Report of Society's Meetings. 219 
McKinley Act depended mainly upon the course adopted 
by Spain. It was thought that if Spain refused to make 
a Treaty with the United States, the President would 
hardly resort to such an extreme measure as taxing 
Cuban sugar. Still less would we have been disposed 
to re-impose taxation on German as well as Cuban 
sugar. If Germany and Spain had agreed together, it 
seems probable that they might have been masters of 
the situation. When, however, it was found that a 
Treaty had been actually concluded between Spain and 
the United States, it appeared to the West India Com- 
mittee that the time for action had arrived, and they 
thereupon, in August, 1891, urged upon the Colonial 
Office that Sir Julian Pauncefote should be instructed to 
submit the tariffs of the West Indian Colonies to the 
United States Government, with the expression of a 
hope that they would be recognised as reciprocally fair 
and reasonable. 
After an interview which I had with Lord Salisbury, 
at which Lord Knutsford, Lord Gormanston, and Sir 
Walter Sendall, were present, the suggestion of the West 
India Committee was acted upon. 
In the meantime both before and after the interview 
with Lord Salisbury, a desire had been expressed that I 
should be nominated to proceed to Washington to 
assist Her Majesty's Minister in the conduct of the 
negotiations. It will be remembered that I had repre- 
sented the colonies in a similar capacity during the 
negotiations of 1884, and so far as I am aware, those 
negotiations met with general approval in the colonies. 
I was disinclined however, to undertake this new duty, 
chiefly because there seemed a want of concerted action 
DD2 
