of State, dated

LONDON, October 5, 1816. Lord Castlereagh left London this week upon a visit to Ireland. Previous to his departure I received from him a letter, of which a copy is here with enclosed. Although the absence of several of the Cabinet Ministers is alleged as the motive for postponing the answer to my note of the 17th September, and although his Lordship promises to lay the subject suggested in it before his colleagues immediately after his return, there is no reason to expect that any departure from the policy already determined upon will take place. It is probable that you will receive this despatch about the time of the meeting of Congress. Any measures in the spirit, and with the object of those proposed at the last session, and then postponed, may be now adopted without hesitation. My own entire conviction is, that the operation of such measures, will be the only possible means of convincing this Government of the expediency of relaxing from the rigor of their exclusive colonial system. It is, and uniformly has been, my opinion, that the result of the equalization of duties will be to the advantage of Great Britain, and to our disadvantage. But the principle was sanctioned by an act of Congress before the convention of 3d July, 1815, was negotiated. The benefit of the convention to us, if any, is in the India trade; but as its duration is to be so short, the only chance of having it renewed, at the end of its four years, with additional articles of more liberality, will be effective counteracting regulations in respect to the commerce with the British colonies in the West Indies.

Lord Castlereagh to Mr. Adams, dated

Foreign OFFICE, Sept. 28, 1816. SIR: I very much regret that the absence from London at this season of the year of several of the Prince Regent's Ministers will preclude me from returning as early an answer to your note of the 17th as I should wish, under the sense I entertain of the great importance of the several objects to which it invites the attention of this Government.

I have myself obtained the permission of the Prince Regent to make a short excursion to Ireland on my private affairs, but I shall certainly return to London by the middle of November, and shall lose no time, as soon after that period as my colleagues shall be reassembled, to bring the various objects referred to in your note under their deliberation.

I request you will accept the assurances of the high consideration with which I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient, humble servant.

Extract of a letter from Mr. Adams to the Secretary of State, dated

LONDON, December 24, 1816. Yesterday morning I received a note from Lord Castlereagh requesting me to call upon him; and

for a few days, he had sent for me to say that he had not forgotten his promise to me before his departure for Ireland; that the proposal in my note of 27th September for a commercial negotiation should be considered immediately after his return; that two cabinet councils had already been held on the subject, and, as soon as the objects could be sufficiently matured for the proper authority to be given to him to treat. I should hear from him again. It would seem from this, as if the proposal would be so far accepted as to enter upon a negotiation; but I beg leave to point your attention to an article in the Courier of last evening, stating the proceeding in the island of Dominica, after the late hurricane, including a letter from Earl Bathurst, dated the 28th of September last, and an advertisement from the Victualling Office, for a supply of flour, to be delivered at several of the West India islands, from the United States; both in the same paper.

Mr. Monroe to Mr. Adams.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Feb. 5, 1817. SIR: I have the honor to forward to you, herewith, a copy of my correspondence with Mr. Bagot, in relation to the fisheries on the coast of Labrador, &c.; from which you will perceive that our negotiation on that interesting subject has not had the desired result.

Mr. Bagot professes, on the part of his Government, the most conciliatory disposition in regard to this affair, and it is yet to be hoped that it may be satisfactorily settled. With this view, the President intends to renew the nego tiation as soon as he can obtain the information necessary to enable him to decide what arrangement would be best calculated to reconcile the interests of both parties, which he hopes to do in the course of a few months. In the mean time, he expects that no measures will be taken by the British Government to alter the existing state of things, and that it will be in your power to obtain the renewal of the order to the naval officer commanding on that station not to interrupt or disturb our fishermen during the approaching

season.

You will see the importance of an early attention to this subject, as the fishing season is fast approaching. I have the honor to be, &c. JAMES MONROE.

Mr. Bagot to Mr. Monroe.

WASHINGTON, November 27, 1816. SIR: In the conversation which I had with you a few days ago, upon the subject of the negotiation into which the British Government is willing to enter, for the purpose of affording to the citizens of the United States such accommodation for their fishery, within the British jurisdic tion, as may be consistent with the proper administration of His Majesty's dominions, you appeared to apprehend that neither of the propositions which I had the honor to make to you

upon this subject would be considered as affording in a sufficient degree the advantages which were deemed requisite.

