284 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
cision. The decision, however, did not in the slightest help to eluci- 
date that question. The British agent made every effort to keep the 
question as to the ownership of the islands out of the discussion. 
This was not only good policy upon his part, but he was also acting 
under instructions from England. On Nov. 13 (1796), he had written 
to William Knox, pointing out the state of the controversy as to the 
islands, and setting forth their great value, both economic and military 
and expressing doubt as to whether they should be introduced into the 
pending question as to the St. Croix (Ms. in my possession). In his 
reply Knox stated that he had placed his letter in the hands of the 
ministers, and adds, “In respect to the islands I find it is not wished 
that you should mix.them in the present business.” In his letter to 
Knox of Dec. 1, 1798, Chipman writes that Sullivan insisted the mouth 
of the St. Croix should be fixed among the islands, and proposed this 
to Chipman, but the latter adds : 
“To this I utterly refused my assent, as it appeared to me that such a 
decision would impair if it did not destroy his Majesty’s right to the valuable 
Islands in Passimaquady Bay of which possession has been taken and held 
by the subjects of the United States since the treaty of Peace under the sanc- 
tion of the Government of the State of Massachusetts.” 

that time the said three islands were under the claimed jurisdiction of Mas- 
SACHUSETES yay lvasaen 
A more detailed but substantially similar account of this transaction (not 
unimportant in local history) is given by Ward Chipman in his letter of Dec. 
26, 1798, to Governor Carleton, which reads thus :— 
Sometime about the year 1791 a Poll tax was assessed upon the inhabitants 
of Moose Island by the Court of Sessions held at Machias in the County of 
Washington the easternmost county of the State of «Massachusetts. In order 
to levy this tax the Sheriff of the county went with some armed men to the 
Island, the Inhabitants of which collected and being much irritated threat- 
ened to destroy the boat in which the sheriff came. A very violent alterca- 
tion took place in which the Sheriff who was armed with pistols threatened 
them with the severity of the laws of the State unless they would submit and 
pay the tax. After some remonstrances made on the part of the inhabitants 
he at length suggested to them that if they would pay the tax in question it 
would enable him to say that they were subjects and had acknowledged 
the jurisdiction of the United States, that the General Court would then grant 
them their lands upon the Island & that this would secure the island to Mas- 
sachusetts as upon the settling of the boundary each party would hold what 
it should be in possession of. Upon his further promising that he would not 
again come upon the island until he had procured them grants of their lands 
from the General Court some of them submitted and paid the tax. And such 
of them as would take the oath of allegiance to the States, afterwards 
received grants of land upon the Island accordingly, some left the Island and 
others yet remain who have never taken the oath. The Custom house for 
that district is now held upon this island, the claim of the United States to 
