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 How BRITISH AND AMERICAN SUBJECTS UNITE 153 ever, was writing some 25 years after the event with the printed address before him. His identification of this document as the one that was handed in to his committee cannot be accepted as positive. There is evidence as already given that the Cana- dians handed in at the time of their withdrawal from the May meeting in 1843 a protest and declaration of a character differ- ent from this address. The first gave reasons for remaining separate, the, second expresses a desire for union. The first may be the document that Gray had in mind. However this may be, that the address of the Canadians was delivered in 1844 seems susceptible of the most positive proof. 1. McLoughlin inclosing a copy of the address [the Hudson's Bay copy mentioned above] in a letter of July 4, 1844, writes that "the American citizens called on the Canadians to join them and organize a government for themselves, and though the Canadians refused last year, they consented this year, but first gave in the 'address'." This shows that though in 1843 the Canadians were unwilling, in 1844 they had changed their minds and that the address was presented after they had de- termined on joining the union. 2. In another letter of March 20, 1845, McLoughlin says, "From the great additional number of immigrants who came in 1843 the Canadians considered it necessary to have an organization to pass laws and on strength of the address handed in in March to the meeting then assem- bled" voted at the election in May, 1844. This shows that it was not until after the great increase in the numbers of Ameri- cans by the immigration of 1843 that the Canadians became convinced of the necessity of a government. These new-comers did not reach the Willamette until late in November of that year. This fixes March, 1844, as the date. 3. There is also the further evidence of the names appended to the French version of the address. The signatures run from the bottom of the last page towards the top, filling the blank margin. They are quite evidently genuine as a comparison with other signatures of the same men has shown. S. Smiths 8 signs as 38 Awkwardly written, but Mr. George H. Himes is positive that it is the signature of Sidney Smith.