Canada and the States

by Sir E. W. Watkin

"'MEMORANDUM B.

"'In response to the Memorandum of the Hon. Mr. Galt and his associates, Hon. Mr. Smith, Hon. Mr. Henry, and the Hon. Mr. Howland, the Committee of Ways and Means, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, are prepared to recommend to the House of Representatives for their adoption a law providing for the continuance of some of the measures embraced in the Reciprocity Treaty, soon to expire, viz.—For the use and privileges as enjoyed now under said treaty in the waters of Lake Michigan, provided the same rights and privileges are conceded to the citizens of the United States by Canada in the waters of the St. Lawrence and its canals as are enjoyed by British subjects, without discrimination as to tolls and charging rates proportioned to canal distance; also for the free transit of goods, wares, and merchandize in bond, under proper regulations, by railroad across the territory of the United States to and from Portland and the Canada line; provided equal privileges shall be conceded to the United States from Windsor or Port Sarnia, or other western points of departure to Buffalo or Ogdensburg, or any other points eastward, and that the free ports established in the Provinces shall be abolished; also the bounties now given to American fishermen shall be repealed, and duties not higher imposed upon fish than those mentioned in Schedule A., provided that all the rights of fishing near the shores existing under the treaty heretofore mentioned shall be granted and conceded by the United States to the Provinces, and by the Provinces to the United States.

"'It is also further proposed that the following list of articles shall be mutually free:—

Burr Millstones, unwrought.
Cotton and Linen Rags.
Firewood.
Grindstones, rough or unfinished.
Gypsum or plaster, unground.

"'SCHEDULE A.

FISH—Mackerel $1 50 per bbl
" Herrings, pickled or salted 1 00 "
" Salmon 2 50 "
" Shad 2 00 "
" All other, pickled 1 50 "

"'Provided that any fish in packages other than barrels shall pay in proportion to the rates charged upon similar fish in barrels.

All other Fish 1/3 cent per lb

"'As to the duties which will be proposed upon the other articles included in the treaty, the following are submitted, viz.-

Animals, living, all sorts 20 per cent ad val
Apples and Garden Fruit and Vegetables 10 " "
Barley 15 cts per bushel
Beans (except Vanilla or Castor Oil) 30 " "
Beef 1 ct per lb
Buckwheat 10 cts per bushel
Butter 4 " lb
Cheese 4 " "
Corn (Indian) and Oats 10 cts per bushel
Corn-meal (Indian) and Oatmeal 15 " "
Coal, bituminous 50 " ton
" all other 25 " "
Flour 25 per cent, ad val
Hams 2 cts per lb
Hay $1 00 per ton
Hides 10 per cent ad val
Lard 3 cts per lb
Lumber—
Pine, round or in the log $1 50 per M
" sawed or hewn 2 50 "
" planed, tongued and grooved or finish'd 25 per cent ad val
Spruce and Hemlock, sawed or hewn $1 00 per M
Planed, finished or partly finished 25 per cent ad val
Shingle bolts 10 " "
Shingles 20 " "
All other, of Black Walnut, Chesnut, Bass,
White Wood, Ash, Oak, round, hewed or sawed 20 " "
Planed, tongued and grooved or finished 25 " "
Ores 10 " "
Peas 25 cts per bushel
Pork 1 ct per lb
Potatoes 10 cts per bushel
Seed, Timothy, and Clover 20 per cent ad val
Trees, Plants and Shrubs, Ornamental and Fruit 15 " "
Tallow 2 cts per lb
Wheat 20 cts per bushel

"'MEMORANDUM C.

"'In reference to the Memorandum received from the Committee of Ways and Means, the Provincial Delegates regret to be obliged to state that the proposition therein contained in regard to the commercial relations between the two countries is not such as they can recommend for the adoption of their respective Legislatures. The imposts which it is proposed to lay upon the productions of the British Provinces on their entry into the markets of the United States are such as in their opinion will be in some cases prohibitory, and will certainly seriously interfere with the natural course of trade. These imposts are so much beyond what the delegates conceive to be an equivalent for the internal taxation of the United States, that they are reluctantly brought to the conclusion that the Committee no longer desire the trade between the two countries to be carried on upon the principle of reciprocity. With the concurrence of the British Minister at Washington, they are therefore obliged respectfully to decline to enter into the engagement suggested in the memorandum, but they trust that the present views of the United States may soon be so far modified as to permit of the interchange of the productions of the two countries upon a more liberal basis.

