918 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



Sir L. S. Sackville West to Mr. Bayard. 



WASHINGTON, April 4, 1887. 



(Received April 6.) 



SIR : With reference to my note of the 28th of January last, I have 

 the honor to inclose to you herewith copy of an approved report of a 

 committee of the privy council of Canada, embodying a report of the 

 minister of marine and fisheries on the cases of the United States 

 fishing vessels Pearl Nelson and Everett Steele. 

 I have, etc., 



L. S. SACKVILLE WEST. 



[Inclosure.] 



Certified copy of a report of a committee of the honorable the privy 

 council for Canada, approved by his excellency the governor-gen- 

 eral in council, on the 15th January, 1887. 



The committee of the privy council have had under consideration a 

 dispatch dated November 22, 1886, from the secretary of state for the 

 colonies, inclosing letters from Mr. Secretary Bayard, bearing date 

 19th October, and referring to the cases of the schooners Pearl Nelson 

 and Everett Steele. 



The minister of marine and fisheries, to whom the dispatch and 

 inclosures were referred, reports that in reply to a telegram from the 

 secretary of state for the colonies, an order in council, passed on the 

 18th November last, containing a full statement of facts regarding 

 the detention of the above-named vessels, was transmitted to Mr. 

 Stanhope; it will not therefore be necessary to repeat this statement 

 in the present report. 



The minister observes in the first place that the two fishing 

 schooners Everett Steele and Pearl Nelson were not detained for any 

 alleged contravention of the treaty of 1818 or the fishery laws of 

 Canada, but solely for the violation of the customs law. By this law 

 all vessels of whatever character are required to report to the collector 

 of customs immediately upon entering port, and are not to break bulk 

 or land crew or cargo before this is done. 



The minister states that the captain of the Everett Steele had on a 

 previous voyage entered the port of Shelburne on the 25th March, 

 1886, and after remaining for eight hours had put to sea again with- 

 out reporting to the customs. For this previous offense he was, upon 

 entering Shelburne Harbor on the 10th September last, detained and 

 the facts were reported to the minister of customs at Ottawa. With 

 these facts was coupled the captain's statement that on the occasion 

 of the previous offense he had been misled by the deputy harbor- 

 master, from whom he understood that he would not be obliged to 

 report unless he remained in the harbor for twenty- four hours. The 

 minister accepted the statement in excuse and the Everett Steele was 

 allowed to proceed on her voyage. 



The customs laws had been violated; the captain of the Everett 

 Steele admitted the violation, and for this the usual penalty could 

 have been legally enforced. It was, however, not enforced, and no 

 detention of the vessel occurred beyond the time necessary to report 

 the facts to headquarters and obtain the decision of the minister. 



The minister submits that he can not discern in this transaction 

 any attempt to interfere with the privileges of United States fishing 



