DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 327 



No. 109. 185%, August 20: Letter from Commodore Perry to Vice- 

 Admiral Seymour. 



U. S. STEAM FRIGATE MISSISSIPPI AT SEA 



OFF THE COAST OF NOVA SCOTIA, 



Aug. 20th. 185%. 



SIR: Your communication of yesterday, the receipt of which I now 

 have the honour to acknowledge, did not reach me until the moment 

 of the sailing of the Mississippi from Halifax. 



It is true that I informed you, that I had come into these seas, to 

 warm the American fishermen not to encroach upon the limits pre- 

 scribed by the Convention of 1818 between Great Britain and the 

 United States, as recognized by general interpretation and usage for 

 the last 34 years, but I also informed you that I should deem it my 

 duty to protect from visitation or interference all vessels of the 

 United States, that might be found in those waters, the jurisdiction 

 of which under the Convention was left in any doubt, and for reason 

 as I intimated to you, that according to the representations made to 

 me, there were enough actually trespassing upon the acknowledged 

 jurisdiction of Great Britain, whose seizure would answer all the pur- 

 pose of salutary admonition and example without the unnecessary re- 

 sort to doubtful authority of capture, and I urged the policy of ab- 

 staining from such captures, upon the ground of a probable mutual 

 disposition of the two Govts to come to some more definite under- 

 standing upon the points at issue. 



Up to this time I have heard of no unnecessary exercise of rigour 

 or harshness by the officers under your command, on the contrary I 

 have every reason to believe, that they have in the execution of your 

 instructions exhibited a degree of forbearance as honourable to them- 

 selves as to the enlightened views entertained by yourself upon the 

 question, which has recently produced so much discussion. 



It is not for me to reply to the second paragraph of your letter, in 

 which you declare against any interference on the part of the naval 

 force of the United States whilst the two countries are at peace, in 

 preventing any vessels charged with infraction of the Convention of 

 1818 being detained for adjudication before the civil courts which 

 by the received practice of nations, forms the proper tribunal, by 

 which the facts can be ascertained, and in the first resort judgment 

 pronounced. My instructions certainly do not authorize any im- 

 proper interference with the admitted right of seizure and adjudica- 

 tion by Her Majesty's authorities, of American vessels, detected in a 

 positive violation of the Convention but such as these instructions 

 are, my duty is, to obey them Yet I am free to repeat in this formal 

 manner the assurances made to you personally, that whilst they en- 

 join the most careful watchfulness over the just rights and interests 

 of the American fishermen, they hold forth the strongest solicitude 

 of the President to adhere most faithfully to all the stipulations of 

 the Treaty. 



In conclusion permit me thank you, for the courteous manner in 

 which you have met my personal communications, and to assure you 

 that I duly appreciate and cordially reciprocate those motives which 

 should prompt us both, so to administer the duties respectfully [re- 

 spectively] entrusted to our direction, as to calm rather than provoke, 