"'WASHINGTON,
"'February 6th, 1866.'

"This abortive negociation was followed (March, 1866) by a United
States Bill for enabling a new treaty upon impossible terms; that Bill
was at last hung up in Congress, and so the matter ended, so far as the
States were concerned.

"The operation of the treaty from 1854 to 1866 may now be considered.

"The Report of the Revenue Commissioners shows that the trade under it increased from 20,000,000 dollars, to 68,000,000 dollars in 1864, and that this trade was larger than the trade of the United States with any country in the world except Great Britain. It was 31/2 times more than with China; 31/2 times more than with Brazil; above 3 times more than with even Mexico; 21/4 times more than with Hamburg and Bremen, notwithstanding the direct line of steamers to and from New York; 21/4 times more than with France, with all its wines, silks, and fashions; and one-third more than with Cuba and the Spanish West Indies.

"Then, on the whole, 'the balance of trade,' as it is called, was in favour of the States during the whole period of the treaty by a sum of 56,000,000 dollars.

"As regards coal, the quantity taken in 1865-6 from Pennsylvania and other States to Upper Canada was about 180,000 tons; while the quantity of Nova Scotian coal taken to Boston and the Eastern States was about 200,000 tons. Thus the supply of districts 1,000 miles apart had nearly balanced itself under the treaty. As regards fishing rights, the United States appeared largely to have the advantage, for they had, by the treaty, access to excellent fishing grounds and passage through the Gut of Canso, while the provincial fishermen rarely troubled the coasts of Maine or Massachusetts—'bare pastures' for fish. As an example, the boats employed by the United States in the mackerel fishery in 1852 were 250, the tonnage 18,150 tons, and the value 750,000 dollars, while the catch of fish was 850,000 dollars; while in 1864 it showed 600 vessels, 54,000 tons, 9,000 men, and a catch worth 4,567,500 dollars.

"Upon the general question, Mr. Derby says in his report:—

"'If the Maritime Provinces would join us spontaneously to-day—sterile as they may be in the soil under a sky of steel—still with their hardy population, their harbours, fisheries, and seamen, they would greatly strengthen and improve our position, and aid us in our struggle for equality upon the ocean. If we would succeed upon the deep, we must either maintain our fisheries, or absorb the Provinces.'

"'No negociations' and 'no papers'—say our Government. This may be true. Or it may be true that the Foreign Office have had papers, and the Colonial not. Or that the Board of Trade have had papers, and the Foreign and Colonial people have not; but, however that may be, Canada has made, in good time, very serious representations. It is believed that her Government had long before made personal appeals to both the Colonial and the Foreign Offices, but the following document (19th February, 1865), will speak for itself; and the Government at home cannot deny that they had it, but which of the three departments will admit its receipt is yet to be seen; always let it be remembered that in May, 1865, there were 'no papers:'—

"'Copy of a Report of a Committee of the Honorable the Executive Council, approved by his Excellency the Governor-General on the 19th February, 1865.

"'The Committee of the Executive Council deem it to be their duty to represent to Your Excellency that the recent proceedings in the Congress of the United States, respecting the Reciprocity Treaty, have excited the deepest concern in the minds of the people of this Province.

"'Those proceedings have had for their avowed object the abrogation of the treaty at the earliest moment consistent with the stipulations of the instrument itself.

"'Although no formal action indicative of the strength of the party hostile to the continuance of the treaty has yet taken place, information, of an authentic character, as to the opinions and purposes of influential public men in the United States has forced upon the Committee the conviction that there is imminent danger of its abrogation, unless prompt and vigorous steps be taken by Her Majesty's Imperial advisers to avert what would be generally regarded by the people of Canada as a great calamity.

"'The Committee would specially bring under Your Excellency's notice the importance of instituting negociations for the renewal of the treaty, with such modifications as may be mutually assented to, before the year's notice required to terminate it shall be given by the American Government; for they fear that the notice, if once given, would not be revoked; and they clearly foresee that, owing to the variety and possibly the conflicting nature of the interests involved on our own side, a new treaty could not be concluded, and the requisite legislation to give effect to it obtained before the year would have expired, and with it the treaty. Under such circumstances—even with the certain prospect of an early renewal of the treaty—considerable loss and much inconvenience would inevitably ensue.

