Editing Thomas F. Bayard (section)

===Relations with Britain===
[[File:Thomas F. Bayard, U.S. Secretary of State.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Portrait of Bayard as Secretary of State]]
Despite their agreement on Samoa, much of Bayard's term of office was taken up in settling disputes with the United Kingdom. The largest of these concerned the Canadian fisheries off the Atlantic coasts of Canada and [[Newfoundland Colony|Newfoundland]].{{efn|At the time, Newfoundland was a separate colony from Canada. Both were self-governing, but relied upon the British government for foreign policy.}}{{sfn|Welch 1988|p=161}} The rights of American fishermen in Canadian waters had been disputed since American independence, but the most recent disagreement stemmed from Congress's decision in 1885 to abrogate part of the [[Treaty of Washington (1871)|1871 treaty]] that governed the situation.{{sfn|Welch 1988|p=161}} Under that treaty, American fishermen had the right to fish in Canadian waters; in return, fishermen from Canada and Newfoundland had the right to export fish to the United States [[Duty (economics)|duty]]-free.{{sfn|Welch 1988|p=161}} Protectionists in Congress thought the arrangement hurt American fisherman, and convinced their colleagues to repeal it. In response, Canadian authorities fell back on an interpretation of the earlier [[Treaty of 1818]], and began to seize American vessels.{{sfn|Nevins 1932|p=405}} In 1887, the [[Lame-duck session|lame duck]] [[49th United States Congress|49th Congress]] then passed the [[Fisheries Retaliation Act]], which empowered the president to bar Canadian ships from American ports if he thought Canadians were treating American fishermen "unjustly;" Cleveland signed the bill, but did not enforce it and hoped he and Bayard would be able to find a diplomatic solution to the escalating trade war.{{sfn|Welch 1988|p=162}}

Britain agreed to negotiate, and a six-member commission convened in Washington in June 1887.{{sfn|Tansill 1940|pp=276–277}} Bayard led the American delegation, joined by [[James Burrill Angell]], president of the [[University of Michigan]], and [[William LeBaron Putnam]], a Maine lawyer and international law scholar.{{sfn|Nevins 1932|p=408}} [[Joseph Chamberlain]], a leading statesman in the British Parliament, led their delegation, which also included [[Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Baron Sackville|Lionel Sackville-West]], the British ambassador to the United States, and [[Charles Tupper]], a future Prime Minister of Canada.{{sfn|Nevins 1932|p=408}} By February 1888, the commission agreed on a new treaty, which would create a mixed commission to determine which bays were open to American fishermen. Americans could purchase provisions and bait in Canada if they purchased a license, but if Canadian fisherman were allowed to sell their catch in the United States duty-free, then the Americans' licenses to fish in Canada would be free.{{sfn|Welch 1988|p=162}} Bayard believed that the treaty, "if observed honorably and honestly, will prevent future friction&nbsp;... between the two nations."{{sfn|Tansill 1940|p=298}} The Senate, controlled by Republicans, disagreed, and rejected the treaty by a 27–30 vote.{{sfn|Welch 1988|p=163}} Aware of the risk that the treaty might be rejected, Bayard and Chamberlain agreed on a two-year working agreement, allowing Americans to continue their fishing in Canadian waters by paying a fee. This arrangement was renewed every two years until 1912, when a permanent solution was found.{{sfn|Anderson|1913|pp=1–16}}

A similar dispute with Britain arose in the Pacific, over the rights of Canadians to [[Seal hunting|hunt seals]] in waters off the [[Pribilof Islands]], a part of Alaska.{{sfn|Welch 1988|pp=164–165}} While only Americans had the right to take seals on the islands, the right to hunt in the waters around them was less well-defined, and Americans believed foreign sealers were depleting the herd too quickly by hunting off-shore. Bayard and Cleveland believed the waters around the islands to be exclusively American, but when Cleveland ordered the seizure of Canadian ships there, Bayard tried to convince him to search for a diplomatic solution instead.{{sfn|Welch 1988|pp=164–165}} The situation remained unresolved when the administration left office in 1889, and remained so until the [[North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911]].{{sfn|Welch 1988|p=166}}

Relations with Britain were also impaired when Sackville-West [[Murchison letter|intervened in the 1888 election]]. A Republican, posing as a British immigrant to the United States, asked Sackville-West whether voting for Cleveland or his Republican opponent, [[Benjamin Harrison]], would best serve British interests. Sackville-West wrote that Cleveland was better for Britain; Republicans published the letter in October 1888, hoping to diminish Cleveland's popularity among [[Irish American|Irish-Americans]].{{sfn|Campbell 1958|pp=636–637}} Cleveland's cabinet discussed the matter and instructed Bayard to inform the ambassador his services would no longer be required in Washington. Bayard attempted to limit the electoral damage, and gave a speech in Baltimore condemning Republicans for scheming to portray Cleveland as a British tool.{{sfn|Tansill 1940|pp=338–339}} Cleveland was defeated for re-election the following month in a close election.{{sfn|Nevins 1932|pp=439–442}}