TSft; ,™ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) III 1.1 11.25 ■ii|21 115 £ 1^ |2.0 UUil V ;. / Hiotographic Sciences Corporation '.^»^ ^ '■(i"^ TINUED"). or tho symbol IT (moaning "END"), whichavar appiiaa. L'axampiaira fiimA fut raproduit grica k la ginAroaitA da: HtKM Branmvick MuNum Saint John Las imagas suh^antas ont 4t« raproduitas avac la plus grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da l'axampiaira film*, at an conformity avac laa conditions du eontrat da fllmaga. Laa axamplairaa originawx dont la couvartura m* papiar aat imprim^a sont fiimis an comman^nt par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la daftiMra paga qui comports una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration. soit par la sacond plat, salon la caa. Toua laa autraa axamplairaa origlnaux sont fHmte an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration at w tarminant par la damlAra paga qui comporta una taUa amprainta. Un daa symboiaa suivanta spparattra sur la damiAra imaga da chaqua microfiche, salon la caa: la symbols — ^ signifia "A 8UIVRE". la aymbolo ▼ signifia "FIN". Mapa, piataa, charts, ate., may be fllmad at different reduction ratioe. Thoao too large to be entirely included in one expoeure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hand comer, hrft to right and top to bottom, aa many framee ee required. The following diegrema illuatrate the method: Lee cartee, planchee. taMeoux. etc.. pauvent *tra filmie A dee taux da riduction diff Arants. Loraqua la document eat trap grand pour Atra reproduit en un soul cllchA. il est fUmA A pertir do I'angie supArieur geuche, do geuche A droite. et do heut en bee. en prenent le nombre d'imeges nAcesseire. Lee diegrsmmes suivents illuatrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 M • V t^.J itlBM, [ Doc. No. 31. ] V» lJ[o. oi- Rem. — « ' > 'i'i •go ,iV> »'■*' NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY. 4 v^ ^.rf ^ ^^t '««r^ MESSAGE IBOK THIS PBESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. TRALSKITTISO 7%e it^ormation required by the resolution of the House of th^lXUh instantj upon the suiyect of the Northeastern Boundary of the United , States. , s ^ •> P Seft£Mbeu2G, 1837. Read, and laid upon the table. To the House of Rqnre^ntatives qf the United States : I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary of State, accompanied by copies of the correspondence requested by tlieir resolution of tlie ISth instant. , M. VAN BUREN. WashinotoNi September 26, 1837. , "^ Defabtmbrt o» State, ff'ashington, Septembo' 25, 1BS7, Tlie Secretary of Sta*e, to whom was roferred tlie resolution of the Hoom of ReprescntativcH dated the 13th instant, requesting the President to communicate to that body, «so far as the public interest will jiermit, the correspondence between the Governmvnt of tlie United States and that of Great Britain, relating to the Nor^eastern boundary of the United States ■ittce the message of the late President to the Senile of the United States of the 13th of June, 1836, and all the correspondence which has taken pluce since that period between the Government of the United States and the Governor of the State of Maine, on tlie subject of alleged aggressions upon tlio righti of Maine by the British autli()nlici<,"has the honor respect- fully to nubitiit to the Prc«ldcnt copies «f the letters and documents re- quenled \^y that resolution. ■ ^ JOHN FORSYTH. Thomas Allen, print. , * ir^* i'^Wm H m .^^M n^H WIM Wk^ . t -^3 ^^mKi RrIP ^tm ^UP ^^^w m. 'j^m H|H WK? i M ^f^l Sp' i it IH mi 41a r ■,,', .s i Great Britain ; and the history of this protracted controversy, from its commencement to the present time, is such as to awaken general anxiety. We are admonished, by recent events, that we have not yet reached the termination of our toils and embarrassments ; and they have awakened the painful apprehension that our just rights may not be secured by honorable negotiation or patient submission to unprovoked injuries. These consid- erations, in the opinion of your committee, call loudly for the interposition of the General Government, and require at their hands all needful prepar- ation for possible contingencies. The late Goremor Lincoln, nearly ten years since, called the attention of the Government to the importance of erecting a strong fortification in some eligible position on the confines of that portion of our territory to which an adverse claim is set up by Great .^i ^ -»A i»S5jpi|5;i" l " ^ II M I ..._- H. ■*; 4 f Doc. No. 31. 