This seems the more likely as it is reported that at the sealing conference with Great Britain, which follows the Russo-Japanese conference, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Canadian Premier, will endeavor to settle the disputed matters satisfactorily.
The Canadian Premier has always desired to maintain the most friendly relations with us, and though he has given no hint of his intentions on the sealing question, it is understood that he means to reach an amicable understanding with us.
It is also said that he intends to see the President while he is in Washington, and if possible clear away all the existing difficulties between Canada and the United States.
The sealing trouble is only one of the matters which need arranging. There is the Kootenay affair, the Klondike question, and a number of other fishery and tariff differences.
Our Government will soon have an opportunity of testing the value of the reindeer which have been imported into Alaska.
A number of whaling-vessels are fast in the ice off the coast of Alaska, and it is necessary to send food to the sailors on them to save them from starvation.
These ships went up through the Bering Sea this summer to ply their dangerous trade as usual. The winter set in earlier than usual, and eight of them have been caught in the ice off Point Barrow, which is on the north of Alaska, jutting out into the Arctic Ocean.
There are about two hundred and seventy-five men on these vessels. Not expecting to spend the winter in the Arctic Ocean, they were not prepared for such an emergency, and none of them carried more than a three-months' supply of food. The gravest fears are entertained lest they die of starvation.
The matter was brought to the attention of the President, who immediately called a Cabinet council, at which it was decided to send a relief expedition to these men.