decided revival of prosperity, many mills that had
been closed resuming work, and there being other
indications of returning confidence in the business
world. On 17 May the president sent to congress
a special message asking for an appropriation for
the aid of suffering American citizens in Cuba, and
in accordance therewith the sum of foU.UUO was
appropriated for that purpose.
The policy of the new administration toward Spain on the Cuban question had been a matter of much speculation, and there were those who ex- pected that it would be aggressive. Uut it soon became evident that it was to be marked by calm- ness and moderation. The president rfetained in office Consul-General Fitzhugh Lee, who had been appointed to his post by President Cleveland, al- though he sent commissioners to Cuba to report to him on special cases ; and the policy of the govern- ment in relation to the suppression of filibustering remained unchanged. Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, the new minister to Spain, was instructed to de- liver to the Spanish government a message in which the United States expressed its desire that an end should be put to the disastrous conflict in Cuba, and tendere<l its good offices toward the accomplishment of such a result. To this message the Spanish government returned a conciliatory reply to the general effect that it had ordered ad- mmistrative reforms to be carried out on the island, and expected soon to put an end to the war, at the same time begging the United States to renew its efforts for the suppression of filibustering. As was generally expected, the oi>ening of the administration was marked by fresh agitation of (he question of Ilawuiiun annexation. A new treaty of aimexation was negotiated and sent by the president to the senate, but action upon it was iiostiKined. Meanwhile the Japanese government formally prolt^leil against any such action on the part of the United States as should prejudice the rights of its subjects in Hawaii, there being at the time a diplomatic dispute between Japan and Hawaii regarding an alleged violation by the latter power of a trt'aty iH-tweon the two countries. Many persons regarded this protest as an indica- tion that Ja|>an wuulil resist the annexation by force of arms, or would annex the islands, but the Japantwe minister disclairae<l all hostile intent. Another sensation in foreign affairs, recalling that of the Venezuela message during the Cleve- land administration, was a despatch s(>nt by Secre- tary Sherman to Amimssador Hay regarding the Benring sea seal question, in which he intimated that Great Britain, in [icrcMnptorily refusing to re- open the discussion of the rules for the regulation of seal-catching, had been guilty of beu faith. The London press es[)ecially tf)ok umbrage at the tone of this despatch, which was characterized as rude and disagreeable; but the friends of the administration maintainetl that this tone was justified by the facts and also by the event, since (m 15 July it was announced that Great Britain had finally eonsentwl to take part with the United States, Russia, and Japan in a sealing conferen<'e in Washinfjton in the autumn of 1W)7. Later. however, Ijfird .Salisbury declared that he had Iwen misunderstood, and the conference convened in November without British delegates, although Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Canadian premier, was pres- ent unofficially. JIuch was done to assuage ill feeling between the United States and Kngland by the course of the administration in sending a special ambasswlor to Great Britain on the occa- sion of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. For this post the president selected Whitclaw Keid. In the summer following the president's in- auguration the reports of great gold discoveries on the Klondike river in British territory near the Alaskan boundary caused great excitement, recalling, especially on the Pacific coast, the days of the early California gold fever. So many expe- ditions set off almost at once for the north that the administration found it necessary to warn per- sons of the danger of visiting the arctic regions except at the proper season and with careful preparation ; and to preserve order in Alaskan territory near the scene of the discoveries, the president at once established a military post on the upper Yukon river. On 7 April, in response to a mes.sage from the president, asking relief for the sufferers by flood in the Mississippi valley, both houses of congress voted to appropriate the sum of 1200,000 for this purpose.
Much favorable comment was caused at the opening of the administration by President McKin- ley's evident desire to make himself accessible to the public, and to accept, if possible, all invitations to speak or preside at public functions. On 27 April, accompanied by his cabinet, he attended the ceremonies connected with the dedication of the Grant monument at Riverside park. New York. Immediately afterward he was present at the dedi- cation of the Washington monument in Philadel- phia; and he soon made it plain that he consid- ered it one of his duties to see and be seen as much as possible. In this and in other respects there was an evident desire on the part both of President McKinley's friends and of his opponents to regard the new administration with favor, and to give it every chance to establish its positions flrmly. This was so much the case that its open- ing was referred to in the public press as a new "era of good feeling," like that which had marked the administration of James Monroe.
"The president's first year," says a prominent journal, "has ended with an extraordinarv mani- festation of personal confidence in him. Inaugu- rate<l on 4 March, 1H07. he saw the house vote 8 March, ll^US, aii<l the senate 9 March, with abso- lute unanimity, giving him a discretionary jK)wer which has rarely Ijeen granted to any American president. These votes, 311 to in the house, and i6 to 0, without a word of delmte. in the .senate, grandlv exhibited the unity, patriotism, and loyal- ty of tlie nation. In the thirty-lhrt^e years since the civil war ended no such manifestation of com- plete restoration of the Union has U'en possible until now. Even after the civil war Ijegaii there were five votes against the first act to raise money for the support of the government, and in all the previous history of the nation absolute unanimity in congress was rarely [wssible. It was worth many tiroes the $50,000,000 vc)te<l by congress to have such magnificent demonstration of the na- tion's unity. But while this spirit prompted the act, its discretionary feature was at the same time a rare and striking proof of confidence in the presi- dent. His conduct during his first year, under circumstances of extraordinary difficulty, has lieen such as to win for him the entire trust of political op|iononts in all matters involving the nation's defence, so that some who have been most hostile to him now pnmounce him 'a rock of safety.'" President Cleveland in his last annual message had slated plainly the position of the United States on the Cuban <|uestion. saying that the suppres- sion of the insurrection was essentially a matter for Spain, that this country would not fail to make every effort to prevent filibustering expedi- tions and unlawful aid of any kind for the rebels,