"'It would be impossible to express in figures, with any approach to accuracy, the extent to which the facilities of commercial intercourse created by the Reciprocity Treaty have contributed to the wealth and prosperity of this Province; and it would be difficult to exaggerate the importance which the people of Canada attach to the continued enjoyment of these facilities.

"'Nor is the subject entirely devoid of political significance.

"'Under the beneficent operation of the system of self-government, which the later policy of the Mother Country has accorded to Canada, in common with the other Colonies possessing representative institutions, combined with the advantages secured by the Reciprocity Treaty of an unrestricted commerce with our nearest neighbours in the natural productions of the two countries, all agitation for organic changes has ceased—all dissatisfaction with the existing political relations of the Province has wholly disappeared.

"'Although the Committee would grossly misrepresent their countrymen if they were to affirm that their loyalty to their Sovereign would be diminished in the slightest degree by the withdrawal, through the unfriendly action of a foreign Government, of mere commercial privileges, however valuable these might be deemed, they think they cannot err in directing the attention of the enlightened statesmen who wield the destinies of the great Empire, of which it is the proudest boast of Canadians that their country forms a part, to the connection which is usually found to exist between the material prosperity and the political contentment of a people, for in doing so they feel that they are appealing to the highest motives that can actuate patriotic statesmen—the desire to perpetuate a dominion founded on the affectionate allegiance of a prosperous and contented people.

"'The Committee venture to express the hope that Your Excellency will be pleased to bring this subject and the considerations now submitted under the notice of Her Majesty's Imperial advisers.

"'W. H. LEE, C. E. C.'

"Does it not seem as if the whole business was let alone, neglected, despised?

"What were our Government doing from 1861 to 1865?

"POLAND exercised the minds of the Foreign Office from an early date, and they have given us papers from July 31st, 1862, December 31st of that year, and on to April 23rd, 1863, when that affair ended.

"DENMARK revived their old discussions in 1863, and they began to write despatches about them. They have given Parliament papers about the 'Conference,' which only began January 23rd, 1864, and ended March 26th, 1864.

"The whole number of papers printed for Parliament, and laid on the table in 1864, was 369. Yet there was not, out of these, one single paper about the Reciprocity Treaty.

"The whole number of papers printed for Parliament, and laid likewise upon the table in 1865, was 170, but not a line appears about the Reciprocity Treaty. So much for the attention of the people we pay to watch over our affairs.

"The question, as regards our relations with the States, Was a great opportunity lost? arises. Let us see. 1st, the Chamber of Commerce of New York, and its 1,300,000 people, ask for a treaty in 1861; 2nd, Congress asks for it by appointing a committee in 1861; 3rd, the committee ask for it by their report of 1862 and by their resolutions of 1864; 4th, Mr. Seward endorses it even so late as November, 1864; and 5th, the Convention at Detroit ask for it so late as the 14th July, 1865. In further testimony, a member of Congress said, on the 14th March, 1866, on the debate on the abortive Bill for regulating trade with British North American Provinces:—

"Mr. Brooks, 'Dem. N. Y.,' said, 'that he would not have risen to obtrude any remarks on the committee on a subject that had been discussed with an ability and ingenuity reminding him, of ancient times in the House, and demonstrating that upon subjects which interest our own race there is as much ability here as of old, if he had not voted last year, with others, for an abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty, and if he did not see now, from the tendencies and sympathies of the House, that the moment the Bill passed from the hands of the committee of the whole it would receive its final death blow. He did not believe there would have been thirty votes obtained in this House last year for the abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty with Canada, but for the explicit understanding that some sort of reciprocity in trade would be forthwith re-established, either through the treaty-making power, or through the legislative power of the Government. The people of the United States were ground down by the internal revenue taxation, and he had not felt at liberty to let the Reciprocity Treaty stand, without being at liberty to make some sort of bargain with the people of Canada, that whatever our internal revenues might be, the same would be levied, either by them or by us, on our imports from them. It was exclusively on that understanding that he had voted for the abrogation of the treaty. And he now saw in the additional claims of those who represented the lumber interests, and the coal and other interests of the country, that advantage was to be taken of the present opportunity, and that never again were we to have reciprocity with the neighbouring Provinces. On the contrary, we were to impose as high duties as could be imposed upon their products, higher if possible than those now levied under the general tariff bill. If that were to be so, he never should regret any vote that he gave in his life as he would regret his vote of last winter to abrogate the treaty. He had given it with the understanding that it should be substantially renewed. He spoke of the people of the Provinces as being connected with us by kindred and by blood, and as rightfully belonging to us; and he hoped to live to see the day when the seats on this floor and in the Senate would be occupied by representatives and senators from Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, and all the other American dependencies of Great Britain.'

