 Blaine 's earliest expressions in the foreign policy sphere were those of a reactionary Anglophobe , but by the end of his career his relationship with the United Kingdom had become more moderate and nuanced . A dispute over seal hunting in the waters off Alaska was the cause of Blaine 's first interaction with Britain as Harrison 's Secretary of State . A law passed in 1889 required Harrison to ban seal hunting in Alaskan waters , but Canadian fishermen believed they had the right to continue fishing there . Soon thereafter , the United States Navy seized several Canadian ships near the Pribilof Islands . Blaine entered into negotiations with Britain and the two nations agreed to submit the dispute to arbitration by a neutral tribunal . Blaine was no longer in office when the tribunal began its work , but the result was to allow the hunting once more , albeit with some regulation , and to require the United States to pay damages of $ 473 @,@ 151 . Ultimately , the nations signed the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 , which outlawed open @-@ water seal hunting . 
