PEKIOD FROM 1871 TO 1905. 727 



I then communicated the substance of your Lordship's telegram to 

 Mr. Evarts, and observed that I had understood it to signify that 

 the question should be referred to a third person, whether it was he 

 and I or the Delegates named by us who should disagree; but he 

 expressed the opinion that Mr. Lowell had rightly interpreted what 

 your Lordship had said. 



He went on to say that the Government of the United States would 

 prefer that Her Majesty's Government should make an offer of a 

 lump sum in satisfaction of the damages caused to American fisher- 

 men in the Fortune Bay affair. He hoped, however, that it would be 

 a generous offer; for that an illiberal one would be worse than none. 

 He believed that a liberal view of the matter would create a good 

 feeling and would contribute to the success of, and facilitate, any 

 future negotiation which must come on sooner or later with regard 

 to the fisheries question. 



I replied that your Lordship's note of the 27th October last and the 

 offer now made was a sufficient proof that Her Majesty's Government 

 wished to deal with the question in a spirit of liberality. 



On the evening of the 25th instant your Lordship's telegram of 

 that day reached me, and on the following day I called upon Mr. 

 Evarts, who read me a telegram which he had received from Mr. 

 Lowell on the evening of the 24th instant, informing him that your 

 Lordship had offered the sum of 15,OOOZ. in settlement of the claims 

 comprised in Mr. Evarts' two despatches to Mr. Lowell. He also 

 read me his answer, which he had forwarded on the 24th instant, to 

 the effect that the United States' Government accepted the offer, ex- 

 pressing the hope that the amount would be available at once, though 

 it did not make this a condition of its acceptance. 



Mr. Evarts to Mr. Lowell. 



[Telegram.] 



WASHINGTON, March 8, 1881. 



Secretary's offer as communicated to me by your telegram of 24th 

 February was 15,000 for Fortune Bay and those mentioned in No. 

 109. This I accepted by my telegram of February 25. This com- 

 pleted the subject, and the amount as definitely ascertained, and 

 showed no indistinctness or discrepancy of views. All the previous 

 communications either way related to Fortune Bay alone. My cal- 

 culation of $80,000 was on computation of two-thirds aggregate of 

 Fortune Bay claims. Claims of No. 109 were introduced specifically 

 by secretary as additional to Fortune Bay, and I accepted the sum 

 offered for both. 



I cannot consent to any modification of the completed settlement of 

 specific claims. I have at no time treated except of definite pecuniary 

 interests of claimants in my charge. The agreed sum measures these 

 claims and goes to these claimants. I have been willing to give every 

 assurance to cover all claims brought to the knowledge of either gov- 

 ernment, and authorized you to inform secretary that as matter of 

 fact no others were entertained by this government. All this was not 



