CONGRESS. (Till SEAL Quisnow.) 



between th* H.wsiisn snd British nsgo- 

 tthr d* *rist.nc. oo the put of II.. ... 



Con*ras U dlrsetod 



siaftmsat trrmatn-r 1 In communiomoB 

 to tt Hawaiian Government by Uu 



for ths sovereignty of sny 

 simply for the purpose of 



"taTof the dispatehss from our minister, 

 an submitted, not only refer t 

 aottntohaWtedisland bsloogingtoHu tui ... 

 itet awing inlbnnation concerning recent occur- 

 in that country sn.l it* political and social con- 



This information b valuable because it in 



bassd upon the observation and knowledge neces- 

 sarily within the scope of the diplomatic duti.-.-. 

 wh& are intrusted solely t- <>f thi- in- 



.. .... .... ;''! MMOlbtj th. Dated 



I hope the Congress will see fit to grant the request 

 of th* Hawaiian Government, snd that our consent to 

 th* proposed leas* will be promptly accorded. It 

 muni to me we ought not bv a refunsl of this request 

 to stand in the wsv of the advantages to be gained by 

 isolated Hawaii through telegraphic eonmiuni. iitimi 

 with the net of the world, especially in v i.-w ..t tin- 

 fact that our own communication with tliut >untry 

 would thereby be greatly improved without apparent 

 to any legitimate American interest. 



GaovER CLEVELAND. 



The Senate did not act on this sugp-n.-n 

 further than to add to an appropriation bill a 

 provision for an American cable line to Hawaii. 



Tfc Seal (Question. The Bering Sea ques- 

 " under various forms ; but 



there WM A teat rote on the payment of damages 

 M to the Government of Great Britain under the 

 agreement reached by eichange of notes of Aug. 

 tl. 18K in full satisfaction of all demands for 

 damages against the I'nited States growing out 

 ..f the controversy between the two governments 

 as to the fur seals in Bering Sea under the award 

 and finding* of the tribunal of arbitration at 

 Paris, 425.000. 



Mr. Brrddaiidfe, Of Kentucky. moved to in- 

 clude that item in the general deAefaooy appro- 

 priation lull, and said in regard to the claims 

 made bv the owners of sealing vessels : 



-These vessels sailed under the British flag 

 and were seized outside of the 8-mile limit. 

 which covered the jurisdiction of th 

 Government. It was, however, expressly under- 

 stood that the Hti/,-i,-!.ip of the owners of the 

 vesatli and the actual damage done should l*> 

 left open for litigation and settlement between 

 the two contra* - hat the only 



question left by the arbitrators is the assessment 



- 1 believe that I have stated the general case 

 exart I will gladly be corrected. The 



-i minister file*! Haim* amounting to $542,- 

 000. reserving the privilege of filing additional 

 claim*, and proposed to hare them settled by a 



ntion of arbitrators. Of these clain. 

 alleged that a certain amount, somewhat in 



doubt, l.ut I iH-lievo somewhere about $300,000, 



r \vliat i called consequential damages. 

 I I >on none of these clai 11 1> ha- n 



added. So that wo wen in tin- condition : 



There was a judgment against us, with nothing 

 ut the assesMiK'tit of damages. Tl,. n- 



were claims <.f $542,000, with interest fn 



Mid \arioi|H Mtli.T datrs. up to 1889, I I 



n.. in- hit rr than 1890, so that the averagi tun. 

 \*..iiid in- ai-'ii! ili< beginning of January, 188^ 



and the right to file additional claims 



mount 



these claims were many for fal>.- im- 

 prisonni.nl. and these an- still ..pen to addi- 

 tional rlaiins. The sum that was agreed upon 

 is $425,000. If w,- admit that this $aOO.o< 

 disputed claim, and that there are no new claim! 



to DO added, it would stand that WO owe al-mil 

 $227,000, j.ractically undisputrd. on \\hirh we 

 have to calculate Interest for seven years 

 6 percent. : and when to the amount so found 

 we add the half of the amount in dispute, it 

 it, either at 4 or at 6 per cent., a larger 

 sum than the sum agn-rd upon. 



"If judgment is obtained against us. under 

 what seems to me to be a rule we can n 

 escape, it will I.e. with interest, over * ; 

 for if we admitted through Mr. Bluinc that it is 

 a proper rule by which damages should be as- 

 sessed, a rule that we then admitted, and. rep- 

 resenting a great Government desiring to do 

 justice and not to higgle upon small m.v 



do not See now how We can raise that (jiiotion 



over again. We admitted, through the 

 tary of State and the President of the In it. <1 

 States, that this was the rule when we had a 

 chance to win. It will hardly be becoming in 

 us. now that we have lost, to say that was not 

 the proper rule ; that * it was a good rule \\ hen 

 we thought we were going to win and you were 

 to pay us money, but it is a bad rale when we 

 have lost and we are to pay you the money.' 



" This will be a humiliating position in 'which 

 to put our Government, ana for one I will not 

 assume the responsibility of putting my country 

 in such a position, nor will I be a party tin reto. 

 Let others do this if they so please, and to have 

 such judgment made by arbitrators, and having 

 arbitrators, will cost us not less than $150,000, 

 perhaps more, in addition. This Paris arbitra- 

 tion cost us $224,000, and when we add the it. m- 

 together, the claims that are beyond doubt just 

 H fair compromise as to the part t hat 

 is in dispute, the intcrot on the debts due. the 

 H "f the arbitration, we shall -< -t ..IT by 

 this payment by a very much smaller sum than 

 in any other way. And. in addition to that, we 

 .it once a matter that is a 



" It seems to me that it is not a bad b;. 

 And upon broader grounds, when we conn- to 

 settle what we owe, when the money is fc 

 persons who have been wronged by us b 

 whatever the law may be in our judgment, we 

 have submit ted it to the arbitrament of this tri- 

 bunal, and that question ha- he. n decided, that 

 we have wronged these peoph it do*- not be- 

 come us to whine about it. It does not become 

 us to go down to the tavern and denounce the 

 judge, as litigants sometimes do who lose and 

 have no appeal. Our duty and our pleasure 

 ought to be in a spirit of international court< sy 