"Then it will not be forgotten that the Government and Congress of the States ratified a treaty with Great Britain, which never could before be acted on, viz., that affecting the African slave trade, on the 7th April, 1862, and they agreed to the important additional article on the 17th February, 1863. At these dates the Government and people of the United States were most anxious, therefore, for friendly relations with us. But Earl Russell lost the golden opportunity. British interests were entirely neglected.

"We must now look at the new features of difficulty which have sprung up; and first, there is now a Congress with a Republican majority, and the majority of that majority are Protectionists: while a considerable number are Annexationists.

"The Convention at Detroit was appealed to by the latter. Mr. Consul Potter, United States Consul at Montreal, Canada, and Mr. O. S. Wood, Manager of the Montreal Telegraph Company, appear in the following report of a speech of the Consul at a meeting specially convened by him at Detroit:—

"Mr. Consul Potter, at Detroit, July 12th, 1865, said, "'I would meet the people of Canada on the most friendly footing, but I would say to them, in making an arrangement, we must look to our own interest as well as yours, and in looking to our interest we cannot forget that the policy we may adopt in relation to reciprocity will have a very great influence on the future relations of the two countries. Now, we are ready to give you in Canada the most perfect reciprocity. We will give you complete free trade, but we ask you to come and share with us the responsibilities of our own government. We make this proposition, but not in a spirit of conquest, for, as I remarked before, if it were positively certain that by one day of war we could obtain possession of the whole Provinces for ever I would say—No!—for this reason, that after the conquest you would find a feeling of opposition to the United States and our government on the part of the people of Canada which would prevent any harmonious working. When they come, let them come by their own consent, let them come as brothers, and let us be all brothers with one flag, under one destiny. The question then is, Shall we simply be content to give the Canadians all the privileges of our markets? For the true policy is, that in getting those privileges they should be placed on equal footing with our own citizens in relation to our responsibilities and in relation to taxation. I believe I express the general feeling of those who are the most friendly to the United States in Canada when I say it is not the policy of our Government, or our policy, to continue this treaty, and I believe that in two years from the abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty, the people of Canada themselves will apply for admission to the United States. I repeat that I believe in two years they would ask for admission. I have a letter which I received on the evening of my departure for Detroit, and I may say I came here, with the consent of my own Government, to express my views on reciprocity. This letter is from a gentleman in Montreal, than whom none stands higher—a gentleman of intelligence and wealth, and whose judgment is as good as that of any person in Canada on these matters:—

"'MONTREAL, "'July 10th.

'"MY DEAR. MR. POTTER,

"'I am much delighted to hear that you have decided to attend the Detroit Convention, as it is in my opinion of the greatest importance that the real friends of the United States who reside here shall be represented at Detroit, or that our friends, before committing themselves to a renewal of the Reciprocity Treaty, may know our views on the subject; and I can assure you, from the knowledge I have of the sentiments of those who have been and still are the friends of the United States in this country, that not one in fifty of them wants a renewal or extension of the treaty. On the other hand, every man who has been openly hostile to us is for the renewal. The reasons are obvious, as it is clear to all intelligent men that a failure to renew the treaty will result in thorough reciprocity. All the friends of the Western States here, and they are rapidly increasing in numbers and influence, would rejoice to submit to temporary inconvenience and loss, for the purpose of accomplishing this result, while those who are against us wish for a renewal of the treaty which, during the last four years, has given so much trouble to both sides. They know that a renewal of the treaty would be the only effectual check on the annexation movement. I believe the renewal of it would be one of the greatest political blunders on the part of the United States. This is the feeling of our friends on this side, and I am sure our friends on the other side of the frontier who have already suffered so much, will join us heartily in this additional sacrifice, if such it should prove.'

"As Mr. Potter closed reading the letter there were loud cries from the
Canadian delegates of 'Name, name.'

