38;-) 



immrL-iciu'o. ;?.iiiu' oasos were luiHirti'il (if vi'SM'l^ liiniii'.' liivn \viii-iici', dlf wlm wuiv foiiinl (isliiiij:; or 

 loitciiii;,' wiiliin tliivc inilcs of ilif slioiv;. 



" It Wiis llioiylil lulvisiilili' to iimki! imiticiiliir imiuirv ill this strait, as it is tlic; passage through 

 wliicli great imuilmrs of vosscls puss, ami where wood, water, ami other supjUii's are obtiiiiied ; aud 

 ulthougli there were not many Auierieaii.i in ii at the time of our visit, 1 was iiiloriuiMl liy tiie Consular 

 Agent tiiat in the course of tiio last vi'ar eUiveu tliousaud vessels, of all kinds, were counted jjissiug 

 tiirougli both ways, and some must have po-ssed in the night who were not counted. 



" From the Strait of Canso 1 went to I'ictou. This port is the residence of the Consul of the 

 United States for the nortii coast of Nova Scotia, to whom complaints of interferen(^e would naturally 

 be made, if any should be experienced within the limits of ids Consulate. ; btii he hud lieanl of none, 



" From I'ictou I cros.sed over to Charlottetown, I'rince Kdwanl Island, and inciuircd into the case 

 of the .schooner 'Starlight,' seized by Her Jlajesty's steamer ' Devastiition,' th'. otlicial papers in 

 relation to which wen' forwarded with' my de.-ipatdi No. 15. 



" The ' Fulton ' having joined mo at I'ictou, acco ■ M'.icd nie to Charlottetown, that some sliyht 

 repairs ndgiit be made to her machinery, under the direction of llhief Engineer Shock. Siie wns 

 despatched on the evening of the 2'Jth August, inider instructions, copies ot which accompany this. 



" Leaving Charlottetown it was fountl necessary to anchor in the outer harbour of Georgetown, 

 in order to make some repairs to the engine of the ' I'rinceton ' — the necessity of which was not 

 disi^overed until after we had left Charlottetown, but which, fortunately, coidJ be done by our own 

 engineers. 



"On the L'nd Septendier, at meridian, we anchored in Caspi^ liay. Lower Caimda, having, in the 

 course of the night and morning, passed througli many hundreds of tisliing vessels, .showing generally 

 American colours. These were all lishing outside the liays. Tlie sinii (lassed slowly through them, 

 with her colours set, but it was deemed be.--t nut to inli'iruia theiu in their fishing by boarding or 

 ruiming ,10 near as to li:nl. If any one of them had complaint 10 make, eoijiinuuicatiou could be easily 

 hud witli till' ship, and the slightest intimation of such a wish would have been immediately attended 

 to, but none wiw made. 



" The ' Fulton ' was at anchor in the inner harbour. A cojiy of Lieutenant Commanding Watson's 

 report of his proceedings under my orders of the 2',tth ultimo is with this. 



"Soon after I anchored at (iaspe, 1 wius informed tiait the anchonige, which 1 had taken by 

 advice of my pilot, was unsafe, if it should blow a gule fwm the eitst — of fre(|uent occurrence at this 

 season. No jiilot could be found to take so large a ship into the inner barliour, and, as night was 

 approaching, I got under way and put to sea with both vessels. It had now become necessary to 

 replenish our coal, and 1 determined to go to Sydney, in i'mn'. IJreton bsland, for that purpose. 



" I arrived at Sydney on the 4th, tiie ' Fulton,' in company, and, after taking oil lioard a supply of 

 coal for each vessel, jiut to sea again on the morning of the 'Jlh. 



" After a passage jtrotracted by strong head winds, and a part of the time by thick weather, w« 

 anchored at St. John, New Brunswick, on the atU^'noonof the loth. 



" A large number of persons, estimated at tifty thousand, were congregated at this place to witness 

 the ceremony of breaking ground for the European and North American Kailway. The occiusion had 

 brought tiie Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, Sir Edmund Mead, to St. .lohii. We received 

 from the Lieutenant-Ciovernor, and the authorities of the city, the most cordial welcome, and every 

 hospitality was extended to us nationally and individually. 



" The absence from St. .loliii of tiie Consul for the I'uited Stat^js prevented my getting any ollicial 

 information on the subject of the fisheries ; but from no source coiilil I learn that tiiere had been any 

 occurrciici' of an unphusant iialuie ; and by all ])ersons, ollicial and private, here as in the other iirovinces, 

 a niosl luxious desire was e.Kpressed that the rigiils and privileges of the citizens of the I'nited States, 

 and of the inhaliitants of the provinces, in rehilioii to the fisheries, might be .so di.stinctly defined, and 

 so authoritatively announced, that there shouhl be no room for mi8undei',standin<;, and no ]iosbil)le cause 

 for irritation on either side. 



" 1 left St. dohu on the morning of the ITtli instant, the ' Fulton ' in company, and anchored 

 ouside of this harbour on the evening of the LSlii, in a dense fog. This niiuning we have succeeded iu 

 getting to a good anchorage off Fort Cotuslitution. 



" It is with great dilUdence that, from the exi)erience of so short a cruize, pro.seciited, as is known 

 to the Department, under circumstances of unusual embarrasanieiit, 1 offer a few suggestions as to the 

 description of force most suitable for the protection of the lislieries, and as to tint time ino3t projH'r for 

 its operations. 



" Some of the most valuable fisheries, such as those in Miramichi Itay, Chaleur Hay, and nortli as 

 far as Cnuspe, aiv carried on in small vessels and open iMiatii, and close inshore If, therefort!, the 

 privih'ge to fish in tlio.si^ bays is to be maintained by us, the vessels for that .service shouhl be 

 small steamers of light draught of water. The shores of I'rince Edward Islaiul abouiiil with fish 

 of oil kinds. The mackerel strike in early in the .season, and can only be fjiken elo,se in-slioi-e. 



"The fishing sea.soii around Magdalen Ishinds through the Strait of Kelleisle, (hiwn on the coast 

 of 1.4diiiidor, eonimeiiees early in June The herring tisliing commences in George's I!ay, Newfound- 

 land, as early as .\iu'il. and continni>s about a month. After that, the lishing on that coast is only 

 for niiU'keiel and cimI ; an<l it is to be reiimrktid, that when' mackerel is found, cod is also abiiiidaiit. 

 These tislieries are carried on in ves.sels of larger size, but still of easy ilraiighl of water ; and the 

 vessels intended for their protection should al.so lie of ea.sy draught. 



"The coasts of Nova Scotia, New liruiiswick, the south side of I'rince Edward Island, Cajie Hretoii, 

 Newfoundland, and Ldiiador. abound in good harbours, some of them capable of receiving and 

 acconinuHlating large navies; but tlieri' are nuuieiiais harbours to which tl.e fishing ves.sels principally 

 resort, which will not admit vessels of heavy draught; and where liie protected go, the pititector 

 shouhl be able to follow. The narrow passages, the strong and irregnlav currents, and the frequent 