1 Britain. In the opinion of yunr committee, the subject has lost none of its interest since that period, but on the contrary, the events to whiph we have alluded give to it vastly augmented importance ; and, to our view, irrespective of any conditions growing out of the present controversy, a strong fortification upon the Northeastern boundary of the United States, situated far in the interior, and upon the confines of a foreign country, and surrounded by millions of acres of fertile land, destined soon to be peopled with a numerous population of hardy yeomanry, is of high importance. Our isolated situation, being the Northeastern boundary of the nation, with an interior frontier of upwards of six hundred miles upon a foreign country, and a large proportion of our territory lying between two prov- inces of Great Britain, and so situated as to render it greatly to the ad- Tantage of that nation to possess it ; the inflexible determination which she manifests to pursue the course which interest dictates should not be for- gotten. The extent of our seacoast, the exposed situation of our seaport towns, lying within a few hours* sail of the British naval depot in the neighborhood of Maine, the disastrous consequences of our defenceless situation during the last war, the great and increasing maritime interests which we have at staice, without one single point where a ship, if depend- ent upon the United States fortifications, would be safe from the attacks of a frigate : these, and the consideration that little comparatively has yet been done for Maine, seem to our view to constitute irresistible reasons why Maine should no longer be forgotten or neglected in the common defence of the country, Through all the long>protracted struggles, difficulties, and embarrass- ments of our infant republic, this portion of our Union has never been ur- gent or importunate in pressing its claims, but has submitted patiently to the force of circumstances which rendered it necessary to defer tliem. But, in the present altered condition of the country ; the national debt paid oif ; at a season of universal peace and unexampled proEperity ; with an overburdened treasury, and when it is deemed necessary, to dispose of it, to resort to measures which many eminent statesmen consider unwar- ranted by the constitution, and which a great portion of the people of the Union consider of doubtful policy : at such a period, and under such cir- cumstances, it is difficult to norceive the justice of longer withholding suit- able appropriations for the oefence of Maine ; and, to our view, they cao only be withheld by doing violence to the principles of equal rights, and by neglecting a plain constitutional duty. Your committee therefore submit the following resolutions. STEPHEN C. FOSTER, Chcdrmm; STATE OF MAINE. Resolve relating to the fortification qf frontier States. Resolved, That tlie obligation of the Federal Government, under the constitution, when it has the means, to erect suitable fortifications for the defence of the frontier of the States, in a practical duty, not justly to be denied, evaded, neglected, or delayed. Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be instructed and our Repre^ ^itf' ,/^ A'^***^' '^1- [ Doc. No. 31. ] sentatires requested to use tlieir influence to obtain liberal appropriations for tbd defence of Maine and the Union. Besolvedf That the Governor be requested to tranimit copies of the above report and resolutions to the President and Vice President, the Sec- retaries of> State, Navy, and War, and to each of our Senators and Rep- resentatives in Congress. In the House of Representatives, March SO, 18S7« '■.'^■^ ''. Read and passed. H. IIAMLIN, Speaker. In Senate, March 30, 1837. ' ,- 'af' Read and passed. "'\ ;V J. C. TALBOT, President. ^arch 30, 1837. Approved : . • i-: ROBERT P. DUNLAP. . 8 k [ Doc. No. 31. ] if . r:,' If'' Nova Scotia. Tbis, in 1755 — 6, was matter of controversy between Franco and England, tbe French claiming that it was Tar south, and the British strenuously contending that liicse very highlands wera even more north than we have endeavored to fix them. The controversy resulted in a war, which, after the capture of Quebec, was terminated by the peace of 1763, whereby Great Britain obtained both sides of the line, and slie then established the north line of Nova Scotia about wiiere we contend it sliould be. So far from admitting that a due north line from the monument will not intersect the highlands intended by the treaty of 1783, the State of Maine has always insisted, and still insists, that no known obstacle exists to the ascertaining and accurately defining them, and thus establishing the terminus a quo, to wit, the northwest angle of A'ova Scotia. It would seem strange indeed, that as this line, so fully discussed and controverted between the English and French in 1755 — 6, should have been left unsettled still, when both provinces became British. It is impossible to imagine such ignorance of so important a point as this northwest angle, so often referred to, and spoken of, as a notorious monu- ment. The