y the bold tone
held by some Canadian papers when it was doubtful if the prisoners would
be released.

Before and since the union, the government of Canada has made repeated
efforts to renew a commercial treaty with the government at Washington.
In 1865 and 1866, Canadian delegates were prepared to make large
concessions, but were reluctantly brought to the conclusion that the
committee of ways and means in congress "no longer desired trade between
the two countries to be carried on upon the principle of reciprocity."
In 1866 Sir John Rose, while minister of finance, made an effort in the
same direction, but he was met by the obstinate refusal of the
republican party, then as always, highly protective.

All this while the fishery question was assuming year by year a form
increasingly irritating to the two countries. The headland question was
the principal difficulty, and the British government, in order to
conciliate the United States at a time when the Alabama question was a
subject of anxiety, induced the Canadian government to agree, very
reluctantly it must be admitted, to shut out foreign fishing vessels
only from bays less than six miles in width at their entrances. In this,
however, as in all other matters, the Canadian authorities acknowledged
their duty to yield to the considerations of imperial interests, and
acceded to the wishes of the imperial government in almost every
respect, except actually surrendering their territorial rights in the
fisheries. They issued licenses to fish, at low rates, for several
years, only to find eventually that American fishermen did not think it
worth while to buy these permits when they could evade the regulations
with little difficulty. The correspondence went on for several years,
and eventually led to the Washington conference or commission of 1871,
which was primarily intended to settle the fishery question, but which
actually gave the precedence to the Alabama difficulty--then of most
concern in the opinion of the London and Washington governments. The
representatives of the United States would not consider a proposition
for another reciprocity treaty on the basis of that of 1854. The
questions arising out of the convention of 1818 were not settled by the
commission, but were practically laid aside for ten years by an
arrangement providing for the free admission of salt-water fish to the
United States, on the condition of allowing the fishing vessels of that
country fre