820 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



tion for the privilege which had been given since the ratification of 

 the latter treaty to United States fishing vessels " to transfer cargoes, 

 to outfit vessels, buy supplies, obtain ice, engage sailors, procure 

 bait, and traffic generally in British ports and harbors." 



This claim was, however, successfully resisted, and in the United 

 States case it is maintained " that the various incidental and recip- 

 rocal advantages of the treaty, such as the privileges of traffic, pur- 

 chasing bait and other supplies, are not the subject of compensation, 

 because the treaty of Washington confers no such rights on the in- 

 habitants of the United States, who now enjoy them merely by 

 sufferance, and who can at any time be deprived of them by the en- 

 forcement of existing laws or the re-enactment of former oppressive 

 statutes. Moreover, the treaty does not provide for any possible 

 compensation for such privileges." 



Now, the existing laws referred to in this extract are the various 

 statutes passed by the imperial and colonial legislatures to give effect 

 to the treaty of 1818, which, it is admitted in the said case, could at 

 any time have been enforced (even during the existence of the Wash- 

 ington treaty), if the Canadian authorities had chosen to do so. 



Mr. Bayard on more than one occasion intimates that the inter- 

 pretation of the treaty and its enforcement are dictated by local and 

 hostile feelings, and that the main question is being " obscured by 

 partisan advocacy and distorted by the heat of local interests," and, 

 in conclusion, expresses a hope that " ordinary commercial intercourse 

 shall not be interrupted by harsh measures and unfriendly adminis- 

 trations." 



The undersigned desires emphatically to state that it is not the wish 

 of the Government or the people of Canada to interrupt for a moment 

 the most friendly and free commercial intercourse with the neighbor- 

 ing Republic. 



The mercantile vessels and the commerce of the United States have 

 at present exactly the same freedom that they have for years passed 

 enjoyed in Canada, and the disposition of the Canadian Government 

 is to extend reciprocal trade with the United States beyond its present 

 limits, nor can it be admitted that the charge of local prejudice or 

 hostile feeling is justified by the calm enforcement, through the legal 

 tribunals of the country, of the plain terms of a treaty between Great 

 Britain and the United States, and of the statutes which have been in 

 operation for nearly seventy years, excepting in intervals during 

 which (until put an end to by the United States Government) special 

 and more liberal provisions existed in relation to the commerce and 

 fisheries of the two countries. 



The undersigned has further to call attention to the letter of Mr. 

 Bayard of the 20th May, relating also to the seizure of the David J. 

 Adams in the port of Digby, Nova Scotia. 



Thai? vessel was seized, as has been explained on a previous occa- 

 sion, by the commander of the Canadian steamer Lansdowne, under 

 the following circumstances: 



She was a United States fishing vessel, and entered the harbor of 

 Digby for purposes other than those for which entry is permitted 

 by the treaty and by the imperial and Canadian statutes. 



As soon as practicable, legal process was obtained from the vice- 

 admiralty court at Halifax, and the vessel was delivered to the officer 

 of that court. The paper referred to in Mr. Bayard's letter as having 



