PERIOD FROM 1836 TO 1854. 531 



And the undersigned takes the liberty of quoting a passage from 

 a letter of Mr. Everett, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, 

 to Lord Aberdeen, as follows, 



" The construction set up by her Majesty's colonial authorities, 

 would altogether nullify another, and that a most important stipula- 

 tion of the treaty, about which there is no controversy, viz. the priv- 

 ilege reserved to American fishing vessels of taking shelter and re- 

 pairing damages in the bays within which they are forbidden to fish. 

 There is, of course, no shelter nor means of repairing damages for a 

 vessel entering the Bay of Fundy, in itself considered. It is neces- 

 ssltj, before relief or succor of any kind can be had, to traverse that 

 broad arm of the sea and reach the bays and harbors, properly so 

 called, which indent the coast, and which are no doubt the bays and 

 harbors referred to in the convention of 1818. The privilege of en- 

 tering the latter in extremity of weather, reserved by the treaty, is 

 of the utmost importance. It enables the fisherman, whose equipage 

 is always very slender (that of the Washington was four men all 

 told) to pursue his laborious occupation with comparative safety, in 

 the assurance that in one of the sudden and dangerous changes of 

 weather so frequent and so terrible on this iron-bound coast, he can 

 take shelter in a neighboring and friendly port. To forbid him to 

 approach within thirty miles of that port, except for shelter in ex- 

 tremity of weather, is to forbid him to resort there for any purpose. 

 It is keeping him at such a distance at sea as wholly to destroy the 

 value of the privilege expressly reserved. 



" In fact it would follow if" the construction contended for by the 

 British Colonial authorities were sustained, that two entirely differ- 

 ent limitations would exist in reference to the right of shelter re- 

 served to American vessels on the shores of Her Majesty's Colonial 

 possessions. They would be allowed to fish within three miles of 

 the place of shelter along the greater part of the coast, while in refer- 

 ence to the entire extent of shore within the Bay of Fundy, they 

 would be wholly prohibited from fishing along the coast, and would 

 be kept at a distance of twenty or thirty miles from any place of 

 refuge, in case of extremity. There are certainly no obvious princi- 

 ples which render such a construction probable.'' 



The undersigned now takes leave to draw Mr. Crampton's atten- 

 tion to a more general consideration. He has already observed that 

 from the first, this government has regarded a distinction which is 

 thought to be fundamental and of much importance, between rights 

 anil Liberties, or privileges. This distinction pervades the whole of 

 the third Ait: -ie of the Treaty of I7v.. 



By that article die right . no! (lie liberty or the privilege, but the 

 right to take fish of every kind on the Grand Bank ft on all other 

 Bank- of Newfoundland; i expressly recognized by the Crown of 

 England, and then it is further declared also in the Gull of St. 

 Lawrence & a< all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants of 

 both countries used at any time heretofore i<> fish," 



This plainly ie tli«' admission pi a Common right, founded on a 



Common Origin, ami Standing in a Common usaL r <'. 



But then i he Treaty proceeds to declare, that "the inhabitants of 

 the United Stat-- -hail have lib* rty to take fish <>f every kinel on ^nch 

 part of the Coal of New I'omidland as British fishermen shall use; 

 (but not to dry or cure the one on that island) and also on the 



!I1»m>0 o — S. Dor. R70, r,\ :',. vol 2 35 