peace of 1783 was considered by Great Britain as a grant by metes and bounds. The boundaries were prescribed, and this northwest angle was the commencement. Twenty years only before this (1763) Nova Scotia bad been organized as a distinct province, then including what are now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and this angle was referred to as a boundary without hesitancy or doubt. Indeed, tbe treaty itself, as if to make assurance doubly sure, fixed it where a due north line from the source of the St. Croix will intersect those highlands which divide the rivers which flow into the river St. Lawrence from those which flow into the Atlantic ocean. Tbis source of the St. Croix has been determined and a monument fixed there by the commissioners, under the 5th article of the treaty of 1795, (Jay's.) Now the assumption that the north line from this monument will intersect or meet no such highlands is entirely gratuitous. The treaty does not speak of mountains nor even hills, but of *« high- lands" that divide rivers flowing diBferent ways. It was well known that rivers did fall into the St. Lawrence and into the Atlantic ; tliat these rivers would run down and not up, and it was consequently inferred that tbe land from whence these rivers flowed must of necessity be high, and unless there are to be found in that region geological phenomena which exist no where else on the face of the globe, this inference is irrisistible. The truth is that these highlands have been known and well understood by the British themselves, ever since the grant of James the First to Sir William Alexander, in 1621. The portion of the boundary there given, which relates to this controversy, is from the western spring-head of the St. Croix, by an imaginary line conceived to run through the land north- ward to the next road of Ship's river or spring, discharging itself into the great river of Canada, and |)roccedlng thence eastward along the shores of the sea of the said river of Canada, to the road, haven, or shore, com- monly called Gaspedi — (Gaspc.) The cession of Canada by Franco made it necessary to define the limits of the province of Quebec, and accordingly his Britannic Majesty, by his proclamation of 7th October, 1763, is thus explicit as to what aRccts this question: <' Passing aIon{ the highlands which divide the rivers that ,"^S.. *» „ ..-.'-*»' J Doc. No. 3i. ] d empty themselves into the said river St. Lawrence from those which fall into hie sea, and also along the north coaat of the bay de Chaleurs and the coast of tiie gulfottho St. Lawrence to Cape Hosiers,'* &c. The act of Parliament of the 14th George IIL (1774,) defines thus the south line of Canada : <' South, by a line irom the bay de Clialeurs along the higiilands which divide the rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which flow into the sea." The north line of the grant to Alexander is from tiic source of the St. Croix to the spring- head or source of some river or stream which falls into the river St. Law- rence, and thence essttvard to Gaspe bay, which communicates with the gulf of St. Lawrence in lat. 49 deg. SO min.> and would make nearly an east and west line. The proclamation of 1763 defines the south line of the province of Quebec as passing along the highlands which divide the rivers that fall into the St. Lawrence from those which fall into the sea, and also along the north coast of the bay de Chaleurs, to the gulf of St. Lawrence. This is the south boundary, and consequently in an east and west direction, but it passes north of bay de Chaleurs, wherefore the south boundary of the province must of necessity be north of bay de Chaleurs. The eastern boundary is northerly by the gulf of Cape Hosiers, in about lat. 50 deg. long. 64 deg. north of Gaspe bay, and at the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, where it communicates with the gulf or sea. And the act of Parliament makes this south side from this same bay along those high- lands, and it must inevitably run west, or it is no south boundary. Now no one can doubt that in the proclamation of 1763 it was the intent to adopt Sir William Alexander's northern fur this southern boundary of the prov- ince of Quebec. ^ Indeed it appears in every commission to the Governor of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick from 1763 to 1784, and after the treaty of peace of 1783, that the province of Nova Scotia extended to the southern boundary of the province of Quebec. It then irresistibly and inevitably follows that a west line from the bay de Clialeurs, intersecting a due north line from the monument, is the identical nortliwest angle. Now a line from Mars Hill direct to Cape Rnsiers, instead of being easterly, would bo north of northeast, crossing the bayde Chaleurs. But passing along its