The record-union., 1899-05-27
That Negotiations With Canada Are at an
Almost Hopeless Stage.
Now Asserted That the Admins
tration at Washington is In
clined to Retaliatory Measures
Against Our Northern Neighbor
The State Department Refers
to the Secretary OF the Treasury
the Arrangement of Plan to
Protect American Interests.

| L
negotiations with the Canadian Gov
ernment on the subject of Alaska have
reached an almost hopeless stage, owing
to the insistence of the Canadians that
they receive a slice of Alaska, which
apparently precludes any agreement
being reached on the subject between
the American and Canadian High Com
missioners.
The evening newspapers reproduce
the New York dispatch with comment,
generally regretting the situation, but
objecting to the conclusions that Can
ada is blameable.
The 'sGlobe" says: 1.-The Canadians
would be far less patriotic than they
are if they yielded to what they con-
slider to be an rMjustifiable demand for
the sake of Establishment of more
friendly relations with their big neigh
bor."
Continuing, the "Globe" remarks
that the Times by publishing it's cor
respondents injudicial summing up, has
adopted the surest way to infiame pub
lie opinion on both sides of the Att
lantic.
The Westminster Gazette" says:
I'VE certainly hope better face can be
put on things, so far as we are con-
cerned but the deadlock seems very
serious
The "St. James Gazette thinks
American politics are playing an inn
portant part in the situation, and says:
1.-THE Republicans are disposed to a
friendly arrangement with England, but
it must be on terms SO favorable to
A re
no excuse to say they yielded their in
terests to Great Britain"
LONDON, May 27.-The morning pa
pers prominently discuss the future of
the Anglo-American Commission, with
an apparent desire to pacify both Cam
ada and the United States, though
strongly disinclined to give the colony
any lack of moral support.
The Daily Chronicle" says: The
whole boundary dispute is small. but
there is much reason to fear that the
lumber quarrel, the other cause of fric-
ton, has produced a needlessly hostile
temper between Canada and Washing
ton Both sides appear to be think
ing of perpetual retaliations and repri-
sails Such a state of things is full of
evil AS the committee affords an op-
portunity to give and take, it is urged
that a settlement should be achieved.
Should this fail, and should the Nicar-
aqua arrangements also fail very un-
pleasant reaction might ensue. A re-
turn to any unfriendly temper between
the two branches of the Anglo-Saxon
race would be a disaster to everyone,
and, above all, to Canada herself
The Daily Mall says: 1T is obvi-
ously unfair for the United States to
expect the British Empire to do all the
giving and America to do all the TAX
ing. That is form of diplomacy to
which we are painfully accustomed in
our dealings with certain Power in
the Far East"
THE ADMINISTRATION MAY RE
TALIATE.
WASHINGTON, May 26.-There is
little doubt that our Government is in
clined to retaliatory considerations
against Canada by the discouraging re-
suits of the negotiations in London
looking to the clearing of the field for
the reassembling of the Joint Canadian
Commission. 1t is gathered that the
British Foreign Office, which had
seemed desirous to meet Mr.. Choate's
that promised well, has been again in
f1uenced by Canada's refusal to agree
to anything less than a concession of
all their demands, which has stopped
all progress.
The Department of State has referred
to the Treasury Department the ar
rangement of a plan to protect the in
terests of the United States and a de-
cision from Secretary Gage is expected
very soon. The Treasury Department
has now two courses open, both being
retaliatory. The first is the PROPOSE
ton of an amendment to the tariff,
largely increasing duties on lumber and
forest products imported into the Unit
ed States from Canada. There is pos
sibly another course. A section of the
Dingley Act authorizes the United
States in cases when countries impose
an export duty to add the equivalent of
such export duty to the import on such
goods coming to the United States.
The Canadian Government is not i'm
posing in so many words an export duty
on logs, but it has prohibited their ex-
portation. The question before Secre-
tary Gage is whether this prohibition
may not be regarded as in principle the
same thing as an excessive and there
! fore prohibitive export tax If this view
is found correct, the treasury has al
ready at hand measures of retaliation,
| it seems, in the shape of an order pro-
hibiting the Importation of Canadian
| logs into the United States, which
would bear very heavily upon other
provinces in Canada outside of Ontario.