"Mr. Potter gave the name, 'O. S. Wood, Superintendent of the Montreal Telegraph Company'—a gentleman, he said, of wealth and the highest respectability in Montreal.

"Some one asked whether Wood was a born Canadian.

"Mr. Potter replied he was not, but came originally from New York.

"The Republican journals in the West have since taken up this tone, and
Mr. Morrill, the Protectionist chairman of the 'Committee of Ways and
Means,' echoed it even in conference with the provincial delegates at
Washington last February:—Witness the following:—

"'Chicago Tribune' (Republican), Jan. 6th, 1866.

"The 'Tribune' concludes:—'The Canadians will soon discover that free trade and smuggling will not compensate them for the loss of the Reciprocity Treaty. They will stay out in the cold for a few years and try all sorts of expedients, but in the end will be constrained to knock for admission into the Great Republic. Potter was right when he predicted that the abrogation of the treaty would cause annexation.'

"(Mr. MORRILL, Chairman of Ways and Means, "Washington, Feb. 6th, 1866.)

"'Mr. GALT: We would not build those canals for our own trade alone. I think, indeed, it might well be considered whether it would not suit both parties to put this trade on a better footing. I am not authorized to make any proposition looking to this end, but my idea is that these waters might be neutralized with advantage to both.

"'Mr. MORRILL: That will have to be postponed until you, gentlemen, assume your seats here.'

"Mr. Derby coolly discusses the question as to whether concession or coercion will best succeed in inducing the British Provinces to 'come over,' and his recipe for all outstanding grievances is the following. He says, in his report of January 1st, 1866:—

"'And if as an inducement for this treaty and in settlement of Alabama claims we can obtain a cession of Vancouver's Island, or other territory, it will be a consummation most devoutly to be wished for.'

"Would our Government 'devoutly wish' such a consummation?

"Mr. O. S. Wood had to resign his position as manager of the Montreal Telegraph Company: that was done by public opinion in Canada. But Mr. Potter, who attends a meeting to enforce the annexation of a part of the Queen's dominions, by the consent of the Washington Government, is still Consul at Montreal.

"But what are these dominions which Mr. Potter would annex? Read what
Mr. Ward's Report of 1862 says:—

"'The great and practical value of the British North American Provinces and possessions is seldom appreciated. Stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, they contain an area of at least 3,478,380 square miles—more than is owned by the United States, and not much less than the whole of Europe, with its family of nations!

* * * * *

"'The climate and soil of these Provinces and possessions, seemingly less indulgent than those of tropical regions, are precisely those by which the skill, energy, and virtues of the human race are best developed. Nature there demands thought and labour from man as conditions of his existence, and yields abundant rewards to a wise industry.'

"Specially, as regards Canada; let us recapitulate her progress, as compared with that of her giant neighbour, the United States.

"During the interval between the last census and the preceding one (1850-1860), the decennial rate of increase of population in Canada exceeded that in the United States by nearly 51/2 per cent.—Canada adding 40.87 per cent. to her population in ten years, while the United States added only 35.58 per cent. to theirs. She brought her wild land into cultivation at a rate, in nine years, exceeding the rate of increase of cultivated lands in the United States in ten years by nearly 6 per cent.,—Canada in 1860 having added 50 acres of cultivated land to every 100 acres under cultivation in 1851, while the United States in 1860 had only added 14 acres to every 100 acres under cultivation in 1850. The value per cultivated acre of the farming lands in Canada in 1860 exceeded the value per cultivated acre of the farming lands of the United States—the average value per cultivated acre in Canada being $20.87 and in the United States $16.32. In Canada a larger capital was invested in agricultural implements, in proportion to the amount of land cultivated, than in the United States—the average value of agricultural implements used on a farm having 100 cultivated acres being in Canada $182 and in the United States $150. In proportion to population, Canada in 1860 raised twice as much wheat as the United States—Canada in that year raising 11.2 bushels for each inhabitant, while the United States raised only 5.50 bushels for each inhabitant. Bulking together eight leading staples of agriculture—wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, peas and bean, and potatoes,—Canada, between 1851 and 1860, increased her production of these articles from 57 millions to 123 millions of bushels—an increase; of 113 per cent.; while the United States in ten years, from 1850 to 1860, increased their productions of the same articles only 45 per cent. In 1860 Canada raised, of those articles, 49.12 bushels for each inhabitant, against a production in the United States of 43.42 bushels for each inhabitant. Excluding Indian corn from the list—Canada raised of the remaining articles 48.07 bushels for each inhabitant, almost three times the rate of production in the United States, which was 16.74 bushels for each inhabitant. And as regards live stock and their products, Canada in 1850, in proportion to her population, owned more horses and more cows, made more butter, kept more sheep, and had a greater yield of wool, than the United States.

