DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 211 



authorities, whilst protesting against the injurious operation of 

 provincial law upon American interests brought involuntarily and 

 unjustly within its jurisdiction. 



The first article of the Convention of 1818, between the United 

 States and Great Britain, which contains the treaty stipulations re- 

 lating to the subject, is so explicit in its terms that there would seem 

 to be little room for misapprehending them; and indeed it does not 

 appear that any conflicting questions of right between the two gov- 

 ernments have arisen out of differences of opinion between them re- 

 garding the intent and meaning of this article. Yet in the actual 

 application of the provisions of the treaty, committed, on the part of 

 Great Britain, to the hands of subordinate agents, subject to and 

 controlled by local legislation, difficulties growing out of individual 

 acts have sprung up from time to time, and of these, perhaps the 

 most grave in their character, are the recent seizures of American 

 vessels, made, it is believed, under color of a provincial law, entitled 

 William IV., chap. 8, 1836, enacted doubtless with a view rigorously 

 to restrict, if not intended directly to aim a fatal blow at our fisheries 

 on the coast of Nova Scotia. 



From the information in the possession of the department, it ap- 

 pears that the provincial authorities assume a right to exclude Amer- 

 ican vessels from all their bays, even including those of Fundy and 

 Chaleurs, and to prohibit their approach within three miles of a line 

 drawn from headland to headland. 



These authorities also claim a right to exclude our vessels from re- 

 sorting to their ports unless in actual distress, and American vessels 

 are accordingly warned to depart or ordered to get under weigh and 

 leave a harbor whenever the provincial custom-house or British naval 

 officer supposes, without a full examination of the circumstances un- 

 der which they entered, that they have been there a reasonable time. 



Now, by the convention above referred to, American fishermen are 

 forever secured in their right to take, dry, and cure fish on the coasts 

 of the Magdalen Islands and of Newfoundland and Labrador, within 

 certain defined limits, and the United States renounced forever any 

 liberty before enjoyed by their citizens of fishing within three marine 

 miles of any coasts, bays, &c., of the British domains in America not 

 included within those limits, and retain for their vessels the privilege 

 (under the restrictions therein named) of entering such bays or har- 

 bors for the purpose of shelter, and of repairing damages therein, of 

 purchasing wood, and of obtaining water. 



Our fishermen believe, and they are obviously right in their opin- 

 ion, if uniform practice is any evidence of correct construction, that 

 they can with propriety take fish any where, on the coasts of the 

 British provinces, if not nearer than three miles to land, and resort 

 to their ports for shelter, wood, water, &c. ; nor has this claim ever 

 been seriously disputed, based as it is on the plain and obvious 

 terms of the convention, whilst the construction attempted to be put 

 upon that instrument by the authorities of Nova Scotia is directly in 

 conflict with its provisions, and entirely subversive of the rights 

 and interests of our citizens. It is one which would lead to the 

 abandonment, to a great extent, of a highly important branch of 

 American industry, and cannot for one moment be admitted by this 

 Government, 



