622 APPENDIX TO BRITISH CASE. 



Such liberty of access by American vessels to British colonial ports 

 on this continent was the subject of fruitless negotiation by each of 

 the first six Presidents. The endeavour was continued during forty 

 years, and was only successful in the hands of General Jackson, as 

 President, Mr. Van Buren as Secretary of State, and Mr. McLane as 

 Minister to London, and then by concerted legislation relating at first 

 only to the British West Indies. It having been arranged that there 

 would be legislation at London opening to us the British colonial 

 ports to the south of us on this continent. Congress, on 29th Maj', 

 1830, authorised President Jackson to proclaim our ports open " in- 

 definitely, or for a fixed term," to British vessels from the 

 371 islands, provinces, or colonies of Great Britain, on or near 

 the North American continent," and north, south, or east of 

 the United States. 



Soon thereafter, and on 5th October, 1830, President Jackson did 

 issue the proclamation, and on 26th June, 1884, Congress again re- 

 duced tonnage dues on Canadian vessels of all sorts entering our 

 ports. By such concerted and reciprocal legislation the mediaeval 

 barriers around colonial possessions in America by which the mother 

 country had so long endeavoured for her own benefit to hamper and 

 restrict the trade of the colonies, and to levy differential duties in 

 favour of colonial produce, have been broken down. The Privy 

 Council and the Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada, while 

 conceding that Canadian ports are now open to American trading 

 vessels, attempt to apply that mediaeval and discarded restrictive 

 system to American fishermen on the high seas. 



In 1845, after many years of effort by the United States, England 

 again relaxed the rigour of the restrictions of her ancient laws of 

 transportation, as applied to her colonies, and the two countries 

 entered upon a new period of prosperity flowing from the unhindered 

 carriage of merchandise in bond by land and water. That legislation 

 covering the British North American provinces began, on our part, on 

 3rd March, 1845. In 1846 came the comprehensive system of ware- 

 housing, the general features of which are now in force, devised and 

 perfected, during the administration of President Polk, by my dis- 

 tinguished predecessor, Mr. Robert J. Walker. In 1849, 1850, 1854, 

 and subsequently, that system of warehousing, and transportation in 

 bond by railway and steamboat, has been amended and improved so 

 that to-day we of the United States and they of the Dominion of 

 Canada are reaping the advantages of an international organisation 

 by which merchandise, whether dutiable or free, and if dutiable with- 

 out payment of duties in transit, can if entered at one of our ports 

 proceed immediately over our territory to Canada, or, if landed at a 

 Canadian port, can come freely to its destination in the United States, 

 or can pass from one of our own ports to another over Canadian soil, 

 and, in like manner, from one Canadian port to another over Ameri- 

 can soil. It is to be regretted that the British North American 

 provinces impede and impair the full fruition of this beneficent sys- 

 tem of international intercourse and transportation by unworthy and 

 petty spite in their ports against American deep sea fishermen. 



From 1821 to 1832, the aggregate annual traffic between the United 

 States and the British North American provinces averaged only 

 $3,257,153 ; from 1832 to 1845 it rose to $6,313,780, but, under liberal 

 transportation arrangements, it rose from 1846 to 1863 to no less an 



