DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 165 



topher's, St. Lucia, Demarra, Esequibo, and Berbice. The three last 

 had been at first intended to be included, but were ultimately omitted 

 by the British plenipotentiaries, for reasons connected, as they said, 

 with their engagements with Holland. 



We cannot state what may be considered as an ultimatum in that 

 proposal. We are, however, induced to believe that they will per- 

 severe in excluding sugar and some species of lumber from the direct, 

 and salted fish and provisions from both the direct and indirect inter- 

 course ; that they will insist on having some articles admitted in that 

 indirect, which shall be excluded from the direct intercourse; and 

 that they will be tenacious on being placed on the footing of the most 

 favoured nation. They will also certainly insist that vessels from 

 Great Britain may touch at any port in the United States, and take 

 cargoes for the West Indies of such articles as may be admitted in the 

 direct trade. Without such provision, (which would be made recip- 

 rocal, although only nominally so), it is supposed here, that, consid- 

 ering our proximity, to admit our vessels to a participation on an 

 equal footing in the trade between the United States and the West 

 Indies, would, in fact, give the latter the whole navigation connected 

 with that trade. It must, at the same time, be observed, that the pro- 

 posal being intended for reference, and not for immediate discussion, 

 the British plenipotentiaries may have been cautious not to go too 

 far. Upon the whole, we hope that, if our negotiation does not pave 

 the way for a definitive arrangement, it will at least have served to 

 make our Government better acquainted with the dispositions of this, 

 and may afford some assistance with respect to the further proceed- 

 ings which may be thought expedient. 



97 It having been ascertained that the British Government 



would not assent to any article on the subject of the inter- 

 course by land and inland navigation with Canada, which would 

 substantially differ from that already twice rejected, and that they 

 would not even agree to a provision securing to us the right of 

 taking our produce in our own boats or vessels down the St. Law- 

 rence as far as Montreal, and down the River Chambly as far as the 

 River St. Lawrence, we thought it altogether unnecessary to make 

 any proposal on that subject, on which, indeed, we were not par- 

 ticularly instructed. 



No. 41. 1818, November 6: Extract from Letter from Mr. Albert 

 Gallatin to Mr. J. Q. A dams. 



No. 87. PARIS, 6th November, ISIS. 



SIR, Anxious from public considerations to return to Paris as soon 

 as possible, I left London on the 22d ult. The convention had been 

 signed on the 20th. and the time left to write our joint despatches 

 was so short that, although I hope nothing material was omitted, it 

 may be useful to add some further details and observations. On the 

 subject of the fisheries, the abstract question of our right had been so 

 ably discussed in your two notes to the British Government that we 

 had nothing to add to that branch of the argument. We could only, 

 and we did it with some effect, demonstrate that, with respect at least 