north coast, as the proclamation provides, the line from thi.4 Mar's Hill must be more northerly still. Indeed tlie pretence that a pyramidal spdr or peak, such as this hill, should constitute tlic range of highlands mentioned in the treaty, is so utterly visionary that it is entitled to no sort of respect. We may now, by these facts and reflections, give this inquiry a right direction, to wit : to the ascertainment of the north boundary of Nova Scotia, which is the soutiiern boundary of Canada. We have always been lured from this by the British negotiators to tiie left or west of this north line from the monument. No one who is the least conversant with the subject can suppose for a moment that this northwest angle can be found in such a direction. The question for us is, Are there any highlands north of the bay de Chaleurs, extending in a western direction, towards a north line drawn from the mon- ument? If this lino westerly from the bay be not distinctly marked so far as to intersect this north line, the |)riuci|>lo is to extend it in the same di- rection to the place of intersection ; that is, if the line between Nova Scotia and Canada is west to within say thirty miles of the north line ' I' l i MiiWilMMK t S MWHA-.-.M ' ^f^ ^< STUM mm s.. I «• 10 [ Doc. No. 3l. \ from the monaAient, and the rest of thQ way is indefinite or obscare, extend it on in the same direction until you form a point of intersection, and this will be the northwest angle of Nova Scotia. But the truth is, the high' iznds are there, and have been found in running due north from the monu- ment. The elevations were taken by the British surveyor from the source of the St. Croix, at the monument, to the first water" of the Ristigonche ; and at Mars Hill, forty miles, the summit of this isolated sugar-loaf was If 100 feet, and rt the termination of the survey at the Ristigouche waters, one hundred miles further, the elevation was 1,600 feet, consequently, the flammit of Mars Hill, 1,100 feet above the waters of the St. Croix, is 300 feet lower than the lands at the Ristigouche, and yet the pretence is that there are no highlands but this detached spar, Mars Hill ! Still further : the highest position surveyed Is nearly fifty miles short of the Meli<9, which falls into the St. Lawrence, and we do not perceive that the elevations have been taken there at all ; but we do find it is here that the waters separate, and consequently the land must be still higher. In failure of highlands, {assumed not to exist,) the British negotiators claim a line which, instead of dividing the St. Lawrence and Atlantic waters, would actually extend between two rivers, both of -which fall into the Mlantic To say nothing of the absurdity, not to say ignorance, of such a claim, it is enough that it is in the teeth of the treaty itself. It is painful to' re- peat the argument that no other highlands were intended, for all others were expressly excluded but those v, hicli divide the waters that flow in those different directions. The effect of their construction, as we all know, is to giv#lhem the whole of the St. John, with all its tributaries, and a tract of territory south of that river, equal at least to seventy-five miles square. Whether, from the peaceful spirit of our Government, the christian pa- tience of Maine, or the « modest assurance" of the British negotiators, any or all, certain it is, that his Britannic Majesty's pretensions are grow- ing every day. It is not only an after-thought, but one very recently con- ceived, that vte were to be driven south of the St. John. His Britannic Majesty's agent, (Mr. Chipman,) who has been lately urging uB south of that river, was also agent to the commission under the treaty of 1795, to ascertain the true St. Croix, and in insisting on a more loestern branch of this river, gives as a reason, that a line due north will cross the St. John's farther up, whereas, if you take an eastern branch, such line will cross near Frederickton, the seat of Government of New Brunswick, and materially infringe upon his Majesty's province. He not only admits, but contends, that this north line must cross the river. Hero are his words: <'This north line must of necessity cross the river St. John's." Mr. LiHton, the British ininlstrr, in a private letter to Mr. Chipman, of S3d October, 1798, recommends a modification of the powers of the commisNlonorH, for the reason that it might give Great Britain a greater extent of navigation on the St. John's river. The same agent (Mr. Chlpmnii) was also agent undrr the fonrtli artirlo of the treaty of Glicnt, and wo find liim contending there, that the noHliwrst angle nf Nova Scotia isfhe same designated in the grant to Sir Wiliinin Alexander in 1621, subject only to sucli alterations ps were occasioned by the erection of the province