42 WITH MR. CHAMBERLAIN IN THE 



American negotiators, Secretary Bayard and Messrs. 

 Angell and Putnam ; that they had arranged to meet 

 the President at twelve o'clock to-day, and that on 

 Monday the first conference between the negotiators 

 would be held at the State Department. How long 

 a time would be required to reach a conclusion he 

 could not say, could not even guess, nor could he 

 say that the negotiators would meet from day to day 

 without any intervals. He believed that all parties 

 were ready to begin work, and that nobody had any 

 desire to delay the progress of the work. As to the con- 

 ferences, he believed they would be strictly private ; 

 that none would be present but the six Commis- 

 sioners, three on each side ; that none of those 

 numerous secretaries and legal advisers who accom- 

 panied himself from London and came with Sir 

 Charles Tupper from Canada would be admitted to 

 the conferences ; and that the only report or record 

 made of the proceeding would be a brief protocol 

 drawn up at the end of each conference by the Com- 

 missioners themselves, the protocol being simply 

 the minutes in brief of the conference. As for a 

 stenographic report of what is to be said, or of any 

 part of what is to be said by the Commissioners, he 

 had not thought of such a thing, and did not suppose 

 it would be thought of. 



" Our business," he said, *' is to settle all ques- 

 tions in dispute between the two Governments.*' 

 He said that the scope of the negotiations might 

 widen out so as to take in many other questions, 

 besides those in dispute about the rights of United 

 States fishermen in Canadian waters. Regarding 