In order that I may not fail to make the exact nature of these propositions clearly understood, and that I may fully explain the considerations by which they have been suggested, it may perhaps be desirable that I should bring under one view the substance of what I have already had the honor of stating to you in the several conferences which we have held upon this business. It is not necessary for me to advert to the discussion which has taken place between Earl Bathurst and Mr. Adams. In the correspondence which has passed between them, you will have already seen, in the notes of the former, a full exposition of the grounds upon which the liberty of drying and fishing within the British limits, as granted to the citizens of the United States by the treaty of 1783, was considered to have ceased with the war, and not to have been revived by the late treaty of peace.

You will also have seen therein detailed the serious considerations affecting not only the prosperity of the British fishery, but the general interests of the British dominions, in matters of revenue as well as government, which made it incumbent upon His Majesty's Government to oppose the renewal of so extensive and injurious a concession, within the British sovereignty, to a foreign State, founded upon no principle of reciprocity or adequate compensation whatever. It has not been thought necessary to furnish me with additional argument upon this point. I therefore confine myself, upon the present occasion, to a brief repetition of what I have already, at different periods, had the honor to submit to your consideration upon the subject of an arrangement by which it is hoped practically to reconcile the different views of our respective Governments.

It will be in your recollection that, early in the month of July last, I had the honor to acquaint you that I had received instructions from my Government to assure you that, although it had been felt necessary to resist the claim which had been advanced by Mr. Adams, the determination had not been taken in any unfriendly feeling towards America, or with any illiberal wish to deprive her subjects of adequate means of engaging in the fisheries; but that, on the contrary, many of the considerations which had been urged by Mr. Adams, on behalf of the American citizens formerly engaged in this occupation, had operated so forcibly in favor of granting to them such a concession as might be consistent with the just rights and interests of Great Britain, that I had been furnished with full powers from His Royal Highness the Prince Regent to conclude an arrangement upon the subject, which it was hoped might at once offer to the United States a pledge of His Royal Highness's good will, and afford to them a reasonable participation of those benefits of which they had formerly the enjoy

ment.

It being the object of the American Govern

ment, that, in addition to the right of fishery, as declared by the first branch of the fourth article of the treaty of 1783 permanently to belong to the citizens of the United States, they should also enjoy the privilege of having an adequate accommodation, both in point of harbors and drying ground, on the unsettled coasts within the British sovereignty, I had the honor to propose to you that that part of the southern coast of Labrador which extends from Mount Joli, opposite the eastern end of the island of Anticosti, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to the bay and isles Esquimaux, near the western entrance of the straits of Belleisle, should be allotted for this purpose; it being distinctly agreed that the fishermen should confine themselves to the unsettled parts of the coast, and that all pretensions to fish or dry within the maritime limits, or on any other of the coasts of British North America, should be abandoned.

Upon learning from you, some weeks afterwards, that, from the information which you had received upon the subject of this coast, you were apprehensive that it would not afford, in a sufficient degree, the advantages required, I did not delay to acquaint you that I was authorized to offer another portion of coast, which it was certainly not so convenient to the British Government to assign, but which they would nevertheless be willing to assign, and which, from its natural and local advantages, could not fail to afford every accommodation of which the American fishermen could stand in need. I had then the honor to propose to you as an alternative, that, under similar conditions, they should be admitted to that portion of the southern coast of NewfoundInnd which extends from Cape Ray eastward to the Ramea islands, or to about the longitude of 57° west of Greenwich.

The advantages of this portion of coast are accurately known to the British Government; and, in consenting to assign it to the uses of the American fishermen, it was certainly conceived that an accommodation was afforded as ample as it was possible to concede, without abandoning that control within the entire of His Majesty's own harbors and coasts which the essential interests of His Majesty's dominions required. That it should entirely satisfy the wishes of those who have for many years enjoyed, without restraint, the privilege of using for similar purposes all the unsettled coasts of Nova Scotia and Labrador, is not to be expected; but, in estimating the value of the proposal, the American Government will not fail to recollect that it is offered without any equivalent, and notwithstanding the footing upon which the navigation of the Mississippi has been left by the Treaty of Ghent, and the recent regulations by which the subjects of His Majesty have been deprived of the privileges, which they so long enjoyed, of trading with the Indian na tions within the territory of the United States. I have the honor to be, &c.

CHARLES BAGOT.

Hon. JAMES MONROE, Secretary of State.

find, as His Royal Highness confidently believes that they will find, ample means of continuing to pursue their occupation with the convenience and advantage which they desire.

I have the honor to be, &c.

