74 The Fishery Question. 



the Secretary of the Treasury, in admit- 

 ting the resemblance between the customs 

 laws of the two countries, reports that the 

 behavior of the Dominion collectors has 

 been '' brutal." '°^ Since 1823 the Presidents 

 have had the power to discriminate against 

 foreign vessels in regard to charges and 

 duties In the ports of the United States. 

 On the 27th of May, 1886, Congress added 

 the suspension, at discretion, of commercial 

 intercourse. This has not been invoked. 

 On the contrary, the conduct of the United 

 States was magnanimous. '°^ The government 

 may well have hesitated, in the interest of 

 its own citizens, to lay an embargo upon 

 trade. The serious questions of veracity be- 

 tween ship-masters and Canadian officials 

 were of themselves enouorh to recommend 

 caution. '°7 



During the last session of Congress two 

 bills of a quasi-retaliatory nature were con- 

 sidered. '°^ The one originating in the House 

 might have prohibited not only all commercial 

 relations with Canada, but even the entry of 

 the rolling stock of Canadian railways. To 

 this strict quarantine the Committee of the 

 Senate objected, and proposed to directly 



