DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 331 



prepared to inform the Govt that the United States fishermen had no 

 just ground of complaint and that considerable forbearance had 

 been shown them. 



I neglected to mention that the Commodore remarked, that the 

 Treaty excluded his country men from fishing in the bay, of which 

 Cape St George and Port Hood are the headlands, but that he is 

 at the same time clearly of opinion that the Treaty by no means 

 provides against their navigating the Gut of Canso. 



196 No. 112. 185%, August 31: Letter from Vice- Admiral Sey- 

 mour to the Secretary of the Admiralty. 



[Commander in Chiefs visit to Prince Edwards Island. Fisheries in the Gulf of St. 



Lawrence.] 



No. 137 CUMBERLAND AT HALIFAX. 81st August. 1852. 



SIR: I beg to acquaint you that deeming it advisable to communi- 

 cate personally with the Lt Govr of Prince Edward Island I pro- 

 ceeded to Charlotte Town, by way of Pictou, on the 23d instant from 

 whence I visited the north part of the island and reembarked in 

 H.M's S. sloop " Basilisk " off Richmond Bay on the 26th as I was de- 

 sirous of observing the effect of the Mississippi's visit to the fishing 

 grounds I did not meet that ship, but Commander Campbell of the 

 " Devastation " had fallen in with her on the preceding day, when 

 Commodore Perry had found several United States vessels fishing 

 within 3 miles of the coast and had warned them that they were liable 

 to seizure. 



2 I inclose a copy of Comr Campbells report of the circumstances 

 and have approved of his conduct. 



3 I received when in the Gulf a replv to the declaration. I had de- 

 livered to Commodore Perry, on his quitting Halifax against the in- 

 terference of the United States vessels of war with vessels detained 

 for adjudication before a court of Vice Admiralty for contravention 

 of the Convention of 1818, a copy of which is also inclosed 



4 Their Lordships will observe that although the Commodores 

 letter contains every assurance of his disposition to unite with me to 

 calm rather than to increase the angry feelings, which have arisen 

 on the fisheries, (and with which his conduct, so far as has come 

 within my knowledge has been in unison) still the reference to his 

 instructions shows that they would authorize the Commanders of 

 United States' vessels to exercise a judgment as to the detention of 

 the vessels which would cause a collision if persevered in 



5 It appears from the admission made by Commodore Perry as 

 to his own opinion regarding the headlands, which from [form] the 

 Bay of Chaleur, and George's Bay at the western end of the Gut of 

 Cahso that if he represents the views of his Govt there is not the wide 

 difference of interpretation respecting the extent of the bays, from 

 which United States fishermen are excluded, which has existed in 

 the extreme views entertained on either side, of which I furnished their 

 Lordships with an instarce in the chart which I inclosed by the last 

 packet, in which the headlands of different islands, were supposed to 

 mark the British claims for bays. 



