DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 273 



of England. Well, Sir, that is precisely one of our most serious 

 grounds of complaint. A great movement is going on in a part of 

 the ocean where we have immense interests at stake. A powerful 

 armament has arrived there; rumours are rife that a new policy is to 

 be adopted; the British Minister here, and the British Secretary of 

 State, and the British Admiral, talk of our " encroachments " ; and 

 the whole tenor of the preparations show that what is thus termed 

 is to be resisted; and yet we have no information, official or even 

 authentic, as to what England designs to do. A very able and re- 

 spectable journal of this city, which I generally read with pleasure, 

 and often with profit (the Intelligencer), and for whose editors I 

 have much personal regard, gives us the following information : 



162 Nor has the present proceeding by the British authorities been so sudden, 

 or so entirely without notice, as seems to be supposed. We are informed, 

 upon the best authority, that about the 7th of this month the Minister of Great 

 Britain notified our Government that measures had been adopted by the British 

 Government to prevent the repetition of the complaints which had so frequently 

 been made of the encroachments of vessels belonging to citizens of the United 

 States and of France upon the fishing-grounds reserved to Great Britain by the 

 Convention of 1818 ; that urgent representations had been addressed to the Gov- 

 ernment of Great Britain by the Governors of the British North American Prov- 

 inces in regard to those encroachments, to the effect that the colonial fisheries 

 were most seriously prejudiced; and that directions had been given by the 

 Lords of the Admiralty for stationing off New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince 

 Edward's Island, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, such a force of small sailing 

 vessels and steamers as should be deemed sufficient to prevent further infrac- 

 tions of the Treaty. 



The Minister of Great Britain at the same time also informed our Government 

 that it was the command of his Government that the officers employed upon 

 this service should be specially enjoined to avoid all interference with vessels 

 of friendly Powers, except when they were in the act of violating existing 

 treaties ; and oa all occasions to avoid giving ground of complaint by the adop- 

 tion of harsh or unnecessary proceedings where circumstances compelled the 

 arrest or seizure of such vessels. 



I have no doubt but this is substantially correct. Now, I disagree 

 with the Intelligencer as to the use or friendly spirit of this commu- 

 nication. What does it amount to as a correct means of judging the 

 true state of things, either present or prospective? What are these 

 " encroachments "? and what is this "infraction " thus to be forcibly 

 prevented? Fair dealing requires we should be told; but the matter 

 is involved in Delphic obscurity. Do these complaints, thus to be 

 remedied by one of the parties alone, relate to palpable violations of 

 the Treaty which our Government would not defend such as fishing 

 within the clearly excluded limits, attempts to smuggle, or other in- 

 defensible acts? or do they relate to the large open bays, which we 

 contend we have a right to enter, and which is, in fact, the only real 

 subject in dispute? 



Sir John Pakington, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, 

 in a letter to the Colonial Governors, employs the same word " en- 

 croachment." and leaves us equally in the dark as to its application. 

 This is his letter : 



Copy of a Letter from Sir John PaJcinaton, Secretary of State for the Colonies, 

 to the Governors of the British North American Colonies, dated 



MAY 28, 1852. 



Her Majesty's Ministers are desirous of removing all grounds of complaint 

 on the part of the Colonies in consequence of the encroachments of the fishing 

 vessels of the United States upon those waters from which they are excluded 

 92909 S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 4 28 



