UNITED STATES CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 625 



differ with England in regard to the measurement of these " limits," 

 they claiming to run from " headland to headland," and we to follow 

 the indentations of the coast. But the real difficulty is not here. 

 The British have never taken a vessel as a trespasser when not within 

 the limits which we acknowledge we have renounced. They have 

 given particular directions to the officers of their vessels not to do 

 so, ana the reason is plain. They know that if they exact a strict 

 observance of our renunciation, on our own construction, they break 

 up our mackerel -fishery. Hence it would be folly in them 'to raise 

 an issue on the " headland " doctrine on which most people, I think, 

 would hold our construction to be the true one.[ a ~\ I do not think it 

 generally known that the whole difficulty about the fisheries is about 

 our right to take mackerel. The codfishing privileges are adequate 

 already ; and no vessel in that business has ever been seized or inter- 

 fered with. I think it is proper to go still further, and to state 

 frankly what, after a patient investigation of every source of authen- 

 tic information within my reach, I believe to be the real difficulty. 



The truth is, our fishermen need absolutely, and must have, the 

 thousands of miles of shore fishery which have been renounced, or 

 they must always do an uncertain business. If our mackerel men 

 are prohibited from going within three miles of the shore, and are 

 forcibly kept away, (and nothing but force will do it), then they 

 may as well give up their business first as last. It will be always 

 uncertain, and generally unsuccessful, however well pursued. 



Perhaps I shall be thought to charge the commissioners of 1818, 

 with overlooking our interest. They did so, in the important renun- 

 ciation which I have quoted ; but they are obnoxious to no complaints 

 for so doing. In 1818, we took no mackerel on the coasts of the British 

 possessions, and there was no reason to anticipate that we should 

 ever have occasion to do so. Mackerel were then found as abundantly 

 on the coast of New England as anywhere in the world, and it was 

 not till years after that this beautiful fish, in a great degree, left our 

 waters. The mackerel fishery on the provincial coasts has princi- 

 pally grown up since 1838, and no vessel was ever licensed for that 

 business in the United States till 18%8.\ a ~\ The commissioners in 1818 

 have no other business but to protect the cod fishery, and this they 

 did in a manner generally satisfactory to those most interested. 



Mr. Marcy to Senor Escalante. 



DEPARTMENT or STATE, 

 Washington, 29th October, 1855. 

 To Senor Don ALFONSO ESCALANTE, &c., &c., &c. 



SIR: I have the honor to invite your attention to the case of the 

 firing of the Spanish frigate Ferrolana upon the United States Mail 

 Steamer El Dorado in March, last, some eight or ten miles from the 

 coast of Cuba, off Cape San Antonio. A corespondence upon this 

 subject took place between your predecessor Mr. Cueto and this De- 

 partment. Subsequently a similar correspondence has taken place 

 between Mr. Perry, the Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the United 



[ Italics not In original text] 



