To their surprise and annoyance, the Legislature of British Columbia passed a law the other day, making it impossible for Americans to take up any claims, unless they give up their American citizenship and become British subjects.
It is said that numbers of Americans who have crossed the borders from Idaho and Montana are deprived of their finds by this law, and there is a great deal of excitement and indignation over it.
The Government of British Columbia says that the law was passed as a rebuke to Americans, because the United States Government has been making laws which are hurtful to Canadians.
Some of the American mine-owners became so alarmed that they took out their naturalization papers. Others determined to defy the law, and commenced hostilities by sending the ore they got from their mines over the border into Washington, to be smelted.
This took a good deal of business and money out of the hands of the Canadians, and there was an outbreak of indignation over it.
There promises to be a good deal of trouble before the matter is settled.
The Canadians will allow no American workmen to be employed on the Public Works, nor can they hold any good positions in the towns.
The Americans profess not to mind this in the least, declaring that the Canadians are welcome to manage their towns as they please, if they will only let the Americans in the mines alone.
This law against Americans does not, however, meet with the approval of the Canadian Parliament, the Legislature which passed it being only the local one of British Columbia.
Many of the Canadian mine-owners are as annoyed over the matter as the Americans are. They say that the citizens are helping to open up their country, and that it will be a bad thing for British Columbia if the Legislature makes it impossible for Americans to remain there.