"Our British Government having thus allowed the treaty to expire, and having thereby damped the energies of the colonies, and excited the hopes of the Protectionist and Annexationist parties in the States, what are we to do?

"In the first place, Parliament should express its condemnation of the failure of the executive; in the second, its desire for peace and fraternity with the United States; and in the third, its determination to stand by the Queen's dominions on the other side of the Atlantic. Language so just and so clear would lead to the inevitable result of renewed negociation. But who should negociate? The incapable, nonchalant people who have so signally perilled the interests of Great Britain,—or new and capable men? Or should the whole state of our relations with the United States be remitted to a plenipotentiary?

"What ought we to seek now to secure, in the interests of peace and civilization?

"1. A neutralization of the 3,000 miles of frontier, rendering fortifications needless.

"2. A continuance of the neutrality of the lakes and rivers bordering upon the two territories.

"3. Common navigation of the lakes and the outlets of the sea.

"4. An enlargement of canals and locks, to enable the food of the west to flow unimpeded and at the smallest cost direct in the same bottom to Europe, or any other part of the world.

"5. Neutrality of telegraphs and post routes between the Atlantic and Pacific, no matter on which territory they may traverse.

"6. A free interchange of untaxed, and an exchange, at internal revenue duty rate only, of taxed, commodities.

"7. The passage of goods in bond through the respective territories as heretofore.

"8. A common use of ports on both sides of the Continent."

It seems to me, now, in 1887, that this paper sums up a question of the past, now re-appearing in full prominence. It also sums up what ought to be done if civilization and friendship between English-speaking nations still exist.

[Endnote 1]

The Government of the United States being equally desirous with Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain to avoid further misunderstanding between their respective citizens and subjects in regard to the extent of the right of fishing on the coasts of British North America secured to each by Article I of a Convention between the United States and Great Britain, signed at London on the 20th day of October, 1818; and being also desirous to regulate the commerce and navigation between their respective territories and people, and more especially between Her Majesty's possessions in North America and the United States, in such manner as to render the same reciprocally beneficial and satisfactory, have respectively named Plenipotentiaries to confer and agree thereupon—that is to say, the President of the United States of America, William L. Marcy, Secretary of State of the United States; and Her Majesty, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, James, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, Lord Bruce and Elgin, a peer of the United Kingdom, knight of the most ancient and most noble Order of the Thistle, and Governor General in and over all Her Britannic Majesty's provinces on the continent of North America and in and over the island of Prince Edward—who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles:—

ART. I. It is agreed by the high contracting parties that, in addition to the liberty secured to the United States fishermen by the above- mentioned convention of October 20, 1818, of taking, curing, and drying fish on certain coasts of the British North American Colonies therein defined, the inhabitants of the United States shall have, in common with the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, the liberty to take fish of every kind, except shell-fish, on the sea-coasts and shores, and in the bays, harbours, and creeks of Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, and of the several islands thereunto adjacent, without being restricted to any distance from the shore; with permission to land upon the coasts and shores of those colonies and the islands thereof, and also upon the Magdalen Islands, for the purpose of drying their nets and curing their fish: provided that, in so doing, they do not interfere with the rights of private property or with British fishermen in the peaceable use of any part of the said coast in their occupancy for the same purpose.

It is understood that the above-mentioned liberty applies solely to the sea fishery, and that the salmon and shad fisheries, and all fisheries in rivers and the mouths of rivers, are hereby reserved exclusively for British fishermen.

And it is further agreed that, in order to prevent or settle any disputes as to the places to which the reservation of exclusive right to British fishermen contained in this article, and that of fishermen of the United States contained in the next succeeding article, apply, each of the high contracting parties, on the application of either to the other, shall, within six months thereafter, appoint a commissioner. The said commissioners, before proceeding to any business, shall make and subscribe a solemn declaration that they will impartially and carefully examine and decide, to the best of their judgment and according to justice and equity, without fear, favour, or affection to their own country, upon all such places as are intended to be reserved and excluded from the common liberty of fishing under this and the next succeeding article, and such declaration shall be entered on the record of their proceedings.

