MR. POTTER,
"'I am much delighted to hear that you have decided to attend the
Detroit Convention, as it is in my opinion of the greatest importance
that the real friends of the United States who reside here shall be
represented at Detroit, or that our friends, before committing
themselves to a renewal of the Reciprocity Treaty, may know our views
on the subject; and I can assure you, from the knowledge I have of the
sentiments of those who have been and still are the friends of the
United States in this country, that not one in fifty of them wants a
renewal or extension of the treaty. On the other hand, every man who
has been openly hostile to us is for the renewal. The reasons are
obvious, as it is clear to all intelligent men that a failure to renew
the treaty will result in thorough reciprocity. All the friends of the
Western States here, and they are rapidly increasing in numbers and
influence, would rejoice to submit to temporary inconvenience and loss,
for the purpose of accomplishing this result, while those who are
against us wish for a renewal of the treaty which, during the last four
years, has given so much trouble to both sides. They know that a
renewal of the treaty would be the only effectual check on the
annexation movement. I believe the renewal of it would be one of the
greatest political blunders on the part of the United States. This is
the feeling of our friends on this side, and I am sure our friends on
the other side of the frontier who have already suffered so much, will
join us heartily in this additional sacrifice, if such it should
prove.'
"As Mr. Potter closed reading the letter there were loud cries from the
Canadian delegates of 'Name, name.'
"Mr. Potter gave the name, 'O. S. Wood, Superintendent of the Montreal
Telegraph Company' - a gentleman, he said, of wealth and the highest
respectability in Montreal.
"Some one asked whether Wood was a born Canadian.
"Mr. Potter replied he was not, but came originally from New York.
"The Republican journals in the West have since taken up this tone, and
Mr. Morrill, the Protectionist chairman of the 'Committee of Ways and
Means,' echoed it even in conference with the provincial delegates at
Washington last February: - Witness the following: -
"'Chicago Tribune' (Republican), Jan. 6th, 1866.
"The 'Tribune' concludes: - 'The Canadians will soon discover that free
trade and smuggling will not compensate them for the loss of the
Reciprocity Treaty. They will stay out in the cold for a few years and
try all sorts of expedients, but in the end will be constrained to
knock for admission into the Great Republic. Potter was right when he
predicted that the abrogation of the treaty would cause annexation.'
"(Mr. MORRILL, Chairman of Ways and Means, "Washington, Feb.
6th, 1866.)
"'Mr. GALT: We would not build those canals for our own trade alone.
