Show I THE BEIIRING SEA The sensation of the day is the announcement announce-ment that British menofwar have gone to Behriug sea to protect English sealers against capture by United States authorities authori-ties The American government has sent ships there to maintain its claim to exclusive exclu-sive jurisdiction over the Alaska side of the sea named and is understood to be fitting fit-ting other vessels to sail in case their services ser-vices shall be required Two or three years I ago several English ships found taking seals in the water in question were captured cap-tured condemned and sold by order of the United States The rightfulness of the I proceeding was called in question at the time and the matter has been made the subject sub-ject of diplomatic correspondence As little progress has been made and there is no likelihood of an immediate im-mediate settlement it is said that the British will not again trust to diplomacy but will protect their own by force Soma apprehension is felt by the timid that there will occur a collision and it is observed that a portion of the American press is protesting against the government doing anything which will involve the country in war over a few seals These pajwrs sav thc Presidents proclamation asserting jurisdiction juris-diction over Bshring sea was a questionable question-able assumption of authority and that the claim cannot be maintained no nation having hav-ing the right to proclaim a closed sea of such vast extent Tho wisdom of issuing such a proclamation mar be doubted the proceeding may have been an unwise one and the game may not Taa worth the powder But no true American Ameri-can will doubt tho propriety of maintaining tho validity of that proclamation so long as the decree shall have life let the cost be what itmay If in future it shall be deemed I advisable to recall or narrow the claim well and good but rrther than withdraw at the threat of another power or sit down I and see the proclamation defied every lover of his country will vote in favor of making war upon Americas nearest and dearest i friend National pride and selfrespect demand de-mand this It is not believed that American claim I will be sanctioned by the law of nations it seems unreasonable that it should be If a i I I government can close a sea of that extent I and maintain proprietorship the oceans I would soon become private property and ships would sail the high seas only by the I sufferance of the owners of the shores A few ofthe great powers would form pools and shut out the world from traversing the waters which have heretofore been conceded to belong to all Private jurisdiction has not hitherto extended ex-tended beyond the threeleague limit and when the claim was put forth a few years ago of proprietorship from headland to headland head-land a general howl went up But the question involved this Behring sea matter at this time so far as the United States are concerned is simply Tone of standing by the governments proclamation proclama-tion If the claim is an extraordinary one and not to be maintained in the international Inter-national equities the adjustment must come through the courts of diplomacy America cannot submit to a defiance of its claims though the claims be wrong and the defiant power our near and dear friend Better war than that It will be more manly to stand up aud be whippedof which however there is no great apprehension appre-hension than to cowardly skulk away before be-fore threats It is not believed any serious trouble will grow out of this affair but whatever maybe may-be the outcome one dislikes to see the begging beg-ging attitude assumed by some Amercans |