147 
CHAP. V] TREATY RELATIONS 1 
Mr. Laurier’s attitude was more cautious, but though he 
was not prepared to accept commercial union he declared 
that his policy was to abandon the policy of retaliation * to 
show the American people that we are brothers, and to hold 
out our hands to them with a due regard for the duties we 
owe to our Mother Country >. In 1888 a caucus of Liberal 
Members of Parliament authorized Sir Richard Cartwright 
to introduce into the House of Commons a resolution in 
favour of reciprocity with the United States which implied 
discrimination against the Mother Country. The Resolution 
which Sir Richard Cartwright introduced on March 14, 1888, 
read as follows *—0 
That it is highly desirable that the largest possible freedom 
of commercial intercourse should obtain between the Dominion 
of Canada and the United States, and that it is expedient 
that all articles manufactured in or the natural products of 
either of the said countries should be admitted free of duty 
into the ports of the other, articles subject to duties of excise 
or of internal revenue alone excepted ; that it is further 
expedient that the Government of the Dominion should take 
steps at an early date to ascertain on what terms and condi- 
tions arrangements can be effected with the United States for 
the purpose of securing full and unrestricted reciprocity of 
trade therewith. 
In 1891 Sir John Macdonald himself reminded Canada that 
whatever measure of reciprocal trade had been obtained from 
the United States had been obtained by the Conservatives, 
and he stated that he believed that there was ‘room for 
extending our trade on a fair basis, and that there were things 
on which we could enlarge our views without in any way 
infringing on the National Policy ’. 
Simultaneously with the announcement of the dissolution 
of Parliament, the Government published steps which they 
had taken to secure reciprocity with the United States, and 
they offered a renewal of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, with 
modifications required by the altered circumstances of both 
countries. The fact that the negotiations had been com- 
menced was used as a strong argument against the claims of 
the Opposition to be given office. At any rate, partly by this