PERIOD FROM 1854 TO 1871. 135 



circular letter which Secretaiy of State Marcy had addressed to the 

 American iishermen in 1856 was cited by Lord Salisbury in support of 

 the British contention as to the effect of the words "in common with 

 British subjects" which are found in all of these treaties. The ques- 

 tions thus presented may more conveniently be considered in con- 

 nection with the circumstances and conditions surrounding them, 

 which are reviewed later. 



The situation following the expiration of the Treaty of 1854- 



As the date of the expiration of the treaty of 1854 approached, the 

 desire to avoid a renewal of the difficulties under the treaty of 1818, 

 which had been set at rest by the treaty of 1854, directed the atten- 

 tion of both governments to the advisability of entering into some 

 new arrangement on the subject. The steps which were taken in 

 this direction on the part of Great Britain up to the date of the ex- 

 piration of the treaty, and the British views of the American position 

 at that time, are of interest and will be found stated at some length 

 in a communication written on March 17, 1866, by Lord Clarendon, 

 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to Sir Frederick Bruce, the 

 British Minister at Washington. ** 



On February 16, 1866, a month prior to the expiration of the 

 treaty, Sir Frederick Bruce wrote to Mr. Seward, the Secretary of 

 State, stating that "Her Majesty's Government would be well content 

 to renew the Treaty in its present form" or to reconsider "and so to 

 modify its terms as to render it, if possible, more beneficial to both 

 countries than it has hitherto been," and he further suggested that if 

 the United States should prefer the latter course, an arrangement of a 

 provisional character might be entered into with a view to affording 

 time for fresh negotiations. The reasons which had induced the 

 United States to terminate the treaty made the suggestion of its 

 renewal unacceptable, and Mr. Seward replied to the British Minister 

 on the day following this proposal "that careful inquiry made 

 during the recess of Congress induced the President to believe that 

 there was then no such harmony of public sentiment in favor of the 

 extension of the treaty as would encourage him in directing nego- 

 tiations to be opened." * On the 10th of April, 1866, however, Mr. 

 Seward instructed Mr. Charles Francis Adams, then American Minister 

 at London, to propose to Lord Clarendon an arrangement for the 



« Appendix, p. 562. & Appendix, pp. 560-562. 



92909°— S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 1 17 



