ings, provided such withdrawal were not construed as an admission of any claim for damages.

Such action would be an effective evidence of the conciliatory spirit of the Canadian Government, and indirectly it would also be a proof that they were well satisfied with the arrangements made, and accepted them as disposing of every cause for unfriendly feeling.

Hoping we may soon meet again, and with great respect and regards,-Believe me, yours very truly, J. CHAMBERLAIN.

Ottawa,

February 28th, 1888.

MY DEAR MR. CHAMBERLAIN,-In consequence of a severe cold taken on my return to Canada, I have been unable, until this moment, to reply to your kind letter of the 18th instant, received just as I was leaving Washington.

I thank you very much for the warm tones in which you refer to the cordial relations which existed between us during our protracted labours at Washington, and I quite agree with you in the opinion that we have much reason to congratulate ourselves and those we represented upon the result of our efforts. You must allow me to say that the opinion I formed after meeting you at Birmingham, that no better selection could have been made by Her Majesty for the high and responsible position you occupied, was strengthened day by day as I witnessed the ability, tact, and firmness with which you met and overcame the all but insurmountable obstacles we encountered, and if we should succeed in the Senate in preserving

the Treaty from rejection, it will be largely due to your success by personal intercourse in conciliating and removing the prejudices of its members.

For obvious reasons the friends of the Treaty do not say much about it, but the time is not distant when the great services you rendered to Canada and the Empire will be fully recognised and freely expressed.

I enclose a copy of my statement to the inevitable reporter when I reached Montreal. I also send a copy of the Governor-General's speech in opening Parliament.

We will obtain the support of all our friends in the House of Commons and of leading members of the Opposition. I will do all I can to prevent too strong approval until the question has been dealt with by the Senate at Washington. We have readily adopted your suggestion to propose abandoning proceedings in the Courts, providing such action is not to be held as forming a claim for damages. I requested Lord Lansdowne to telegraph my concurrence in the proposal to have very little in the protocols except the proposals and counter-proposals on each side. I fear it will not be possible for me to be present at the dinner to be given by the Canadian Club, but I know our case will be safe in your hands, and that the opportunity to help the Treaty in the U.S. Senate will not be lost. With best wishes and hoping ere long to have the pleasure of meeting you again, I remain, with the utmost respect and esteem, yours faithfully, CHARLES TUPPER.

Highbury, Moor Green, Birmingham,

April 2, 1888. a pleasure to me my suggestions,

MY DEAR SIR CHARLES,-It is to inform you that, acting on Lord Salisbury has recommended the Queen to confer upon you the honour of a baronetcy in recognition of your great service in connection with our recent mission, and that Her Majesty has approved the recommendation.

I am very glad to be the first to congratulate you on this well deserved distinction, and to express once more the gratification I have had in all our official and personal relations.

With kind regards to Lady Tupper and yourself,-Believe me, yours very truly,

J. CHAMBERLAIN.

The official letter which Lord Salisbury, then Prime Minister, wrote to me, showed that the Imperial Government were not surprised at the conclusion of the matter.

London,

August 24, 1888. DEAR SIR CHARLES,-I have great pleasure in being authorised to inform you that the Queen has been pleased to confer upon you the honour of a baronetcy in token of her appreciation of the good service you rendered to her and to the Empire at the recent Conference at Washington. The value of that service will not be affected in the end by the untoward conclusion to which the discussion of the present Senate at Washington has come.Believe me, yours very truly, SALISBURY.

SIR CHARLES TUPPER.

The relations between the United States and Canada prior to the negotiations at Washington were greatly strained, as may be gathered from the speech I made in moving the adoption of the treaty in the House of Commons on April 10th, 1888, which is reprinted at the end of this volume.

CHAPTER X

MY LATER CAMPAIGNS

IN 1887, while acting as High Commissioner, I was recalled to Canada to take up the post of Minister of Finance, the great feature of my budget being the iron and steel policy, introduced with a view of establishing the industry on a solid basis. It did not succeed just then because the iron and steel industry throughout the world at the time was in a depressed condition. However, I always remained a consistent supporter of that policy, and have lived to see its beneficent effects, as evidenced by the great industries now established at Sydney, Cape Breton, and at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. When my son, Sir Charles Hibbert, visited the "Soo Soo" some years ago, the manager in showing him over the works, remarked, owe all this to your father's initiative. He was the real founder of the iron and steel industry."

"We

I am of opinion that the Conservative Party has not been given its full share of credit for taking the first steps to establish the iron and steel industry in the Dominion. I was the first Minister of Finance to attempt it. Events proved that my legislation was premature, as the price of iron and its products fell nearly fifty per cent. in England during the next few years. But my policy was reintroduced and adopted by the Liberal Govern