of (^utbec in 1763. Now wo havo already scon that this south [ T^oc. No. 3ij ] n line oC the proviuco of Quebec, ao ar frow altering this N. W. angle, in fact confirms it. Jn perfect accordance with this disposition to encroach, is a proposition •f the British minister, (Mr. Vaughan,) that inasmuch as the highlands cannot be found by a due north Jirection from the monument, vre should vary west until we should intersect them, but not east ! Now that, in case a monument cannot be found in the coarse prescribed, you should look fqr it at the left, but not to the right, seems to us a very sinister proposition. We have shown, and, as we think, conclusively, that the range of highlands is to be looked for on British ground, and nowhere else ; because it is their own boundary, and a lino which mutit, with an asjertained north line, form the angle of one of their own provinces. And yet we are not to examine there at all ; we have never explored the country there, and are expected to yield to such arrogant, extravagant, and base- less pretensions ! We would ask, why, in what justice, if we cannot find the object in the route prescribed, are we to be thus trammelled ? where is the redpro- city of such a proposition,' so degrading to the dignity and insulting to the rights and liberties of this State ? No ! the people of Maine will not now, and we trust titey never will, tamely submit to such a one-sided measure. The next restriction or limitation with wnich this negotiation is to be clogged, is an admission that the Ristigouche and St. John's are not At- lantic rivers, because one flows into the bay de Chaleurs and the other into tlie bay of Fundy, yet neither falls iuto the river St. Lawrence. They would then find those highlands between the St. John's and the Penobscot. There cannot be a more arrogant pretension or palpable ab- surdity. Suppose the waters of both these rivers are excluded, as flowing neither way, still the waters that flow each way are so far separated as to leave a tract of country which, if equally divided, would carry us far beyond the St. John's. But we admit no such hypothesis. The Atlantic and the sea are used in the charters as synonymous terms. The Ristigouche, uniting with the bay de Chaleurs, which communicates with the sea, and the St. John's, uniting with the bay of Fundy, which also communicates with the sea, and that, too, by a mouth of ninety miles wide, are both Atlantic rivers. These rivers wore known by the negotiators not to be St. Lawrence rivers ; they were known to exist, for they were rivers of the first class. If they were neither St. Lawrence nor Atlantic, why were they nut excepted ? They were not of the former, therefore they must be included in the latter description. Indeed, if rivers uniting with Atlantic bays are not Atlantic rivers, the Penobscot and Kennebec, which unite with the respective bays of Penobscot and Sagadahock, would not be Atlantic rivers ; and then, where are those highlands which divide the waters rererriMJ to in the treaty of 1783 .' Should we leave this question unsettled a little longer, and the British claims continue to increase, we miglit very soon find tlirno highlands south of the Connorticut, and nil the intermciliate country would be recolonixed by "construction." We there- fore invoke the nympathy of all New Kngland, with Ni>w York besides, to unite ngninst this progressive claim — tliis avalanche, which threatens to ovci'whrim them as well ns ourselves. Again, if this Mnrs Hill (and we confess wo cannot speak of the pre- iiMiiiliiiit'^itl "?• '^^ 12 [ 0OC. No. 31 J] V tension with any patience) is tU northwest angle, and the north boundary of Nova Scotia and the south boundary of the province of Quebec are the same, and north of the bay de Chaleurs, then there is indeed no north- west ang'e ; for a line duo north from the monument, passing by Mars Hill, must pursue nearly the same direction to get to the north of that bay without crossing it ; and whoever thought of an angle at the side of a continuous line ? Now, according to the British maps, taken in this very case, you must run a course of north about fourteen degrees east to obtain the north side of the bay without crossing it, and the distance would be, in this almost due north direction, more than one hundred miles, while that from the monument to Mars Hill would be little more than forty. Now when we consider that this. northerly line must form nearly a right angle to pass along the north shore of the bay de Chaleurs, that this is one hundred miles farther north than Mars Hill, where, instead of an •ngle, there can be only an inclination of fourteen degrees, can there be a greater absurdity than the British claim, founded on these facts ? We will now present some facts and remarks in regard to the surveys and