210 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
of the commissioners is known to have held at first strongly for the 
Magaguadavic, that without the evidence drawn from the island, the 
commissioners would have been divided in opinion instead of unani- 
mous. In this case their decision would have been received with 
reserved acquiescence.and some feeling of injustice, rather than with 
general approbation and satisfaction as it was. Dochet Island, there- 
fore, has contributed somewhat to the peace between nations. It is 
only occasionally, and in the writings of the most partizan and unin- 
formed writers, that we find the view still expressed that the Maga- 
guadavic should have been the boundary. Happily, the sole remaining 
support for this view, namely, that the River St. Croix on Mitchell’s 
map used by the negotiators of the Treaty was the Magaguadavic, 
has by recent studies been shown to be erroneous, and, even the River 
St. Croix of that map has been proven to be the present River St. 
Croix. Thus from every point of view, the decision of the Com- 
mission of 1798 was perfectly just, and both nations may feel entirely 
satisfied with the result. 
We come now to the final incident in the history of the island 
in this period, and that concerns its ownership by the United States. 
The decision of the Commission fixing the St. Croix as the Inter- 
national Boundary, also declared its mouth to be -at Joe’s Point, 
although, as we have already scen (page 128), the true geographical 
mouth of the river is at Devil’s Head. The reason for this decision 
of the commissioners is nowhere recorded, but it can be inferred 
from the attendant circumstances, and is implied in Benson’s report 
on the decision, namely, it was thought best to conform to the his- 
torical usage of Champlain, making the River St. Croix include the 
waters around Isle St. Croix from which it took its name and by the 
aid of which it had been identified. Along with this, too, there was 
no doubt, another reason, namely, that in the Treaty of 1783 the 
mouth of the St. Croix was described as in the Bay of Fundy; it was 
no doubt felt that while Passamaquoddy Bay could be readily con- 
sidered as a part of the Bay of Fundy, the part of the river between! 
Devil’s Head and Joe’s Point could hardly be so viewed, and that 
hence a better accordance with the language of the Treaty would be 
secured by placing the mouth of the river officially at Joe’s Point. 
This decision, however, had an extremely far-reaching effect upon the 
subsequent history of Dochet Island, for, incidentally, it assigned the 
island to the United States, whereas, had the commission fixed the 
mouth of the river at the Devil’s Head, the island would to-day be 
a British possession. The reason why this is so may be briefly traced. 
The decision of the Commissioners said nothing directly about the 
islands in the St. Croix, but the Treaty of 1783 had declared the 
