172 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC., 



As to the Bay of Fundy, the government of her Britannic Majesty 

 have relaxed their previous interpretation of the treaty. The fol- 

 lowing extract from the letter ol Lord Aberdeen, in 1845, to the 

 American minister, Mr. Everett, will explain the views of her 

 Majesty's government so far as relates to this bay : 



" The undersigned will confine himself to stating that, after the 

 most deliberate reconsideration of the subject, and with every desire 

 to do full justice to the United States, and to view the claims put 

 forward in behalf of United States citizens in the most favorable 

 light, her Majesty's government are nevertheless still constrained to 

 deny the right of the United States citizens, under the treaty of 

 1818, to fish in that part of the Bay of Fundy which, from its geo- 

 graphical position, may properly be considered as included within 

 the British possessions. 



" Her Majesty's government must still maintain and in this view 

 they are fortified by high legal authority that the Bay of Fundy is 

 rightfully claimed by Great Britain as a bay within the meaning of 

 the treaty of 1818 ; and they equally maintain the position which was 

 laid down in the note of the undersigned, dated the 15th of April 

 last, that with regard to the other bays on the British American 

 coast, no United States fisherman has, under that convention, the 

 right to fish within three miles of the entrance of such bays as are 

 designated by a line drawn from headland to headland at that 

 entrance. 



" But, while her Majesty's government still feel themselves bound 

 to maintain these positions as a matter of right, they are neverthe- 

 less not insensible to the advantages which would accrue to both 

 countries from a relaxation of the exercise of that right to the United 

 States as conferring a material benefit on their fishing trade, and to 

 Great Britain and the United States conjointly and equally by the 

 removal of a fertile source of disagreement between them. 



" Her Majesty's government are also anxious, at the same time that 

 they uphold the just claims of the British crown, to evince, by every 

 reasonable concession, their desire to act liberally and amicably to- 

 wards the United States. 



" The undersigned has accordingly much pleasure in announcing 

 to Mr. Everett the determination to which her Majesty's government 

 have come, to relax in favor of the United States fishermen that right 

 which Great Britain has hitherto exercised, of excluding those fisher- 

 men from the British portion of the Bay of Fundy ; and they are pre- 

 pared to direct their colonial authorities to allow henceforward the 

 United States fishermen to pursue their avocations in any part of the 

 Bay of Fundy, provided they do not approach, except in the cases 

 specified in the treaty of 1818, within three miles of the entrance of 

 any bay on the coast of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick." 



You will perceive, therefore, the only point at issue between the two 

 governments, and understand the views of the Executive on the same, 

 as above briefly but plainly set forth. 



The President does not allow himself to believe for a moment that 

 her Majesty's government designs, by her large force in that quarter, 

 to do more than protect her subjects in the enjoyment of those rights 

 conceded by our government, and especially enjoins it upon you to 

 warn our citizens, with scrupulous fidelity to abstain from taking 



