BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 441 



It will be observed that the wording of this article is very carefully 

 guarded, and that while it continued to the citizens of the United 

 States the right to prosecute what may be termed deep-sea fisheries 

 within certain areas, it conveyed them only the liberty to dry and 

 cure fish upon certain defined portions of the British- American coasts. 

 The fisheries continued to be regulated by this treaty until the war of 

 1812, by which the privileges extended to the United States under 

 the Treaty of Paris were terminated. 



In 1814 the Treaty of Ghent was signed, but contained no refer- 

 ence to the fisheries question. It appears, however, from the rec- 

 ords, that the subject was discussed by the plenipotentiaries of the 

 two powers, and that on the part of the British Government it was 

 stated that " they did not intend to grant to the United States gratu- 

 itously the privileges formerly granted by treaty to them of fishing 

 within the limits of the British sovereignty, and of using the shores 

 of the British territories for purposes connected with the British 

 fisheries." It further appears that, immediately after the conclu- 

 sion of the Treaty of Ghent, His Majesty's Government determined 

 upon a most vigorous protection of our fishery rights, for, under 

 date 17th of June, 1815, the following dispatch was written to the 

 governor of this colony by Lord Bathurst, then Secretary of State 

 for the Colonies: 



" DOWNING STREET, 17 June, 1815. 



"Sin: As the treaty of peace lately concluded with the United 

 States contains no provisions with respect to the fisheries, which 

 the subjects of the United States enjoyed under the III Article of 

 peace of 1783, His Majesty's Government consider it not unnecessary 

 that you should be informed as to the extent to which those privi- 

 leges are affected by the omission of any stipulation in the present 

 treaty, and of the line of conduct which it is in consequence ad- 

 visable for you to adopt. 



" You can not but be aware that the III Article of the treaty of 

 peace, 1783, contained two distinct stipulations, the one recognizing 

 the rights which the United States had to take fish upon the high 

 seas, and the other granting to the United States the privilege of 

 fishing within the British jurisdiction, and of using under certain 

 conditions the shores and territories of His Majesty for purposes 

 connected with the fishery; of these, the former being considered 

 permanent, can not be altered or affected by any change of the rela- 

 tive situation of the two countries, but the other being a privilege 

 derived from the treaty of 1783 alone, was, as to its duration, neces- 

 sarily limited to the duration of the treaty itself. On the declara- 

 tion of war by the American Government and the subsequent abro- 

 gation of the then existing treaties, the United States forfeited, 

 with respect to the fisheries, those privileges which are purely con- 

 ventional, and (as they have not been renewed by stipulation in the 

 present treaty]) the subjects of the United States can have no pre- 

 tense to any right to fish within the British jurisdiction, or to use 

 the British territory for purposes connected with the fishery. 



" Such being the view taken of the question of the fisheries, as far 

 as relates to the United States, I am commanded by His Royal High- 

 ness the Prince Regent to instruct you to abstain most carefully frpm 

 any interference with the fishery, in which the subjects of the United 



