an infraction of the customs rules, her captain having
hoisted the United States flag, this was pulled down by order of the
Canadian officer in temporary charge of her. The flag was again hoisted
and again forcibly lowered. This act awakened great resentment in the
United States, until it, too, was disavowed by the Governor-General in
Council. The Sarah H. Prior lost at sea a valuable net, which a Canadian
schooner picked up and wished to return. This was forbidden, and being
permitted to purchase no other seine, the ship came home with a broken
voyage and in debt. Captain Tupper, of the Jeannie Seaverns, having
entered the harbor of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, for shelter, was denied
permission to go and see his relatives near by or to receive them aboard
his vessel. The water-tank of the schooner Mollie Adams having burst,
her captain sought to buy two or three barrels to hold water for his
crew on their homeward voyage of five hundred miles. His request was
refused.

The same Mollie Adams found a Nova Scotia vessel in distress and rescued
her crew. Captain Jacobs, of the Mollie, cared for the men several days,
and finally, as no assistance of any sort was proffered by the
Canadians, sent them home at his own expense. His aid to them delayed
his homeward journey, and he was also caught in a harbor from which his
vessel could pass only during very high water, which caused further
delay. Owing to these incidents his supply of provisions ran low, yet he
was denied permission to purchase anything, and as a result his homeward
tour was made on half rations or less. Many other aggravating
circumstances were connected with this case.

In quite a number of instances American masters were refused water, the
only excuse being that they had not conformed to all the port or customs
regulations. There can be no doubt that many fishing captains were quite
too lax in this, presuming on the power of their nation and remembering
the liberties enjoyed under reciprocity, while too forgetful of the
stern letter of the treaty which the Canadians were executing against
them. It was plain on the other hand that however wrongly Canadian
subalterns may at times have acted, both the Canadian and the British
Government intended to keep within the letter of the law, while forcing
us to fish off their coasts at as great a disadvantage as possible.

The real source of the difficulty was well characterized by Mr. Phelps,
our Minister to England. "It