14 Tlie Fhherij Question : 



the fisheries on very advantageous terms to the Americans. The 

 results have not been as the Americans i:nticipated. Happily 

 for the national interests of British jS'orth America, its public 

 men agreed at this critical juncture in their affairs to a political 

 union, which has stimulated intercolonial trade, civen a new 

 direction to colonial commerce, and taught the people the neces- 

 sity of self-reliance, and of promoting a national policy in all 

 matters affecting their political and industrial interests. 



]n the meantime, while the people of the provinces were 

 endeavouring to consolidate their Government, and establish a 

 lederatiou on a '30und basis, they found themselves threatened 

 with ti;e fishery question in its irritating form. The Convention 

 of 1818 was again in force, and the fishermen of New England 

 were once more ranging in their waters. All the efforts of the 

 Canadian Government to bring about a satisfactory commercial 

 arrangement with the United States were entirely unsuccessful. 

 The question then constantly pressed itself upon them, how best 

 to meet the difficulty of maintaining their rights without bringing 

 about any serious international complication. The correspond- 

 ence between England and Canada, as it appears in the Canadian 

 Blue-books from lb 67 to 1871, is not very flattering to the 

 national vanity of those Englishmen who believe there are times 

 when a little firmness is necessary in the maintenance of un- 

 doubted Imperial rights. All the despatches of the British 

 Government are in the direction of conciliatinsf the United States 

 in every way possible, until at last it was pointed out in one 

 Canadian Minute of Council that "the course suggested (the 

 freedom of the fisheries for another year) would certainly be 

 regarded by the American people as an evidence of weakness on 

 the part of Great Britain, and of an indisposition to maintain the 

 rights of the colonists." The answers of the Canadian Govern- 

 ment to the despatches from the Imperial authorities are dis- 

 tinguished throughout by a firm assertion of the rights and 

 interests of Canada, and in yielding as they did on several 

 occasions to the suggestions of the Colonial Secretary they proved 

 the anxiety of Canadians not in any way to emharrass England 

 at a time when the Alabama question had caused u feeling of 

 deep irritation against her in the Northern States. Concession 

 after concession was made to the United States, until at one 

 time it did look, as Mr. Mitchell, the able Minister of Marine , 

 and Fisheries, pointed out to his colleagues, there was every 

 danger that " the hesitation on the part of England to assert an 

 undoubted national right would be misconstrued, and be made 

 the ground for other and more serious exactions, until such a 

 point la reached that neither country can recede from with 

 honour.'' However, the Canadian Government reluctantly 



