BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1901-03-29
New Canal Treaty
TO be Negotiated.
England as Anxious as United
States to have Canal
Built,

Advices from Washington state that a
prominent member of the foreign relations
committee of the Senate expresses the opinion
that before the meeting of congress in Dec
ember a new treaty will have been negotiat-
ed with Great Britain which will answer all
the purposes of the Hay-Pauncefote con-
vention yet meet with the approval of those
who opposed any amendment to the Hay
Pauncefote treaty, and who hoped earnestly
that it would be ratified without change.
He expects that the State Department will
recognize the situation at tie other. end of
the avenue, and will strive by preliminary
consultations with senators to prepare an
instrument which will satisfy them.
"There is really no vital point of differ
ence between the two countries" he says.
england is as anxious as the United States
that the canal should be built and is quite
willing that it should be built and controlled
be the United States practically under such
conditions as the United States may lay
down. ] happen to know that when the
| Hay-Pauncefote treaty was drawn it was
supposed by Lord Fauncefote that its terms
were precisely what the United States would
want. He yielded to every suggestion and
hau only one object in view-to have the
canal built according to our ideas, and tc
clear the path Of everything which stood in
/ the way.
"The amendments which the Senate pro
posed were useleSs-the Davis amendment
especially. 1t goes without saying that il
case of war no hostile nation would try
| to send a ship through the canal, to attach
the coast or fleets of the United States
That would be the rankest and most reckless
of folly The Senate amendment, therefore
was a matter of pure sentiment and so wa
the British refusal to accept it. The United
States could not have been aided by tht
amendment and the change could not have
hurt Great British.
"There is really no obstacle in the wa,
OF negotiating new treaty containing
in other language all that the Senat'
asks for. For that matter several SENATOR
who voted for the amendments have since
assured me that they believed they made {
mistake, and that in similar circumstance
they would not. so vote again. One thinI
is bound to hasten negotiations. That il
the certainty that unless a new treaty i
offered, congress will abrogate the Clayton.
! BulweF treaty next winter"
Senator Stewart of Nevada is outspokel
in his criticism of the action of the Senate
81 regard the amendment of the Hay.
Pauncefote treaty by the United State
Senate as the worst political blunder of tn,
times" he says. "In my opinion that treat,
was the greatest diplomatic achievement b.
this country during the present generation
With or without the Clayton-Bulwer con
venton it was just such treaty as tn
United States ought to have been anCiou
to make, not only with England, bnt will
all civilized nations. The consent of tn
whole world that tie United States nigh
buiid the canal, to be used by the CONNER
cial world on the payment of such tolls o
charges as would pay interest Oh the invest
lnent coupled with the pledge of all com
mercial nations to maintain the neutrality 0
the canal, both in peace and war, woul(
have been the best and only available guar
antee for tie uninterrupted use of the sam
b ythe United States ia common with al
other nations.