UNITED STATES AND CANADA 103 



laughter.) I am here as the representative of Great 

 Britain — (hear, hear) — acting on behalf of her colony 

 of Canada — (cheers) — whose interests she is bound 

 in honour to defend. (Renewed cheers.) If I had 

 used any language like that which has been imputed 

 to me I should have been unworthy of the position 

 which I hold. (Hear, hear.) I can assure you 

 that, except as far as the interests of Birmingham 

 and Manchester are identical with yours, you may 

 trust me to lay them aside on the present occasion. 

 (Cheers.) I regret these mistakes on the part of the 

 influential organs of public opinion, not so much on 

 any personal grounds as because they tend to dis- 

 credit and to embarrass the negotiators who are 

 engaged in your business — (cheers) — because to 

 that extent they damage your case. (Cheers.) But 

 I have referred to this matter for another reason — 

 because I want to point out to you that we hear 

 a little too much about antagonism of interests. 

 (Hear, hear.) Our interests, yours and those of the 

 Mother Country, and I will go further and say those 

 of the United States, all lie in the same direction. 

 (Hear, hear.) What the plenipotentiaries have to do 

 is to show that there is not divergence, but identity 

 of interests, and if it does not exist we have to create 

 it. (Cheers.) We have to deal with these points 

 in such a spirit as shall show that we desire to reach 

 a friendly agreement which will be mutually bene- 

 ficial and satisfactory. (Applause.) I speak to- 

 night under considerable difficulty. I confess that 

 at first I hesitated to accept your hospitable invita- 

 tion, because I was afraid it would not be possible 



