297 



The second instance is from the letters ot the Hon. G. R. Young (a 

 distinfTuished gentleman of Nova Scoti;t) to Mr. Staulev.* 



" As early as the month of March," wrote IMr. Yimng, " if nny strnnger 

 approaclied the coasts of Nova Scotia, his ol)scrvations Avould induce him 

 to believe that he Avas advancing to the territory of some great commer- 

 cial state. At a short distance from the shore, and on the banks and 

 most productive fishing grounds, he would perceive fleets or continuous 

 lines of small shallops; and if the day and sensf)n were auspicious, he 

 would discover that their crews were busily employed in drawing forth 

 tlie treasures of the deep. Seeing them thus ancliorcd within view, nay, 

 toithm almost the shadoiv of the shore, and employed in appropriating 

 the resources which would appear to belong to it, the deduction would be 

 irresistible that they had recently lelt the neighboring harbors, and were 

 maimed by their inhabitants. He would, however, be in error. On 

 inquiry he would learn that they have come a distance of three hundred 

 miles, to avail themselves of the privilege — that they belonged to a rival 

 state, and that they enjoyed the right by virtue of a treaty, which the govern- 

 ment have bestowed without 7iecessity and without return. He would learn,., 

 also, that this liberal conccssio7i was highly disadvantageous to the inhab- 

 itants on the coast by lessening the productiveness of the fishing 

 grounds." 



That the ministry consented to act on the opinion of the Queen's ad- 

 vocate and her Majesty's attorney general, with much reluctance, is 

 very obvious. The first proof is found in their delay in transmitting it 

 to the colonial governor who furnished the "case" on which it is 

 founded. In the despatch which accompanied it at last. Lord Stanley 

 remarks that " the subject has firequently engaged the attention of my- 

 self and my collegues, with the view of adopting further measures, if 

 necessary, for the protection of British interests in accordance" there- 

 witli. But he adds : " We have, however, on full consideration, come 

 to the conclusion, as regards tlie fisheries of Nova Scotia, that the pre- 

 cautions taken by the provincial legislature appear ade(iuate to the 

 purpose, and that being now practically acquiesced in by the Ameri- 

 cans, no further measures are required." The opinion thus disposed of 

 in Novendjer, 1S42, was suffered to rest until the capture of the Wash- 

 ington and the Argus. Mr. Everett's arrangement in 1S45 was, in 

 effect, an abandonment of the whole matter. 



Seven years of comparative quiet on the fishing grounds elapse, and 

 we are brought to the exciting events of 1852. 



There is another remarkable circumstance connected with this con- 

 troversy, which sliould not escape notice — namely, that New Bruns- 



Tfisscls nearer tlie shore than three miles outsuh of a line draw 7i from opposite headlands of a bay. 

 Notiritlixtinidinri the, opinion of tin: l',n<>lish rroirn lair offirirs, this intrrprrtation of the. tiriity will 

 Uiroir tlir iiri^uininl entirclij into tin. luinds of the Aiiwricans. It" the hoadlaiuls Ix' low, or the 

 buy wide, like tlio ciitranGe to tlie IJiiy ofClialciir, ir is nor ]»»s.sililt' fm- tlm (islicriiicii to know, 

 or Xit cstiinafe, their tnie position in rerjanl to tliose headlands. The horizonral line dC vision, 

 from the deck of u schooner, is interce|)tcil l>y tlii^ convexity of the earth at a distance of six 

 or eii^'lit mill's. It is not to he concealed that a cajilnre made, or a shot (ircd, nmler these 

 (jircumstanccs, niiulit producfi war. And if war he tlic resnlt, can Hrittiin ridy on the hearty 

 o<)-o|icratioii of the |irovincials ? Kxcecdini;ly doiihifMl. Will tlic ("aiiadiims snhniil to havo 

 tlnur noniisliini: towns and villai;eK destroyed, and their families Blatii;lirered, in order to pro- 

 tect a few iinprohtahli! (isheries in the Gtilf of .St. Lawreuce?" 

 * Now the Earl of Derby. 



