The Canadian Boundary 



87 



that the matter should be referred to the 

 arbitrament of the King of the Nether- 

 lands. In 1830 the King rendered his 

 award, not accepting the line contended 

 for by either party, but recommending 

 a compromise boundary or a line of con- 

 venience. The American minister at 

 The Hague, without instructions from 

 Washington , protested against the award 

 on the ground that it was a departure 

 from the powers delegated to the arbi- 

 trator. The British Government mani- 

 fested a disposition to acquiesce in the 

 award, but intimated that its acceptance 

 would not preclude the two governments 

 from modifying the line. President 

 Jackson was at first inclined to accept 

 it, and it is said that he afterwards ex- 

 pressed regret that he had not done so ; 

 but he finally submitted the question of 

 acceptance to the Senate, and that body 

 advised him that it was not obligatory, 

 and that new negotiations should be 

 opened. 



The British Government consented to 

 this latter alternative, with the under- 

 standing that meanwhile the boundaries 

 actually possessed should be observed 

 by the authorities. The negotiations 

 dragged along through several years, 

 and new surveys were ordered ; but it 

 was not possible for the people on the 

 border to observe the temporary bound- 

 ary understanding. Strife occurred, a 

 state of border warfare was created, 

 Congress authorized the President to 

 call out the militia, and voted $10,000,- 

 000 for public defense. 



An open conflict between the two 

 nations seemed imminent ; the Com- 

 mander-in-Chief of the Army, General 

 Scott, was dispatched to the frontier, 

 and through his interposition a tempo- 

 rary border truce was arranged. 



In 1 84 1 Mr Webster became Secre- 

 tary of State. He was well acquainted 

 with the controversy and possessed the 

 confidence of those most interested — the 

 people of New England. Lord Ashbur- 

 ton was sent to Washington by the 



British Government as a special pleni- 

 potentiary to adjust this long-pending 

 and vexatious question. The result of 

 their negotiations was the treaty of 1842, 

 by which the line in controversy was 

 definitely agreed upon and fixed. It 

 was, however, a no more advantageous 

 settlement for the United States than 

 would have been secured by the award 

 of the King of the Netherlands, and 

 the prolongation of the dispute kept the 

 border in a state of turmoil for more 

 than ten years, brought the two coun- 

 tries to the verge of war, and caused a 

 heavy outlay from the national treas- 

 ury. In addition to the military and 

 diplomatic expenditures, Congress voted 

 to the States of Maine and Massachu- 

 setts the sum of $300,000 as compensa- 

 tion for the territory claimed by them, 

 but conceded to Canada. 



The third question respecting the Ca- 

 nadian boundary, for which provision 

 was made for settlement by the treaty 

 of 1 8 14, was that relating to the line 

 extending through the St Lawrence 

 River and the Great Lakes, and the 

 ownership of many islands along the 

 route. The commissioners were to be 

 appointed, with provision for arbitra- 

 tion in case of disagreement. They 

 held their first meeting in 1816, and 

 they spent a period of six years in caus- 

 ing surveys to be made, in visiting in 

 person the entire line, and in confer- 

 ences at different cities in the United 

 States and Canada, and in the end were 

 enabled to reach a harmonious decision 

 in 1822. By this decision various isl- 

 ands which had been claimed and occu- 

 pied by Canadians were transferred to 

 the American side of the line, and others 

 claimed by Americans were placed on 

 the Canadian side. 



The fourth question which was sought 

 to be adjusted by the treaty of i8i4was 

 the boundary line from Lake Superior 

 to the northwestern point of the Lake 

 of the Woods. This was entrusted to 

 the same commission which had success- 



