TO BRITISH CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES. 133 



reason of the seizures of the Alfred Adams, Lily, A.Frank, United 



States citizen, 



and Black Diamond. 1 owner. 



It is further insisted, on the part of the United No damages can 



be awarded for 



States, that all the items in the several claims in prospective prof- 



' its. 



the schedule, designated as "loss of estimated 

 catch," "probable catch," "balance of probable 

 catch," "reasonable earnings for months of Oc- 

 tober, November, and December," "loss of 

 profits," for seasons subsequent to seizure, and 

 all items in said claims based on future or con- 

 tingent events, are in the nature of prospective 

 profits or speculative damages, and are so uncer- 

 tain as to form no legal or equitable basis for 

 finding facts upon which damages can be predi- 

 cated. Claims of the same nature were made on 

 behalf of the United States before the Tribunal 

 of Arbitration on the Alabama Claims, which 

 met at Geneva in 1872, and in passing upon 

 this class of claims that Tribunal said: "And Decision in 



Geneva Arbitra- 



whereas prospective earnings can not properly tion « 

 be made the subject of compensation, inasmuch 

 as they depend in their nature upon future and 

 uncertain contingencies, the Tribunal is unani- 

 mously of opinion that there is no ground for 

 awarding to the United States any sum by way 

 of indemnity under this head. 2 



1 W. H. Williams, post p. 352. 



2 Papers relating to the Treaty of Washington (Alabama Claims), 

 Congressional publication, Vol. 4, p. 53. 