CHARLES BAGOT.

The Secretary of State to Mr. Bagot.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Jan. 7, 1817. SIR: I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 31st of December, proposing an accommodation of the difference between our Governments relative to the fisheries, comprised in the first branch of the fourth article of the treaty of 1783, by the allotment of both the coasts comprised in your former propositions.

Having stated, in my letter of the 30th of December, that, according to the best information which I had been able to obtain, neither of those coasts had been much frequented by our fishermen, or was likely to be so in future, I am led to believe that they would not, when taken conjointly, as proposed in your last letter, afford the accommodation which is so important to them, and which it is very satisfactory to find it is the desire of your Government that they should posFrom the disposition manifested by your Government, which corresponds with that of the United States, a strong hope is entertained that further inquiry into the subject will enable His Royal Highness the Prince Regent to ascertain that an arrangement, on a scale more accommodating to the expectation of the United States, will not be inconsistent with the interest of Great Britain.

sess.

In the meantime, this Government will persevere in its measures for obtaining such further information as will enable it to meet yours in the conciliatory views which are cherished on both

sides. I have the honor to be, &c.

Hon. CHARLES BAGOT.

JAMES MONROE.

Mr. Adams to the Secretary of State, dated

LONDON, March 20, 1817.

SIR: The day before yesterday I had an interview with Lord Castlereagh, when he informed me that the British Government had come to a determination respecting the commercial part of the proposals for the negotiation of a further treaty, which I had made last September; that they were still not prepared to abandon their ancient colonial system, but they were willing to extend to the United States the benefits of the free port act to the same extent that they were now enjoyed by the vessels of European nations, and to give a partial admission of our vessels to the island of Bermuda and to Turk's Island. And, with regard to the intercourse between the United States and the adjoining British provinces, they would renew a proposal heretofore made, founded altogether upon the principle of reciprocity; which proposal he read to me from a paper

which he said was not quite finished, but which would be sent to me in the course of the next day. Last evening I received a note from Mr. Hamilton, the Under Secretary of State in the Foreign Department, with a draught of four articles, a copy of which, hastily made, I now enclose, as Mr. Everett leaves town this morning. The part read to me by Lord Castlereagh was the fourth article, excepting the last paragraph.

I do not think it possible to make anything out of these articles to which I can, under my present instructions, agree. I therefore enclose copies of them, with the request of immediate further instructions. Lord Castlereagh informed me that they had received information that the act of Congress prohibiting the clearance of foreign vessels for ports to which vessels of the United States are not admitted had passed; and he repeated the assurance that this Government considered it as perfectly proper, and as giving them no cause of complaint or dissatisfaction. It seems to me, however, that the very slight and partial concessions in the enclosed articles are intended to counteract its effects; and this opinion contributes to caution me against subscribing to them without your further orders. Lord Castlereagh's offer is to make them supplementary to the convention of July 3, 1815, and to be in force for the same time.

I am, with great respect, &c.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

ART. 1. His Britannic Majesty consents to extend to the United States the provisions of the free port act, as established by the 45th George III, c. 57, (except as far as relates to negro slaves, which, under the abolition acts, can no longer be lawfully exported from any British possessions to any foreign country;) that is to say, that any sloop, schooner, or other vessel whatever, not having more than one deck, and being owned and navigated by subjects of the United States, may import into any of the free ports in His Majesty's possessions in the West Indies, from the United States, any of the articles enumerated in the above act, being of the growth or production of the United States, and any coin, bullion, diamonds, and precious stones; and the said articles being of the growth or production of the United States, and also all other articles imported into the said free ports, by virtue of this convention, from the United States, shall be subject, in all respects, to the same rules, regulations, and restrictions, and shall enjoy the same advantages as to re-exportation, as are now applied to similar articles when imported by authority of the said act from any other foreign country, and reexported from the said possessions of His Maesty. His Britannic Majesty further consents, that any vessel of the United States, as above described, may export from any of the said ports to the United States, rum, of the produce of any British colony or possession, and also all manner of goods, wares, or merchandise, which shall have been legally imported into those possessions of His Majesty in which the said free ports are

established, except masts, yards, or bowsprits, pitch, tar, and turpentine, and also except such iron as shall have been brought from the British colonies or plantations in America.

