the United States as a determination on the part of Her Majesty's Government to surrender the fishing grounds of British America to the undis turbed enjoyment of foreigners without any compensation. A fatal blow will thus be given to a great and productive source of British American industry, upon which tens of thousands of Her Majesty's loyal subjects are dependent for their means of living, while at the same time the most extended nursery for hardy seamen will be deliberately abandoned to a foreign power.

But this is not all. I should fail in my duty to the Crown as also to the Dominion of Canada if I did not express to your Grace the deep apprehension with which, in the present disturbed state of the public mind in Nova Scotia, I dread the result of a decision which practically tells the great body of the people who are so deeply interested in this question that the principal means of promoting the renewal of a Reciprocity Treaty having been abandoned they can never hope, as British subjects, to compete upon fair terms upon fishing grounds which are admitted to belong exclusively to Great Britain.

In the hope that this question, not only vitally affecting the interests of Canada, but also involving considerations of the highest importance to the Empire, may receive further attention from Her Majesty's Government, I remain, your Grace's most obedient servant,

CHARLES TUPPER.

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS.

Westminster Palace Hotel,

May 26th, 1868.

MY DEAR SIR JOHN,-Although I have not had the pleasure of receiving a reply to my last letter, I will embrace this mail to answer yours of the 30th ultimo. I was surprised to learn from it that the assurance the duke had given me respecting the railway matter had not been carried out. I lost no time in seeing his Grace, and have followed it up since without intermission; but so great have been the difficulties of the Ministry that, although the duke has done all in his power to meet our wishes, it was not until yesterday that he could obtain the assent of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to his proposal to regard the existing legislation sufficient if the North Shore route was adopted. This, I presume, is all you require, and will fully meet the case, yet I felt it my duty to the whole Government to try (but in vain) to get a more general approval. The delay in getting anything brought to a point by the Cabinet is so great that the answer to Howe, etc., which was really ready a month ago, is, the duke assures me, to be sent to-day, and will go to Lord Monck by this mail. It is of the tenor agreed upon before, and substantially as I communicated to you.

Howe drove me home in his cab from the Lyceum last Thursday evening, and invited me to breakfast with Mrs. Howe and himself the next morning, when we had two hours' conversation in her presence and went fully into the whole matter. She goes with me strongly, and I have no doubt that his mind is quite made up. I put it to him strongly

that with the course you had taken I would now be able to take the platform and carry the country against any opposition he could bring, but preferred, as the province had pronounced in his favour, to stand aside myself and let them have the legitimate fruit of their popular triumph, and thus bring all into complete harmony at once. I am satisfied that he is fully convinced that the interests of his country, his party, and himself all require him to take hold with us, but both he and I feel that we must handle the subject with great delicacy. My inability to enter upon the public discussion of this question has entailed enormous labour in seeing members of the Lords and Commons, but probably nothing could have conduced more to the interests of the Dominion. I have had long interviews during the past week with Walter, late M.P., and principal proprietor of the Times, Lord Houghton, Lord Campbell, Mr. Karslake, M.P., Sir Robert Anstruther, M.P., and several others, all of whom sought the interviews with me and seemed most anxious to obtain full information on our matters. I find a rapidly increasing interest springing up here in relation to our affairs, and every leading man I meet seems desirous of bringing other public men into contact with me. Mr. Bright has, as you are aware, postponed his notice of the Nova Scotia petition to the 16th. Lord Campbell has withdrawn his in the Lords at present, and after our interview yesterday I doubt if he will renew it. Be assured I lose no opportunity of influencing the mind of Parliament and of the Press and public in the right direction, and am vain enough to hope that

a great deal is being accomplished, despite the extreme and general ignorance which prevails here regarding everything on the other side of the Atlantic.

The duke told me, some time ago, that he was about to telegraph to Lord Monck to keep Parliament until he received a despatch on the Hudson's Bay question; but I advised him to send the substance of the despatch by telegraph, so that you could judge whether it was desirable to keep the House on that account, which he did. Although the duke has gone fully into that question with me, I, in the absence of any instructions, have simply confined myself to the expression of my personal opinion that it was on every account desirable that Canada should, without delay, obtain the control of that country.

Having fully succeeded in all the objects of my mission, I propose to return home immediately after the discussion of the Nova Scotia question in Parliament, unless the Government desire my services here in conjunction with any members of the Cabinet who may come over. Be good enough in that case to let me know your wishes by telegraph. I wrote to you to send me a further letter of credit, and hope that the Cabinet will not forget in that relation that since I resigned office on the first day of July last I have been exclusively engaged with public business, and must continue, for several months at least, to devote myself to the interests of the Dominion in Nova Scotia.

Before receiving your letter I wrote to Mr. Archibald that I had written to you to say

that any appointment to the Senate pending the negotiations with Mr. Howe would be an act of insanity, and I requested him to show that letter to Mr. McCully. I have no hesitation in saying that such an act on the part of the Dominion Government would close the door in the face of the anti-Unionists and leave us no course but to fight it out. I want nothing for myself, nothing for my friends, but I cannot understand how anybody could be so indifferent to the public weal as the proposal you mentioned indicated. Neither Archibald nor McCully in their letters hinted such a thing, but of thirty-two votes which carried union the Liberal party gave me four! and six Liberals were nominated by Archibald and McCully for the Senate. You know how fully I value the good faith in which they cooperated with me, and how anxious I have been to consider and conserve their interests, but this would never do. The action of the majority of the Commons on the Governor-General's salary has done much mischief here in every way. The Government were about appointing a member of the Cabinet, but will now have to fall back upon some third-rate man.

There will be no change now until a new appointment.-Ever yours faithfully,

C. TUPPER.

THE HON. SIR J. A. MACDONALD, K.C.B., ETC.

Westminster Palace Hotel,

June 20th, 1868.

MY DEAR SIR JOHN,-Your letters of May 25th

and May 30th were duly received.

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