PERTAINING TO NEGOTIATION OF TREATY OF GHENT. 261 



struction of the treaty of 1783; secondly, by the offer to recognise 

 the British right to the navigation of the Mississippi ; thirdly, by 

 refusing to accept from Great Britain both her implied renunciation 

 of the right of that navigation and the convenient boundary of 49°, 

 for the whole extent of our and her territories west of the Lake of 

 the Woods, rather than to make an implied renunciation, on our part, 

 to the right of America to those particular fisheries. 



I believe that Great Britain is ver} 7 desirous of obtaining the north- 

 ern part of Maine, say from about 47° north latitude to the northern 

 extremity of that district, as claimed by us. They hope that the 

 river which empties into the Bay des Chaleurs, in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence has its source so far west as to intervene between the head 

 waters of the river St. John and those of the streams emptying into 

 the river St. Lawrence: so that the line north from the source of the 

 river St. Croix will first strike the heights of land which divide the 

 waters emptying into the Atlantic ocean (river St. John) from those 

 emptying into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, (river des Chaleurs,) and 

 afterwards the heights of land which divide the waters emptying 

 into the Gulf of St. Lawrence (river des Chaleurs) from those empty- 

 ing into the river St. Lawrence; but that the said line never can, in 

 the words of the treaty, strike any spot of land actually dividing the 

 water- emptying into the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into 

 the river St. Lawrence. Such will be the foundation of their dis- 

 puting our claim to the northern part of that territory; but, feeling 

 that it is not very solid, I am apt to think that they will be disposed 

 to offer the whole of Passamaquoddy bay and the disputed fisheries 

 as an equivalent for the portion of northern' territory which they 

 want, in order to connect New Brunswick and Quebec. This may 

 account for their tenacity with respect to the temporary possession 

 of Moose Island, and for their refusing to accepl the recognition of 

 their right to tin- navigation of the Mississippi, provided they recog- 

 nise ours to the fisheries. 



Thai northern territory is of no importance to us, and belongs to 

 the United States, and not to Massachusetts, which has not the 

 -hadow of a claim to any land north of 45° to the eastward of the 

 Penobscot river, as you may easily convince yourself of, by recurring 

 to her charters. 



I have the honor to be, with respect, &c. 



Albert Gallatin. 



The I Ion. the Secretary of State of the United Statics. 



Washington. 



