20 JANUARY 1900, Page 2

The American Senate has adopted an eminently moderate attitude on

the subject of the seizure and detention of foreign ships. Senator Hale originally proposed a strong Resolution, concluding with the statement that if the detention of property on American ships was persisted in, such an act would be considered as without warrant and offensive to the people and Government of the United States. Such a state- ment, in the view of Senator Davis (Chairman of the Com- mittee on Foreign Relations), could only be made on the verge of hostilities, and he considered that the whole Resolu- lution had been prematurely introduced. Ultimately, Senator Hale having accepted various suggestions as to the elimination of various undiplomatic or objectionable phrases, the Resolu- tion was whittled down to a request that the President should send to the Senate, if compatible with the public interest, all information possessed by the State Department as to the alleged illegal seizure and detention of the property of citizens of the United States, and also inform the Senate what steps had been taken to secure its restoration.