And whereas, by an act passed in the 48th year of His Majesty's reign, cap. 125, rice, grain, and flour, are added to the articles previously allowed to be imported into the said free ports, it is agreed that those articles may be imported from the United States into the said free ports, in vessels of the United States, as above described; and it is agreed, on the part of the Uni- | ted States, that any facilities granted in consequence of this convention to American vessels, in His Majesty's said colonies and possessions, shall be reciprocally granted, in the ports of the United States, to British vessels of a similar description engaged in the intercourse so allowed to be carried on; and that if, at any future period, during the continuance of this convention, His Britannic Majesty should think fit to grant any further facilities to vessels of the United States in the said colonies and possessions, British vessels trading between the said colonies and possessions and the United States shall enjoy in the ports of the latter equal and reciprocal advantages.

It is further agreed, that articles imported into the said free ports of the United States, by virtue of this convention, shall pay the same duties as are or may be payable upon similar articles when imported into the said free ports from any foreign country. And the same rule shall be observed on the part of the United States, in regard to all duties chargeable upon all such articles as may, by virtue of this convention, be exported from the said free ports to the United States. But His Britannic Majesty reserves to himself the right to impose higher duties upon all articles so allowed to be imported into the said free ports from the United States, or from any other foreign country, than are or may be chargeable upon all similar articles when imported from any of His Majesty's possessions.

ART. 2. His Britannic Majesty engages to allow the vessels of the United States to import into the island of Bermuda the following articles, to wit: tobacco, pitch, tar, turpentine, hemp, flax, masts, yards, bowsprits, staves, heading boards, and plank, timber, shingles, and lumber of any sort; bread, biscuit, flour, peas, beans, potatoes, wheat, rice, oats, barley, and grain of any sort; such commodities being the growth or production of the territories belonging to the United States of America; and to export from the said island to the United States, in vessels of the said States, any goods or commodities whatsoever, which are now by law allowed to be exported from His Majesty's colonies and possessions in the West Indies to any foreign country or place in Europe; and also sugar, molasses, coffee, cocoanuts, ginger, and pimento; and also all goods, the growth, produce, or manufacture of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, upon the same terms, and subject to the same duties only as would affect similar articles when imported

from the United States into Bermuda, or exported from Bermuda to the United States, in British ships. And it is agreed, on the part of the United States, that a similar equality shall prevail, in the ports of the said States, with regard to all British vessels trading in similar articles between the United States and the island of Bermuda.

ART. 3. It is agreed that vessels of the United States may resort to Turk's Island for the purpose of taking in cargoes of salt for the United States; and that the vessels so resorting to the said islands shall be allowed to import tobacco and cotton wool, the produce of the said United States, upon the same terms, and subject to the same duties, as British ships when engaged in a similar intercourse. It is agreed, on the part of the United States, that a similar equality shall prevail in the ports of the said States, with regard to all British vessels trading in the same articles between the United States and the said Turk's Island.

ART. 4. It is agreed that the navigation of all lakes, rivers, and water communications, the middle of which is, or may be, the boundary between His Britannic Majesty's territories on the continent of North America and the United States, shall, with the exception hereinafter mentioned, at all times be free to His Majesty's vessels and those of the citizens of the United States. The inhabitants of His Britannic Majesty's territories in North America, and the citizens and subjects of the United States, may freely carry on trade and commerce, by land or inland navigation, as aforesaid, in goods and merchandise the growth, produce, or manufacture, of the British territories in Europe or elsewhere, or of the United States, respectively, on the said continent, (the countries within the limits of the Hudson's Bay Company only excepted ;) and no other or higher duties, or tolls, or rates of carriage or portage, than which are, or shall be, payable by natives, respectively, shall be taken or demanded on either side. All goods or merchandise, whose importation into the United States shall not be wholly prohibited, may freely, for the purposes of commerce above mentioned, be carried into the said United States, in the manner aforesaid, by His Britannic Majesty's subjects; and such goods or merchandise shall be subject to no other or higher duties than would be payable by citizens of the United States on the importation of the same in American vessels into the Atlantic ports of the United States; and, in like manner, all goods and merchandise the growth, produce, or manufacture, of the United States, whose importation into His Majesty's said territories in America shall not be entirely prohibited, may freely, for the purposes of the commerce above mentioned, be carried into the same by land, or by means of such lakes, rivers, and water communications, as above mentioned, by the citizens of the United States; and such goods and merchandise shall be subject to no other or higher duties than would be payable by His Majesty's subjects on the importation of the same from Europe into the said territories.

No duty shall be levied, by either party, on