490 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



moment at which the British government are making a liberal con- 

 cession to United States' trade might well be deemed favorable 

 for a counter concession on the part of the United States to British 

 trade, by the reduction of the duties which operate so prejudicially 

 to the interests of the British colonial fishermen. 



The undersigned has the honor to renew to Mr. Everett the assur- 

 ances of his high consideration. 



Aberdeen. 



Lord Aberdeen to Mr. Everett. 



Foreign Office, March 10, 181^5. 



The undersigned, her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for 

 Foreign Affairs, in his note of the 12th of October last, had the honor 

 to inform Mr. Everett, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipo- 

 tentiary of the United States of America, that he had referred his 

 note of the 9th of that month, and its enclosures respecting the 

 "Argus" fishing vessel, to the colonial office, in order that inquiries 

 might be made into that matter. Those inquiries having now been 

 completed, the undersigned proceeds to make Mr. Everett acquainted 

 with the result of them. The best mode of accomplishing this object 

 will be by laying before Mr. Everett in extenso the whole of the 

 papers relative to the case in question, which the undersigned has 

 received from the colonial department, and which the undersigned 

 has accordingly the honor to enclose herewith. 



As the point of the construction of the convention of 1818 with 

 reference to the rights of fishing on the coasts of the Anglo-American 

 dependencies, by citizens of the United States, is treated in another 

 note of the undersigned of this day's date, relative to the case of the 

 Washington, the undersigned abstains from again touching upon that 

 subject, and will confine himself in this note to the point of the harsh 

 treatment of the patron and crew of the Argus by the commander of 

 the Nova Scotia revenue cruiser Sylph, which is alleged in Mr. 

 Everett's note of the 9th of October and its enclosures. 



The undersigned must premise by observing that the affidavits of 

 the parties who bring this charge against the commander of the 

 Sylph are not only confused and obscure, but contradictory in them- 

 selves, and little calculated by their general tone to inspire confidence 

 in the persons who make them. One of the parties, being one of the 

 crew of the Argus, declares on oath that the capture of the Argus by 

 the Sylph, took place on the 6th of July, while the other party, 

 being equally one of the crew, declares on oath that the capture took 

 place on the 9th of July. The capture did, in fact, take place on the 

 7th of August. These and other inaccuracies in the statements of the 

 deponents show, to say the least of it, the light respect in which they 

 must have held the obligation of an oath. 



But Mr. Everett will moreover find, by a careful perusal of the 

 letter addressed to Mr. Dodd by the collector of customs at Sydney, 

 that the master of the Argus was not only not brought forward at all, 

 but that he distinctly declared more than once to the collector that 

 Mr. Dodd had treated him like a gentleman. 



With regard to the general charge of harsh treatment brought 

 against the commander of the "Sylph " by the two Doughtys, de- 