The commissioners shall name some third person to act as an arbitrator or umpire in any case or cases on which they may themselves differ in opinion. If they should not be able to agree upon the name of such third person, they shall each name a person, and it shall be determined by lot which of the two persons so named shall be the arbitrator or umpire in cases of difference or disagreement between the commissioners. The person so to be chosen to be arbitrator or umpire shall, before proceeding to act as such in any case, make and subscribe to a solemn declaration in a form similar to that which shall already have been made and subscribed by the commissioners, which shall be entered on the record of their proceedings. In the event of the death, absence, or incapacity of either of the commissioners, or of the arbitrator or umpire, or of their or his omitting, declining, or ceasing to act as such commissioner, arbitrator, or umpire, another and different person shall be appointed or named as aforesaid to act as such commissioner, arbitrator, or umpire in the place and stead of the person so originally appointed or named as aforesaid, and shall make and subscribe such declaration as aforesaid.

Such commissioners shall proceed to examine the coasts of the North American Provinces and of the United States embraced within the provisions of the first and second articles of this treaty, and shall designate the places reserved by the said articles from the common right of fishing therein.

The decision of the commissioners and of the arbitrator or umpire shall be given in writing in each case, and shall be signed by them respectively.

The high contracting parties hereby solemnly engage to consider the decision of the commissioners conjointly, or of the arbitrator or umpire, as the case may be, as absolutely final and conclusive in each case decided upon by them or him respectively.

ART. 2. It is agreed by the high contracting parties that British subjects shall have, in common with the citizens of the United States, the liberty to take fish of every kind, except shell-fish, on the eastern sea-coasts and shores of the United States north of the 36th parallel of north latitude, and on the shores of the several islands thereunto adjacent, and in the bays, harbours, and creeks, of the said sea-coasts and shores of the United States and of the said islands, without being restricted to any distance from the shore, with permission to land upon the said coasts of the United States and of the islands aforesaid for the purpose of drying their nets and curing their fish; provided that, in so doing, they do not interfere with the rights of private property, or with the fishermen of the United States in the peaceable use of any part of the said coasts in their occupancy for the same purpose.

It is understood that the above-mentioned liberty applies solely to the sea fishery, and that salmon and shad fisheries, and all fisheries in rivers and months of rivers, are hereby reserved exclusively for fishermen of the United States.

ART. 3. It is agreed that the articles enumerated in the schedule hereunto annexed, being the growth and produce of the aforesaid British Colonies or of the United States, shall be admitted into each, country respectively free of duty:—

SCHEDULE.

Grain, flour and breadstuffs of all kinds.
Animals of all kinds.
Fresh, smoked, and salted meats.
Cotton-wool, seeds, and vegetables.
Undried fruits, dried fruits.
Fish of all kinds.
Products of fish, and all other creatures living in the water.
Poultry, eggs.
Hides, furs, skins, or tails, undressed.
Stone or marble, in its crude or unwrought state.
Slate.
Butter, cheese, tallow.
Lard, horns, manures.
Ores of metals of all kinds.
Coal.
Pitch, tar, turpentine, ashes.
Timber and lumber of all kinds, round, hewed and sawed, unmanufactured,
in whole or in part.
Firewood.
Plants, shrubs, and trees.
Pelts, wool.
Fish oil.
Rice, broom-corn, and bark.
Gypsum, ground or unground.
Hewn or wrought or unwrought burr or grindstones.
Dye-stuffs.
Flax, hemp, and tow, unmanufactured.
Unmanufactured tobacco.
Rags.

ART. 4. It is agreed that the citizens and inhabitants of the United States shall have the right to navigate the river St. Lawrence, and the canals in Canada, used as the means of communicating between the great lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, with their vessels, boats, and crafts, as fully and freely as the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, subject only to the same tolls and other assessments as now are or may hereafter be exacted of Her Majesty's said subjects; it being understood, however, that the British Government retains the right of suspending this privilege on giving due notice thereof to the Government of the United States.

It is further agreed that, if at any time the British Government should exercise the said reserved right, the Government of the United States shall have the right of suspending, if it think fit, the operation of article three of the present treaty, in so far as the Province of Canada is affected thereby, for so long as the suspension of the free navigation of the river St. Lawrence or the canals may continue.