explorings made by the commission under the 5th article of the treaty of Ghent: and the first fact that occurs is, tliat the elevations taken by the Brit* ish surveyor stop far short of where the waters divide, and we find no proof that these elevations were carried through by our own surveyors. If the British surveyor, after ascertaining he was still ascendingyami liad, in fact, arrived at the lands at a branch of a river elevated live hundred feet above the summitof Mars UiW, found it prudent to stop short, wc see no good reason why the American agent did not proceed on and take accurate elevations at a place where the waters divide. If such a survey was made tlie commit- tee have not been able to obtain tiie evidence ; it is not in the maps or doc- uments in the library or oiOce of the Secretary of State, and the commit- tee believe that nosuch elevations have been taken northerly of the first wa- ters of the Ristigouche. It is, indeed, a little singular that wo have so little evidence, not only in regard to this height of land, but also of the rivers which flow into the St. Lawrence to the left, and especially to the %'ight of tiie north line from the monument. We know some of them, to be sure, such as the Oelle, Kamonska, Fer/e, Trois Pistoles, Remouskey, and Metis, on the left, and the Blanche, LouiSt MttgdaUn, and others, on th'e right of this line, but we know tlicm chiefly as on maps, and as transcribed from older maps, but very little from actu- al survey or even exploration. An examination of the sources of those rivers at the right of tliis north line, with the important natural boundary, the north shore of the bay do Chaleurs, would accurately define the divis- ional line between the province of Quebec and Nova Scotia, which, ex- tending west, would intersect the due north lino, and thus form tlie north- west angle -^f Nova Scotia. It moreover appears that little or no exploration has been made of the lands east of the due north lino. It seems strange to us, altliough it may be satisfactorily explained, why we Hliould liave been drawn awny from this very important rrgion. It is, indeed, tlie true source of inquiry. In this direction the evidence is to be found ; and Maine can never bo satisfied until it is looked for here. An extraordinary method of adjusting this question, though in prrfect accordance with other pretensions, has dcen proposed by Great Britain — , • [ Doc. No. 31. ] 19 that the disputed territory hhr ■' be divided in equal portions, each party being satisfied of the justice '. 3 claims. To this proposition we (^nnot subscribe. It is equally uvjuA between nations and individuals. Wheth- er a party in controversy is satisfied or not with the justice of his claims^ is what is only known to hiinself, and, consequently, the one whose claims are most exorbitant, however unjust, will always get the best end of the bargain. But such a rule would, in this case, apply most unfortunately to Maine. We are limited, at farthest, to the St. Lawrence, and to a very narrow point there, while the British may extend their claims to the south and west indefinitely. Establish this principle and we shall soon find their claims, already so progressive, stretched over to the Piscataqua, and then if we are to divide equally both as to qantity and quality, the divis- ional line then would fall south of the Kennebec. If the want of the consent of Maine is the obstacle to such an adjustment, we trust it will al- ways remain an insuperable one. Indeed, we protest against the applica* tion to us of such a riile, as manifestly unequal and unjust We come now to the recent transactions of ,tlie British colonial authori- ties, sanctioned, as it appears, by the Government at home ; and we re- gret to perceive in them, also, those strong indications of continual and rapid encroachment which have characterized that Government in the whole of this controversy. Mr. Livingston, in his letter of the Elstof July, 1832, proposes that, <' until the matter be brought to a final conclu- sion, both parties should refrain from the exercise of jurisdiction ;" and Mr. Vaughan, in reply of 14th April, 1833, in behalf of his Government, « entirely concurs.'