A party in the American Senate of which Mr. Sumner
is believed to be the real bead, seems determined to throw obstacles in the way of the Joint Commission. Senator Howard, of Michigan, has expressed its view by moving that the possession of Great Britain of the northern part of the Continent of North America is in its very nature an obstacle to the permanent harmony of the two Governments, and by proposing that Great Britain should cede all her territory westward of Hudson's Bay. The resolution was referred to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, and is supposed at bottom to be a vote of censure on President Grant, but suggestions of this kind tend to make negotiation impossible. Canada may cede herself if she likes, after obtaining her independence by proper Parliamentary address to the Throne, but England will no more cede her than the United States will cede Maine. St. Domingo may sell subjects, but Great Britain has not yet descended to that level. Note a report that the Republicans in the Senate intend to dismiss Mr. Sumner from the chairmanship of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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