Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-12-10

rotary, followed precisely the instruc-
ton of Sir Edward.
Sir Edward begins his note with the
statement that the President does not
fully appreciate the British point of
view and has misunderstood even the
note of July 8. He says it is not the
case that the British government seeks
to prevent the United States from
granting subsidies to its own shipping
passing through the canal nor does it
seek to deprive the United States OF
any liberty, which is open either to
themselves or to any other nation, to
encourage its now shipping or COM
merce by subsidies.
The purpose of the United States in
negotiating the Hay-Pauncefote treaty
WAS TO recover their freedom of action
and obtain the right which they had
surrendered in the Clayton ulwer
treaty to construct the canal them
selves. But this complete liberty of
action vas to be limited by the main
tenance of the complete principle of
equal treatment for both English and
United States ships. The word neutral
nation in the preamble of the Hay
Pauncefote treaty is not confined to
belligerent} operations, but refers to
the system of equal rights for which
Article s provides. Joint protection
and equal treatment are the only mat
tiers alluded to, which that neutral
ization must refer. 1T certainly was not
the intention of the United States gov
ernment.'i says Sir Edward. that any
responsibility for the protection of the
canal should attach to them in the
future. Naturalization, therefore, must
refer to the system of equal rights
The ncte then declares that the sit
ustion created by the substitution of
the Hay-Pauncefote treaty for the
Clayton Bulwer treaty was that re-
sulting from boundary waters treaty
of 1909 between Great Britain and the
United States, which provided that the
boundary waters should be free and
open to commerce applying equally
and without discrimination to the in
habitants. ships. vessels and boats OF
both countries, but all such
rules and regulations and all tolls
charged shall apply alike to the sub
jeets or citizens of the high contract
ing parties, and they shall be placed
on terms of equality in the use there
Of" 1t is also asserted that similar,
though more restricted provision, APP
peared in the treaty. of Washington
and 1t is recalled how strenuously
the United States protested, as a vio-
lation Of equal rights against the sys-
ten which Canada had introduced of "A
rebate of a large portion of the tolls
on certain freights on the Welland ca
nal and how in the face of that pro-
test the system was abandoned"
Referring to the third article of the
Hay auncefote treaty, the note points
out that the first of the Suez canal rules,
which the treaty adopts for the Panama
canal, is that the waterway shall be
free and open to the vessels of COM
merce and war of all nations observing
the rules on terms of entire equality, sc
that there shall be no discrimination
against any such nation. 1t is said thai
the Presidents statement of the case
| is wholly at variance with the real pro,
| visions when he treats the words al
nations as excluding the United States
| because it had constructed the canal OF
| it's own territory and thereby acquired
an absolute right of ownership, includ
| ing the right to allow its own commercs
the use of the canal upon such terms a.
| it saw fit.
| "They Che British governmenD consid
1 err says Sir Edward, that by thu
| Clayton Bulwer treaty the United States
1 had surrendered the right to construe
| the canal and that by the Hay Paunce
| fote treaty they recovered that RICH
upon the footing that the canal shoul'
be opened to British and United State
vessels upon terms of equal treatment
IL the rules set out in the Hay
Pauneefote treaty secure to Great Bri
| tain no more than most-favored-na
treatment the value of the consideration
given for superseding the Clayton-Bul
wer treaty is not apparent to His Mai
esty's government Nor is it easy to Sc
in what way the principle of article VII
of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. which pro
vides for equal treatment of British an
United States ships, has been maintain
ed"