No Government in Britain could add
Canadian dissatisfaction to that of Newfoundland. Salisbury had done
the best he could. After a while Blaine was convinced of this and
succeeded in bringing the President into line.
The Behring Sea troubles brought about some rather amusing situations.
One day Sir John Macdonald, Canadian Premier, and his party reached
Washington and asked Mr. Blaine to arrange an interview with the
President upon this subject. Mr. Blaine replied that he would see the
President and inform Sir John the next morning.
"Of course," said Mr. Blaine, telling me the story in Washington just
after the incident occurred, "I knew very well that the President
could not meet Sir John and his friends officially, and when they
called I told them so." Sir John said that Canada was independent, "as
sovereign as the State of New York was in the Union." Mr. Blaine
replied he was afraid that if he ever obtained an interview as Premier
of Canada with the State authorities of New York he would soon hear
something on the subject from Washington; and so would the New York
State authorities.
It was because the President and Mr. Blaine were convinced that the
British Government at home could not fulfill the stipulations agreed
upon that they accepted Salisbury's proposal for arbitration,
believing he had done his best.
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