New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-06-20
TILE srlrrs or TIE CAyAL.


The reply Of the British Foreign Sec
rotary to a question in the House Of
Commons the other day indicated the
keen but friendly interest which the Brit
ish government is taking In the impend-
ing completion Of the Panama Canal and
particularly in the legislation which IS
being formulated for the control OF that
waterway This interest IS natural and
| legitimate, partly because Great Britain
will probably use the canal more than
any other nation, at any rate for other
| than coastwlse commerce, and partly be-
cause Great Britain, alone Of all nations
besides the United States, has direct
treaty rights in the canal. Sir Edward
Grey is properly awaiting the actual
passage OF the pending bill, in It's final
form, before he expresses any opinion
Of its effect upon British rights or in
terpsts.
One phrase which Is. perhaps inaccu-
rately, attributed TO him 10y the press
dispatches suggests. however, some CON
slderation comprising both assent and
dissent. He is reported as saying that
he Is unaware Of any precedent for such
Legislation in respect TO other interna-
"tional waterways" There probably Is no
precedent for such legislation in respect
TO any international waterway, and 1t Is
not certain that there could easily be
any, unless it were some form Of interna-
tional legislation. In that Sir Edward Is
right. But exception will be taken TO the
intmatlon that the Panama Canal is in
| legal sense an international waterway
| IT certainly is not that by virtue Of any
natural right or circumstance On the
contrary. It IS a purely domestic water
way Of the United States. 1t has been
artiically constructed by the United
States at the sole cost OF this country
entirely within territory Of which this
government has a perpetual lease. It
has no alien stockholders, as the SueZ
Canal has. It Is in every principle and
detail exactly described by the historic
phrase of Grant and Hayes, "an Ameri-
can canal under American control
The only sense I'm which It is an inter
PauncefOte treaty, in which the United
States engaged to keep the canal open on
equal terms to the commerce OF all ma
lions, and nominally "neutraized" it.
That is, OF course, valid engagement,
which the United States has no thought
Of repudiating or seeking in any way to
evade But that treaty did not make the
canal an international waterway to the
extent Of excluding 1t from domestic con-
troll, any more than the treaty Of 1854
made the st. Lawrence River an inter
national waterway, or that OF 1916 the
Columbia. Under the former American
commerce was permitted to navigate the
river through British territory as freely
as British commerce, but the British gov
eminent reserved the right to levy tolls
and assessments at will, and TO revoke
the whole privilege and after ten years
the treaty was abrOgated. Under the
latter British commerce is free to go
down the river through our territory on
equal terms with ours, but the United
States retains full power TO make "any
regulations respecting the navigation Of
"the river not inconsistent with the
treaty" and, Of course, that treaty is
susceptible of abrOgation
The Hay-Pauncefote treaty, indeed. eX
pressly provides that the United States
shall have the exclusive right Of pro
"viding for the regulation and manage
"ment Of the canal" It Is, according to
the treaty. for the United States alone
to fix tolls, make rules, exercise police
authority and otherwise manage and
control the canal. Moreover, whatever
restrictions there may be upon the abSo-
lutte power Of the United States over the
canal are found in that treaty alone. and
that treaty is convention between
Great Britain and tho United States
alone. If. therefore. these two powers
should at any time agree to the abroca-
ton Of the treaty, ms they did In tho
matter of the international navigation Of
the st. Lawrence. no other nation would
have any claim upon the canal, which
would then become rs purely q domestic
waterway Of America as the Kiel Canal
lie Of Germany OF the sledonisn or the