PANAMA CANAL BILL

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10704, 27 August 1912, Page 5

PANAMA CANAL BILL

CABLE NEWS

(United Presl Aatoeiation—Bf TSUotzie Telegraph—Copyright.).

STATEMENT BY MR TAFT HAY-PAUNCEFOTE TREATY. (Received August 2G, 9.-15 a.m.)

WASHINGTON, August 25. President Taft Las signed the Panama Canal Bill.

In statements published, Mr Taft says tlie British treaty restricts the United States from using its own canal and aiding its own commerce in a way that every other nation is free to do. The United States has absolute rights of ownership. The whole question at issue is: Has the United States, by the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, deprived itself of the right to pass its owu commerce free through the canal, or remit tolls collected for the use of the canal. He points out that the rules specified in the treaty were adopted by the United States as a basis for the neutralisation of the canal and for no other purpose. The rules were never intended to restrict the United States in its sovereign powers over the canal. He adds: "The British protest leads to the absurd conclusion that the Government, in constructing the canal, maintaining the canal, and defending the canal, finds itself shorn of the right to deal with its own commerce in its own way, while all other nation? using the canal in competition with the American commerce enjoy that right unimpaired." Mr Taft contests the argument that the Bill will affect American shipbuilding interests adversely.

After notification had been received -that the President had signed the Bill, Mr Simms, in the House of Representatives introduced a bill repealing the' provision for free tolls for American coastwise shipping. He explained that the Bill had the endorsement of a majority of the In-ter-State Commerce Commission. It was intended to avert international complications.

The measure goes over to the December session.