40 BULLETIN OF THE 



(abstract.) 



Reference was made to the general misapplication, in the United 

 States, of the term "creek" to fresh water streams and rivulets ; 

 to the long international dispute as to the point where the Rhine 

 terminated, and especially to the authoritative determination of 

 the mouth of the River St. Lawrence. 



Under the late Reciprocity Treaty between the United States 

 and Great Britain, made principally with a view to settle the 

 question of the in-shore fisheries, a Joint Commission was ap- 

 pointed to examine the coasts of the North American British 

 colonies and of the United States as far south as the 36th parallel, 

 being over 6000 miles of coast, including indentations, and to 

 designate the "rivers and the mouths of rivers. ^^ These were 

 to be reserved from the common liberty of fishing, while "bays, 

 harbors, and creeks^\ were free. Here was an immense field 

 opened for the discussion and international interpretation of the 

 above terms. The commissioners were directed to examine each 

 "place^' which could in any sense be considered as a "river,^^ 

 and if decided to be a river, then to agree upon a line which 

 should mark the outer limit of its mouth. The number of "places''' 

 presented for examination on the Provincial coasts was 167, and 

 54 on the coast of the United States. Of these, 105 were de- 

 clared to be rivers, and their mouths were designated on official 

 charts. The Commission was in existence for a period of ten 

 years, 1855 to 1866, although, owing to the late civil war, only 

 about five years were strictly devoted to the duty assigned it. 

 There was a large number of cases in which a difference of opinion 

 was expressed. Some were reconciled, and in others an appeal 

 was taken to an umpire, under the authority of the treaty. 



As the U. S. Surveyor attached to the Commission, the exam- 

 inations on the part of the United States were principally con- 

 ducted by me, and it frequently occurred that special reports and 

 long discussions became necessary as to the right of this or that 

 "2ylace^' to be designated by this or that term. The designations 

 found on the maps and charts were not considered as definitive 

 authority. The only rule which we could adopt was that pre- 

 scribed by international law, that terms employed in treaties 

 should be interpreted according to the definition given of them 

 by the science to which they belonged. 



To show what divergence of opinion may be entertained in the 

 discussion of such apparently simple questions, it may be stated 

 that inlets of the sea, of greater or less extent, were called 

 "rivers" by one party and "creeks''^ by the other; that "bays" 

 of large size were claimed as the "mouths of rivers''' on the 

 ground that streams, inconsiderable in size, emptied into them ; 

 and that a "river'''' was not only an inland current of fresh water, 

 but was one also when the inlet owed its waters almost entii-ely 

 to the sea. 



