230 



DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE AND FOREIGN RELATIONS. 



three miles of the coasts from which they are pro- 

 hibited, or of a line drawn across the mouths of bays 

 whose mouths do not exceed six geographical miles 

 in width. In any case of condemnation, it is desira- 

 ble to have it appear with precision as well whether 

 the vessel condemned was fishing within the pro- 

 hibited distance, as whether the actual capture was 

 made within that distance or beyond it, so as to be 

 upon the high-seas, in the sense which this Govern- 

 ment is disposed to attach to these words, for the 

 purpose of questions arising out of the operations of 

 our fishing-vessels on the northeastern coast. 



In short, without incurring any expense in the em- 

 ployment of counsel till further instructed, it is ex- 

 pected that our consular officers in the districts 

 where trials may take place of American vessels for 

 supposed violations of the laws of the British impe- 

 rial or colonial Governments will lend their counte- 

 nance and aid to the parties interested ; and give 

 prompt information of any decisions which may be 

 made. They will request, in courteous terms, ot the 

 proper officer of any court making a decision, a certi- 

 fied copy of the opinion which may be written in the 

 cause, paying the proper fee therefor, which will be 

 allowed in their quarterly accounts, and forward it 

 with the least possible delay. 



This Department has expected such information 

 from the spontaneous activity of our consular officers, 

 and attributes the absence of it to the provincial 

 courts being now in vacation. If this is the fact, I 

 shall be glad to be informed of the dates at which 

 the respective courts, having jurisdiction in the 

 premises, may be expected to convene for the dis- 

 patch of business. 



You will call the attention of all the consuls in 

 your jurisdiction to the contents of this instruction, 

 who are located at pointts where vessels will be likely 

 to be taken in for adjudication. 



HAMILTON FISH. 



Mr. William A. Dart to Mr. Fish. 



CONSULATE-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES or ) 



AMERICA FOR THE BRIT. N. AMERICAN PROVINCES, > 



MONTREAL, Nov. 3, 1870. (Eec'ved Nov. 5.) ) 



SIE : I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of 

 your dispatch of the 29th ultimo, in reference to the 

 seizure of American fishing-vessels off the coast of 

 Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. 



Upon the receipt of your telegram of the 28th ulti- 

 mo, I sent a dispatch to all the consuls in the mari- 

 time provinces, calling their attention to their duty 

 to report on cases of seizure by telegraph, and also 

 in writing by mail. 



Upon the receipt of yours of the 29th, which came 

 to hand yesterday, I caused copies to be at once 

 prepared, and dispatched the same by mail, accom- 

 panied by a letter to each, of which the enclosed is a 

 copy. Two, at least, of the important consuls, that 

 at Halifax and St. John, are now absent on leave from 

 the Department, and I fear their deputies may not be 

 as accurate in collecting information as the consuls 

 would have been if at home. 



It seems to me that the unfriendly construction 

 given by the Dominion Government of' the Treaty of 

 1818 was intensified in its harshness by the almost 

 covert manner in which it was sought to be enforced. 

 It was with the greatest difficulty that our consuls 

 could ascertain from the commanders of the various 

 armed vessels what they would consider cause for 

 seizure and condemnation. 



No 'adequate or suitable notice was given to the 

 captains of American fishing- vessels, and they were 

 seized for acts which they had been permitted to do 

 from time immemorial, as well before as subsequently 

 to the above-mentioned treaty. 



Information has come to me from so many sources 

 of declarations made by the various ministers of the 

 Dominion Government, that I cannot doubt, and it 

 is openly proclaimed here and believed to be true, 

 that the enforcement of the above-mentioned treaty, 



in the manner it has been enforced, has two objects, 

 viz. : one of which is to create a Canadian sentiment 

 in antagonism to the United States, with a view to 

 check the spread of American sentiment here look- 

 ing to ultimate annexation ; the other object is, by 

 the close control of the fishing interests to compel the 

 United States, through her interests, to make a treaty 

 of reciprocity of trade between the United States and 

 the British provinces in North America. 



The prevention of pur vessels from purchasing 

 supplies in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island 

 is injuring the trade and commerce of those points, 

 while the Dominion Government is deriving no cor- 

 responding advantage. 



But a small fraction of the fish taken there is taken 

 by the Canadians, and the exclusion of the people 

 of the United States from there will not be likely, in 

 view of the character of the inhabitants, and the 

 duty upon fish, if maintained, to increase the num- 

 ber of Cansdian fishermen. 



I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your 

 obedient servant, 



WILLIAM A. DAET, Consul-General. 



CONSULATF.-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF ) 



AMERICA FOR THE BRIT. N. AMERICAN PROVINCES, > 



MONTREAL, November 2, 1870. ) 



SIR : I transmit herewith a copy of a communica- 

 tion which I have just received from the Department 

 of State, giving its views and wishes in reference to 

 the seizure of American vessels for alleged violation 

 of the treaties and laws passed in pursuance to them, 

 regulating the fishing-trade between the United 

 States and the British North American provinces. I 

 had supposed that the consuls within whose districts 

 seizures have been made had kept the Department 

 fully advised of each seizure and the ground upon 

 which they were respectively made. I fear this duty 

 has been neglected, which is much to be regretted 

 considering the large interests involved, and the deli- 

 cate and important questions that may arise. The 

 neglect should be remedied at once and fully. 



You will please report at your earliest opportunity 

 what vessels have been seized, the date of seizure 

 respectively, upon what alleged grounds, and what 

 disposition has been made of the vessel. If a libel 

 of information has been filed in the Admiralty Court, 

 obtain a copy of it and transmit it to the Depart- 

 ment. State when the courts commenced seaeion, or 

 when they will hold a session at which the several 

 cases of seizure will be tried. Consult freely with 

 the attorneys for the claimants of the several vessels, 

 and make yourself familiar with the precise points 

 which have arisen or will be likely to arise in each 

 case, and with great care to accuracy, and transmit 

 that information to the Department of State, and in 

 cases where condemnation has already been had, 

 procure and send to the Department the opinion of 

 the judge condemning it ; and it would be well, in 

 case a vessel were released, to procure and send a 

 like opinion. 



You should keep the Department as freely and ac- 

 curately advised of all these cases of seizure as a 

 lawyer would his client in the progress and determi- 

 nation of an important suit. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 



WILLIAM A. DAKT, Consul-Gcneral. 



Northwest Boundary. In April last, while 

 engaged in locating a military reservation near 

 Pembina, a corps of engineers discovered that 

 the commonly-received boundary-line between 

 the United States and the British possessions 

 at that place is about 4,700 feet south of the 

 true position of the forty-ninth parallel, and 

 that the line, if correctly run, would leave the 

 fort of the Hudson's Bay Company, at Pem- 

 bina, within the territory of the United States. 

 This information having been communicated 



