BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 2l7 



not the Bays; and if his unfortunate countrymen had been three 

 miles seaward of the two extreme points of the coast to which he 

 refers, they could have easily rounded the Island and run to the lee 

 side of it in safety. The Crews that were saved upwards of 300 

 have been sent home at the expense of the United States Govern- 

 ment; and your Lordship will see by the annexed extract from a 

 Massachusetts paper, that they were sensible of the hospitality that 

 they met with from the Islanders. 



Lt. Governor Bannerman to Lord Grey. 



GOVERNMENT HOUSE, 

 P. E. Island, February 12, 1S52. 

 (Despatch No. 10.) 



MY LORD: 1. In reference to the accompanying Despatch, No. 9, 

 I beg leave to direct your Lordship's attention to a Colonial Act, 

 6 Vic. cap. 14, page 698 of the volume of Statutes which I recently 

 forwarded to your Lordship. The Act to which I refer is one which 

 received the Royal Assent on the 3rd September, 1844, and an order 

 was on the same day made by Her Majesty in Council, declaring 

 " that its clauses and provisions should be the rules, regulations and 

 restrictions respecting the Fisheries on the Coasts, Bays, Creeks or 

 Harbours of the Island of Prince Edward." 



2. By the provisions of this Act, Officers of Customs and Excise, 

 Sheriffs, Magistrates, and any person holding a Commission from 

 the Lieutenant Governor, are authorized to board, search, &c., vessels 

 within three marine miles of the coast, " and if found fishing, pre- 

 paring to fish, or to have been fishing " within that distance, such 

 vessels, with their cargoes, to be seized and forfeited, &c., &c. 



3. The provisions of this Act have never yet been enforced; but 

 should the Fishery question remain much longer unsettled, in all 

 probability attempts will be made to seize American Fishing vessels, 

 and such attempts may be resisted, which may lead to collisions, the 

 consequences of which are not easily to be foreseen. 



4. To guard against any such occurrence, I think it would be very 

 desirable for Her Majesty's Government to order steamers to be 

 stationed here from the 10th June to the 1st October, the Commanders 

 of which, in addition to their instructions from the Admiralty, 

 would be fortified with a Commission from the Lieutenant Governor 

 of this Island, enabling them, in terms of the Act and Order in Coun- 

 cil, to legally enforce their provisions within the limits prescribed by 

 the Act; for I consider that the powers which the Statute vests in 

 Custom House Officers, &c., &c., (in so far as the Fisheries are con- 

 cerned) to be very dangerous ones, and such as ought only to be 

 entrusted to those who have the means, as well as the authority to 

 enforce them. 



5. I understand there is nothing more likely to urge the American 

 Government to an amicable settlement of this long vexed question, 

 than an enforcement of the Treaty around this Island, where their 

 fishermen catch most of the mackerel sent to the United' States. 



