ARGUMENT OF JOHN S. EWART. 1253 



Everyone now is glad that the North succeeded, but, Sirs, during that 

 period sympathy was something that was appreciated and antipathy 

 was something that was fiercely resented. Not only was British 

 sympathy supposed to be more unanimously on the Southern side 

 than it really was, but unfortunately the British Government permit- 

 ted the " Alabama " to be built in British territory and to go out from 

 a British port for the purpose of carrying destruction into the com- 

 merce of the Northern States. That incident might have resulted 

 in war ; it came very nearly doing so. It led to some few premonitory 

 raids by United States citizens upon Canadian territory, known as 

 the Fenian raids, at intervals between 1866 and 1870. During that 

 time Great Britain was extremely anxious to get rid of all difficulties 

 in the way of an amicable adjustment and settlement with the United 

 States. Although the United States had repealed or put an end to 

 the reciprocity treaty of 1854, in 1866 Great Britain insisted, much 

 against the wish of Nova Scotia, on the continuation of the privileges 

 which the United States enjoyed under it, by a system of licences. 

 Great Britain saw that the repeal of the reciprocity treaty and the 

 refusal to allow American fishermen to come into the bays and waters 

 on the British coasts was going to add fuel to the flames. Lord 

 Kimberley, in 1870, insisted that the United States fishermen should 

 not be kept out even of the 10-mile bays to which Mr. Cardwell had 

 reduced them in 1866, and that they should be admitted to any place 

 3 miles from the shore. He did more than that : he said that United 

 States fishermen should not be seized unless the capture was made 

 within 3 miles from the shore. Nobody pretends that we had not 

 the right to chase the American fishermen that had been committing 

 depredations on the coast out to the open sea, but that was all imposed 

 upon and accepted by us out of regard for the general interests of 

 the Empire, because of the great stress and strain which existed be- 

 tween Great Britain and the United States. At the same time Lord 

 Kimberley indicated that he would not permit us to refuse commer- 

 cial privileges to the United States in 1871 commercial privileges 

 that the United States had no right to. They disclaim before this 

 Tribunal any right to these commercial privileges. Lord Kimberley 

 said that he could not agree to us taking a position of that kind. 

 His words are quoted in the United States documents as though there 

 was an intention to put forward the argument that because Lord 

 Kimeberley had admitted that it was reasonable that the United 

 States should have commercial privileges, therefore they ought to 

 have them. I do not see why the language was there quoted unless 

 that is the argument which they were desired to sustain. Difficult 

 questions were pending between the two nations in those years, and 

 it will be found that the greatest concessions were made during that 

 period of great tension. What happened? In 1871 a treaty was 



