DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 169 



99 No. 4Z.1819, June 21 : Letter from Lord Bathurst (British 

 Colonial Secretary] to Sir C. Hamilton (Governor of New- 

 foundland). 



DOWNING STREET 21st June 1819. 

 Governor Sir C. HAMILTON Bart., 



SIR, In my despatch of the 8th April I had the honour of transmit- 

 ting to you a convention which had been entered into between His 

 Majesty and the United States of America part of which refers to 

 the taking and curing of fish by the citizens of the ^United States 

 on the coasts of certain of His Majesty's possessions in North Amer- 

 ica. I have now to enclose you a copy of an Act to give effect to that 

 convention which has since received the royal assent and of an order 

 in council which His Royal Highness has been pleased to issue in the 

 name and on the behalf of His Majesty. As the inhabitants of the 

 United States will undoubtedly proceed without delay to exercise the 

 privilege granted to them under that convention His Royal Highness 

 has commanded me to call your special attention to some points upon 

 which it is probable that in regulating your conduct under the con- 

 vention you may desire to receive instructions. 



You will in the first place observe that the privilege granted to the 

 citizens of the United States is one purely of fishery and of drying 

 and curing fish within the limits severally specified in the convention. 

 It is the pleasure of His Royal Highness that this privilege as limited 

 by the convention should be fully and freely enjoyed by them without 

 any hindrance or interference. But you will at the same time remark 

 that all attempts to carry on trade or to introduce articles for sale or 

 barter into His Majesty's possessions under the pretence of exercising 

 the rights conferred by the convention is in every respect at variance 

 with its stipulations. You will therefore promulgate as publicly as 

 possible the nature of the indulgence which you are under the con- 

 vention instructed to allow to them, and in case any of the inhab- 

 itants of the United States should be found attempting to carry on a 

 trade not authorised by the convention you will in the first instance 

 warn them of the illegality of such a proceeding and in the event of 

 their being afterwards engaged in it you will not hesitate to adopt 

 with respect to them the same means of control and the same punish- 

 ments and forfeitures as would be legally applicable in the trade of 

 any other foreign nation possessing no privilege of fishery whatever. 



With respect to the fishery which the citizens of the United States 

 are authorised to carry on upon the coast of Labrador you will take 

 care that it be carried on by them within the specified limits in the 

 same manner as previous to the late war with the United States, 

 taking every precaution however against that introduction of con- 

 traband articles into Newfoundland or His Majesty's possessions in 

 North America to which it was previous to the war notoriously per- 

 verted. 



The right of drying and curing in the southern part of the coast 

 of Newfoundland stands in some degree upon a different footing. 

 It is a new privilege conferred for the first time by this convention 

 and it is more limited than that assigned to them on the coast of 

 Labrador inasmuch as the inhabitants of the United States have no 



