The hall divided
that room from the library, and both doors were shut. We
cannot hesitate about which to open; we have only, indeed,
to follow the recognized tradition of Elgin, which would
never have entered the library. No vivid conclusion should
be drawn, no serious situation may even be indicated. It
would simply have been considered, in Elgin, stupid to
go into the library.
"It isn't a case for the High Commissioner for Canada,"
Mr Cruickshank was saying. "It's a case for direct
representation of the interests concerned, and their view
of the effect upon trade. That's the only voice to speak
with if you want to get anything done. Conviction carries
conviction. The High Commissioner is a very useful fellow
to live in London and look after the ornamental, the
sentimental, and immigration--nobody could do it better
than Selkirk. And in England, of course, they like that
kind of agency. It's the good old dignified way; but it
won't do for everything. You don't find our friend Morgan
operating through the American equivalent of a High
Commissioner."
"No, you don't," said John Murchison.
"He goes over there as a principal, and the British
Government, if he wants to deal with it, is only another
principal. That's the way our deputation will go. We're
practically all shippers, though of course the matter of
tenders will come later.
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