It is further agreed that British subjects shall have the right freely to navigate Lake Michigan with their vessels, boats, and crafts, so long as the privilege of navigating the river St. Lawrence, secured to American citizens by the above clause of the present article, shall continue; and the Government of the United States further engages to urge upon the State Governments to secure to the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty the use of the several State canals on terms of equality with the inhabitants of the United States.

And it is further agreed that no export duty or other duty shall be levied on lumber or timber of any kind cut on that portion of the American territory in the State of Maine watered by the river St. John and its tributaries, and floated down that river to the sea, when the same is shipped to the United States from the Province of New Brunswick.

ART. 5. The present treaty shall take effect as soon as the laws required to carry it into operation shall have been passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and by the Provincial Parliaments of those of the British North American Colonies which are affected by this treaty on the one hand, and by the Congress of the United States on the other. Such assent having been given, the treaty shall remain in force for ten years from the date at which it may come into operation, and further, until the expiration of twelve months after either of the high contracting parties shall give notice to the other of its wish to terminate the same; each of the high contracting parties being at liberty to give such notice to the other at the end of the said term of ten years, or at any time afterwards:

It is clearly understood, however, that this stipulation is not intended to affect the reservation made by article four of the present treaty, with regard to the right of temporarily suspending the operation of articles three and four thereof.

ART. 6. And it is further hereby agreed that the provisions and stipulations of the foregoing articles shall extend to the Island of Newfoundland, so far as they are applicable to that colony. But if the Imperial Parliament, the Provincial Parliament of Newfoundland, or the Congress of the United States shall not embrace in their laws, enacted for carrying this treaty into effect, the Colony of Newfoundland, then this article shall be of no effect; but the omission to make provision by law to give it effect, by either of the legislative bodies aforesaid, shall not in any way impair the remaining articles of this treaty.

ART. 7. The present treaty shall be duly ratified and the mutual exchange of ratifications shall take place in Washington within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible.

In faith whereof we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty, and have hereunto affixed our seals.

Done in triplicate at Washington, the fifth day of June, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.

W. L. MARCY. [L.S.] ELGIN AND KINCARDINE. [L.S.]

[Endnote 2:]

Act cap. 71 [Dunlop's Laws of the United States, Federal], passed March 3rd, 1845, page 1075.

"SEC. 7. That any imported merchandize which has been entered, and the duties paid or secured according to law, for drawback, may be exported to the British North American Provinces, adjoining the United States; and the ports of Plattsburg, in the District of Champlain; Burlington, in the District of Vermont; Sackett's Harbour, Oswego, and Ogdensburg, in the District of Oswegatchie; Rochester, in the District of Genesee; Buffalo and Erie, in the District of Prequ'isle; Cleveland, in the District of Cuyahoga; Sandusky and Detroit, together with such ports on the seaboard from which merchandize may now be exported for the benefit of drawback, are hereby declared ports from whence foreign goods, wares and merchandize on which the import has been paid or secured to be paid, may be exported to ports in the adjoining British Provinces, and to which ports foreign goods, wares, and merchandize may be transported inland, or by water from the port of original importation, under existing provisions of law, to be thence exported for benefit of drawback. Provided, that such other ports situated on the frontiers of the United Sates, adjoining the British North American Provinces, as may hereafter be found expedient, may have extended to them the like privileges on the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury, and proclamation duly made by the President of the United States, specially designating the ports to which the aforesaid privileges are to be extended."

NOTE—Several other ports have since been proclaimed, viz., Whitehall,
Lewiston, and others.

"SEC. 11. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby further authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the laws of the United States, as he may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Act, and to prevent the illegal re- importation of any goods, wares, or merchandize which shall have been exported as herein provided; and that all Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be, and the same are hereby repealed."

See, also, Warehousing Act of United States Congress, chapter 48, Dunlop's United States Statutes, page 1106, passed 6th August, 1846, in which it is enacted as follows:—

"And in case the owner, importer, consignee or agent of any goods on which the duties have not been paid shall give to the collector satisfactory security that the said goods shall be landed out of the jurisdiction of the United States in the manner now required by existing laws relating to exportations, for the benefit of drawback, the collector, &c., on an entry to re-export the same shall, upon payment of the appropriate expenses, permit the said goods, under the inspection of the proper officers, to be shipped without the payment of any duties thereon," &c.