year. until De
| cember 2i, 1899, was effected by a conven-
| ton signed December .. 1898, and eX
| changed and proclaimed in February last.
An invitation extended to the President
| of Mexico to visit Chicago in October, on
| the occasion of laying the corner stone of
| the United States Government building in
| that city was cordially accepted by him.
with the necessary consent of the Mexican
Congress. but the illness of a member of
his family prevented his attendance. The
Minister of Foreign Relations, however,
came as the persona, representative of
President Diaz and in that high character
was duly honored.
Claims growing out of the seizure OF
American sealing vessels in Bering Sea
have been under discussion with the Gov
ernment of Russia for several years. with
the recent happy result of an agreement to
submit them to the decision of a single
arbitration. BY this act Russia affords
Droof of her TO hsupficpnf
principle of arbitration which her pleni-
potentiaries conspcuously favored at The
Hague Disarmament Conference when it
was advocated by the representatives of
the United States
a suggestion for permanent exposition
of our products and manufactures in Rus
sia. although not yet fully shaped, has been
so cordially welcomed by the Impe-ia' Gov
ernment that it may not inapty take fit
ting place in whatever legislation the Con-
gress may adopt looking TO enlargement
Of our commercial opportunities abroad.
The Samoan Islands.
Important events have occurred in the
Samoan Islands. The election, according
| to the laws and customs of Samoa, of a
| successor to. the late King. Maletoa Lau-
pepa, developed contest as to the validity
| of the result. which issue, by the terms of
| the general act. was to be decided by the
| Chief Justice Upon his rendering judg-
| ment in favor of Malietoa Tanu the rival
| chief NIataafa took up arms. The active
| intervention Of American and British war
ships became imperative TO restore order,
at the cost Of sanguinary encounters. In
this emergency a joint commission of rep
resentatives OF the United States. Ger
MANY. and Great Britain was sent to Sa-
| rnoa to Investigate the situation and pro-
vide a temporary remedy. BY its active
| efforts a peaceful solution was reached for
the time being, the kingship being abolish
| ed and provisional government estab-
| lished. Recommendation unanimously made
| by the commission for permanent adjust
| ment of the Samoan question Were taken
| under consideration by the three powers
parties to the General Act. But the more
| they were examined the more evident it be
came that radical change was necessary
| In the relations of the powers to Samoa.
| The Inconvenience and possible perils of
the trpartite scheme of supervision ana
control in the Samoan group by powers
having little interest in common in that
quarter beyond commercial rivalry had been
once more emphasized by the recent events.
| The suggested remedy of the Joint Commits
| sion. like the scheme it aimed to replace,
amounted to what has been styled tri-
| dominium. being the exercise of the func-
| ment of three powers The situation had
| become far more intricate and embarrass-
| ing from every point of view than 1t was
when my predecessor, in 1894, summed up
| its perpleXities and condemned the partici-
| patton in it of the United States.
| The arrangement under which Samoa was
administered had proved impracticable and
unacceptable to all the powers concerned
| To withdraw from the agreement and aban-
| don the islands to Germany and Great Brit
ain would not be compatible with our in
| terests in the archipelago. To relinquish
| our rights in the harbor of Pago PagO the
! best anchorage in the Pacific, the occu-
| pancy of which had been leased to the
| United States in 1878 by the first foreign
| treaty ever concluded by Samoa, was not
| to be thought of either regards the needs
| of our Navy or the interests of our growing
! commerce with the East. We could not
| have considered any proposition for the alb
rogalion of the triplrtite control which did
not confirm in all our rights and safe
| guard all our national interests in the
| islands.
! Our views commended themselves to the
| other powers. \ satisfactory arrangement
was concluded between the Governments of
! Germany and of England, by virtue of