254 



George R. Young, a distingaisbed personage of Nova Scotia, who was 

 anxious to join him in behalf of his own colony. The Gaspe Fishing 

 and Mining Company selected an agent to act with them, and the three 

 gentlemen waited upon a member of the Board of Trade, to whom 

 they communicated their views of the case. 



Interviews with several other functionaries followed ; and, finally, 

 they met Lord Stanley, the secretary for the colonies, to whom Mr. 

 Simonds, as the only one who was officially authorized to address his 

 lordship, made "a strong representation" of the injurious consequences 

 certainly to result to her Majesty's American subjects, were the nego- 

 tiations with Mr. Everett to be concluded on the basis proposed. The 

 secretary assured him, in reply, that "nothing should be done to injure 

 the colonies ;" and Mr. Simonds, after his return to New Brunswick, 

 stated his entire confidence in the effect of his "representations" to 

 change the designs ent(U-tained by the ministry. 



The liberal policy towards the United States, known to have had the 

 positive sanction of the first minister of the crown, (the late Sir Robert 

 Peel,) which was designed to remove all reasonable complaints on our 

 part, was abandoned. It was defeated by the means here stated, and 

 by memorials to the Queen, from merchants and others in New Bruns- 

 wick and Nova Scotia, which we need not specially mention. Tidings 

 of success soon reached the gratified colonists. On the 17th of Sep- 

 tember, 1845, Lord Stanley thus wrote to Lord Falkland : 



"Her Majesty's government have attentively considered the repre- 

 sentations contained in your despatches Nos. 324 and 331, of the 17th 

 of June and 2d of July, respecting the policy of granting permission 

 to the fisheries of the United States to fish in the Bay of Chaleurs, and 

 other large bays of a similar character on the coasts of New Brunswick 

 and Nova Scotia; and apprehending from your statements that any such 

 general concession would be injurious to the interests of the British 

 North American provinces, we have abandoned the intention we had 

 entertained on the subject, and shall adhere to the strict letter of the 

 treaties which exist between Great Britain and the United States rel- 

 ative to the fisheries in North America, except in so far as they may 

 relate to the Bay of Fundy, which has been thrown open to the North 

 Americans under certain restrictions. 



"In announcing this decision to you, I must, at the same time, direct 

 your attention to the absolute necessity of a scrupulous observance of 

 those treaties on the part of the colonial authorities, and to the danger 

 which cannot fail to arise from any overstrained assumption of the 

 power of excluding the fishermen of the United States from the waters 

 in which they have a right to follow their pursuits." 



It is possible that, had our government seconded the efforts of our 

 minister at the Court of St. James, and had instructed him, in positive 

 and earnest terms, that the pretensions and claims of the colonists, 

 which were at last adopted by the British government, had not been, 

 and never would be, admitted as a just and proper commentary on the 

 convention of 1818, the despatch from which the preceding extract is 

 made would never have been written ; and that of consequence the 

 excitement and difficulties of 1852 would never have occurred. As it 



