PERIOD FROM 1841 TO 1854, 129 



The British authorities insist that England has a right to draw a line 

 from headland to headland, and to capture all American fishermen 

 who may follow their pursuits inside of that line. It was undoubtedly 

 an oversight in the Convention of 1818, to make so large a concession 

 to England, since the United States had usually considered that those 

 vast inlets or recesses of the ocean ought to be open to American 

 fishermen, as freely as the sea itself, to within three marine miles of 

 the shore." 



That this is not a statement of Mr. Webster's opinion of the tnie 

 intent and meaning of the treaty is evident from his use of the word 

 ''oversight" which is clearly intended to apply to the employment 

 of language inaccurately expressing the understanding of the parties, 

 and in fact at the end of the letter, in a paragraph which is generally 

 suppressed when the paragraph above quoted is made use of, he dis- 

 tinctly states his dissent from the "headland theory" interpretation 

 as follows: 



Not agreeing that the construction thus put upon the treaty is 

 conformable to the mtention of the contracting parties, this informa- 

 tion is, however, made public to the end that those concerned in the 

 American fisheries may perceive how the case at present stands and 

 be upon their guard." 



Mr. Webster's letter taken as a whole and considered in the light 

 of the, surrounding circumstances cannot fairly be understood as 

 expressing an opinion in support of the British contention, and there 

 was certainly no misapprehension on this point on the part of Great 

 Britain at the time the letter was written, for it will be remembered 

 that Lord Malmesbury, in commenting on the publication of the 

 letter, said, in his note of August 10, 1852 to Mr. Crampton, "her 

 Majesty's government must necessarily entertain the sincerest regret 

 that such a publication should have been made" etc.^ 



It may be assumed that if Mr. Webster's letter had been regarded 

 as expressing an opinion in support of the British contention, no 

 regret at its publication would have been entertained by the British 

 Government. 



Furthermore the opinion held by Mr. AVebster at that time as to 

 the meaning of the word "bays" as used in the treaty, is set forth 

 with great clearness and force in a memorandum prepared by him 

 in July, 1852, to be sent to ^Mr. Crampton, but which unfortunately 

 was never sent owing to Mr. Webster's failing health and untimely 

 death before it was completed. This mem(Trandum shows an exhaust- 



<» Appendix, p. 510. 6 Appendix, p. 519. 



