of the United States the right to fish on that part of the southern coast of Newfoundland extending from Cape Ray to the Rameau Islands, on the western coast of Newfoundland from Cape Ray to the Quirpon Islands, on the shores of the Magdalen Islands, and on the coasts of Labrador, from Mount Joly to and through the Straits of Belle Isle, and northwardly, with the liberty to cure fish in the unsettled bays and creeks, as before enjoyed under the treaty of 1783, etc.
By this Convention the boundary question was so far settled as that a line drawn along the forty-ninth parallel, from the Lake of the Woods to the "Stony Mountains," was agreed upon as the demarcation between the territory of the United States and that of Great Britain. As to the territory beyond the Stony Mountains, concerning which the two powers held very contrary opinions, that was left for future consideration, and, by the terms of the Convention, was to remain free and open to either nation, without prejudice to the claims of their respective governments, for a period of ten years. No better understanding being arrived at during that period, this Convention was renewed, so far as the north-western boundary was concerned, until its final abrogation, and the treaty of 1846, by which the present limits were definitely fixed.
But to return to the proceedings of the Commissioners appointed to settle the boundary between the St. Lawrence and the sea. Great Britain, having made up her mind to secure every possible advantage, and the United States being equally bent upon not yielding one or two important points, which, according to the original survey could justly be claimed, Mr. Gallatin, writing to Mr. Clay, Secretary of State, in 1827, says:
"The only differences in the two constructions consists in that tract of land of about three hundred thousand acres, lying west of the north line (in the State of Maine). which is drained by the waters falling into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Both constructions are admissible, and consistent with the spirit of the treaty of 1783, the better of which it is impossible to fulfill."
The difficulties experienced by the Commissioners arose from the wording of the treaty of 1783, which specified, as a part of the line, the ridge dividing the waters falling into the St. Lawrence from those falling into the Atlantic Ocean. Now, the only way by which an approximate compliance with the intent of the treaty could he arrived at was by assuming that the River St. John emptied into the ocean, though really it fell into the Bay of Fundy. The north line, which was to proceed in a straight course to the highlands before mentioned, crossed the head-waters of rivers running into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, instead of the ocean; and, in short, Mr. Gallatin said, not a single point could be found on the line, that, according to the words of the treaty, was on the highlands dividing the waters of the St. Lawrence from those falling into the Atlantic. The only ridge that would come within the meaning of the treaty was one between the streams that fell into the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but the treaty said nothing about the gulf. Other questions might arise, on attempting to compromise, with the States of Maine and Massachusetts and the Legislature of New Brunswick.
Not being able to come to any agreement, the Commissioners made their reports accordingly, and, after much careful negotiation, the matter was at length submitted by Mr. Gallatin and the English Commissioners, Charles Grant and Henry Unwin Addington, to William, King of the Netherlands, who on the tenth of January, 1831, made his award. But neither party being satisfied with the result of the arbitration, it was mutually rejected, and the matter relapsed to its former condition of doubt.
In all these years that the boundary question had been unsettled at both ends of the line across the continent, the United States had been growing in importance and strength, and were better able to insist upon terms than at the commencement of the controversy. Realizing this fact, Great Britain, while maintaining friendly relations, was sensitive to, and dissatisfied with, the attitude assumed by our plenipotentiaries regarding our pretensions on the Pacific Coast, avoiding a final issue, and depending upon some happy chance to secure the coveted prize of the Oregon territory.
But neither Government was willing longer to postpone the adjustment of the north—eastern boundary, when, in 1842, fifty-eight years after the independence of the United States, Lord Ashburton was sent on a special mission to the United States to prevent a possible war with this country, which was threatened on account of troubles between the two countries, growing out of the boundary question not only, but also out of some affairs of navigation, and the claim to the right of search of American vessels on the coast of Africa, which had long been a bone of contention. So serious were the questions to be considered, and so difficult of arrangement, that it was agreed between Lord Ashburton and Mr. Webster (who, though chosen Secretary of State by General Harrison, had been solicited to remain in the Cabinet under Mr. Tyler, and did so remain for one
