The subsequent transfer of hundreds of thousands of tons of American shipping to British registry, owing to the depredations of these raiders, still further incensed the American people.

It was in the midst of these strained relations that the Fenian Brotherhood in the United States attempted the invasion of Canada.
* See Stephenson, "Abraham Lincoln and the Union," in "The Chronicles of America." America laid claims against Great Britain, based not merely on the actual destruction of merchantmen by the Alabama, the Florida, and other Confederate vessels built in British yards, but also on such indirect losses as insurance, cost of pursuit, and commercial profits.

The American Minister, Charles Francis Adams, had proposed the arbitration of these claims, but the British Ministry, declined to arbitrate matters involving the honor of the country.

Adams's successor, Reverdy Johnson, succeeded in arranging a convention in 1868 excluding from consideration all claims for indirect damages, but this arrangement was unfavorably reported from the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Senate.

It was then that Charles Sumner, Chairman of the Committee, gave utterance to his astounding demands upon Great Britain.