OCR Text |
Show THE FISHERIES DISPUTE. The dispatches from Washington last week told us that a move finally had been made toward the settlement of the dispute which arose between the United States and Xewfoundland some time ago, and which, after an extended conference between this country and Great Britain it was decided to submit to The Hague tribunal for adjudication. The dispatch says that the American case has been transmitted to the British embassy and that simultaneously simul-taneously the British case has been given to the American embassy at London by the British foreign for-eign office. Several years have elapsed since the dispute arose, and this is the first definite move since the occurrence. Meanwhile, however, the machinery ma-chinery of the two nations has been slowly preparing prepar-ing the case for submission to the arbitration court for final settlement. Four months will now be allowed for examination examina-tion of the two sides of the case, and the preparation prepara-tion of the countercharges, and two months more will be given for the preparation of the arguments to be used by the two nations when the case finally comes up before the international tribunal of arbitration ar-bitration at The Hague. This commission is made up of Dr. Heinrich Lammasch, who will preside; Louis M. Drago of Argentina, A. F. de Savornia Lohman of The Xetherlands, Judge George Gray of Delaware and Sir Charles Fitspatrick, chief justice of the supreme court of Canada. These men will hear the contentions of the disputants, and will render a decision. It is hoped to reach a settlement settle-ment in time to apply to the fishing season of 1910, but this is only a hope, with slight confidence expressed ex-pressed that such will be the case. International arbitration is a slow process, rivaling ri-valing the celebrated case of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce in its deliberateness. There is, however, little doubt entertained that the fisheries dispute will eventually be settled to the entire satisfaction of at least one of the nations, and in a way by which the other may accept the decision gracefully. Xo doubt international arbitration would be more popular pop-ular with the masses if it were possible to hurry the issue to a decision in less than a year, but the gravity grav-ity of any contention left to The Hague tribunal precludes any haste on the part of either nation a party to a dispute. |