231 



tore compromise the land covered widi water as far as could be avail- 

 able for the due enjoyment of the liberty granted. 



" 6. By the convention, the liberty of" entering the bays and harbors 

 of Nova Scotia for the purpose of purchasing Wood and obtaining 

 water is conceded in general terms, unrestricted by any condition ex- 

 pressed or implied, limiting it to vessels duly provided at the com- 

 mencement of the voyuge ; and we are of opinion that no such condi- 

 tion can be attached to the enjoyment of the liberty. 



"7. The rights of fishery ceded to the citizens of the United States, 

 and those reserved for the exclusive enjoyment of British subjects, 

 depend altogether upon the convention of 1818, the only existing 

 treaty on this subject between the two countries, and the material points 

 arising thereon have been specifically answered in our replies to the 

 preceding queries. 



" We have, &c., 



"J. DODSON. 

 "THOS. WILDE. 



"Viscount Palmerstox, K. B., S)''c., 4<"." 



Fifteen months elapsed before Lord Stanley,* who, as the Earl of 

 Derby, is the present prime minister of England, sent the answer of 

 the crown lawyers to Lord Falkland. That it was communicated with 

 reluctance, even in November, 1842, is apparent. The subject to 

 which it relates, said he, "has frequently engaged the attention of my- 

 self and my colleagues, with the view of adopting further measures, if 

 necessary, for the protection of British interests in accordance with the 

 law as laid down" by these functionaries. "We have, however, on 

 full consideration, come to the conclusion, as regards the fisheries of 

 Nova Scotia, that the precautions taken by the provincial legislature 

 appear adequate to the purpose ; and that bemg practically acquiesced in 

 bij the Americans, no furtlur measures are recpdreciy (The closing decla- 

 ration, which I have placed in italics, will not fail to attract notice.) 



Meantime (between August, 1841, and November, 1842,) Lord Falk- 

 land had forwarded to the colonial secretary two additional reports 

 made by committees of the House of Assembly, " complaining of the 

 encroachments of American citizens on the fisheries of British North 

 America, and pra3nng the establishment of a general code of regula- 

 tions for their protection. A change had occurred in the ministry of 

 England, and Mr. Everett had succeeded Mr. Stevenson as our envoy 

 at the court of St. James. 



The colonists were not tard}^ in acting up to the suggestion of Lord 

 Stanley, that our government had '■'■ practicallij acquiesced''' in the con- 

 struction of the convention of 1818, presented in Lord Falkland's 

 "case," and affirmed by the crown lawyers. Early in 1843, the sub- 

 ject was considered at a meeting of the chamber of commerce ot^ Hali- 

 fax ; and the opinion of the Queen's advocate, and her Majesty's 

 attorney general, was received with great satisfaction by the merchants 

 of that city. Henceforth, in the judgment of some, competition be- 

 tween the colonial fishermen and our countrymen was at an end. The 



* The successor of Lord Jolin Eussell as Secretary for the Colonies. 