* Here, then, the faith of the two Governments is pledged to abstain from acts of jurisdiction until ail is settled. Now how are tlie facts ? We understand, and, indeed, it appears by documents here- with exhibited, that an act has passed the Legislature of New Brunswick, « incorporating the St. Andrew's and Quebec railroad company ;" that the King has granted £10,000 to aid the enterprise, and that the Legisla- ture of Lower Canada, by its resolutions of both Houses, has approved tlie scheme and promised its co-operation. It may be that the Government at home was not aware that this railroad must inevitably cross the disputed territory. But this ignorance of the subject seems incredible. A railroad from St] Andrew's to Quebec would be impossible unless it crossed the territory ia question — even next to impossilile and totally useless were it to pass at the north of the St. John's. It seems therefore extraordinary indeed, that the British Government, oven in the incipient stages of this enter- prise, should make an appropriatitm which is in direct violation of its sol- emn pledge. To give to a railroad corporation powers over our rights and property is the strongest act of sovereignty. It is an act of delegated power which wo ourselves give to our own citizens with extreme caution, and with guarUct! restrictiuiis and reservations. This railroad must not only cross the disputed territory, but it crosses it fifty miles south of the St. John's, and aiiiiust to the southerly extremity of the British claim, ex- travagant as it is. By the nap hercwilli exhibited of the survey of tho route, it nnpcars Hint the road crosbcs our due north line at Mars Hill, thence duiiuling inund it towards the noiiIIi, it crosses tlie Uoostic between the Great ami Little Michias, tli« ^llcguitsh nt tlio oullct of Firitt Lake, a branch of the St. Joliirs south of Black river, and pusses into Canada J^M^ [ Doc. No. 31.1 H bewteen « Sprace Hills" on tho right, and « Three Hills," on the left, thus crossing a tract of country south of the St. John's, one hundred by fifty miles. We have not a copy of the act of incorporation of New Bruns- wick, and cannot, therefore, say that the route there defined is the same as on the map. Be this as it may, certain it is, as any one will see, that no possible route can he devised which will not cross the territory,in ques- tion. It is, then, a deliberate act of power, palpable and direct, claiming and exercising sovereignty far south even of the line recommended by the King of the Netherlands. In all our inquiries and examinations of this subject there has been great negligence in regard to this N. W. angle. Judge Benson, one of the commissioners under Jay's treaty, in a letter to the President of tlie Uni- ted States, expressly and clearly defines this angle. Ho states distinctij that the due north line from the source of the St. Croix, is the west si^ linef and the highlands are the north side line which form this angle, and this had never been questioned by the British themselves. This due north line, viz : the west side line, was established by the commission of which Judge Benson was a member, and the British have made the north side line to be north of the bay de Chaleurs, and yet with these postulates, to pretend that the points of intersection cannot be found, js one of the greatest of their absunlities. And another absurdity quiie equal is, that, after passing west along the north shore of this bay, they would fall down nearly south more than one hundred miles to Mars Hill, About sixty miles from the south shore of the province, at the bay of Passa- maquoddy, which is a part of the bay of Fundy ; and this point too of so little inclination, that it is a palpable perversion of language to call it an angle, much more a N. W. angle. It is indeed time for us to begin to search, and in the right places too, in order to put a stop to these perpetual encroachments upon our territory and rights. Our first object should be to ascertain and trace the north boundary of Nova Scotia, which is the south boundary oi the province of Quebec, and see if Canada comes as far down as Mars Hill. And we should proceed to finish taking the elevations on the due north line to some point where the waters divide. The Greneral Government should be imme- diately called on to execute the work, with tiie co-operation of Massachu- setts and Main«k Notice should be given to the British authorities to unite in rthe undertaking, and, if they refuse, our Government ought to proceed ex parte. The act would be entirely pacific, as the object would be to ascertain facta f much more pacific than the survey, without noticCf of the St. Andrew's and Quebec railroad, through our territory, not for the paniose of ascertaining a boundary, but to assume jurisdiction. lour committee have gone through this tedious investigation with all the deliberation, exactness, and candor, which our time, means, and feelings would allow. Our animadversions may, in some instances, have been strong, and even severe, but we think we have expressed the sentiments and feelings of the people of Maine, suflering under protracted ityuries. This State should take a firm, deliberate, and dignified stand, and one which it will not retract. While it awards to the General Government all its legitimate powers, it will not be forgetful of its own. We call upon the President and Congress ; we invoke that aid and sympathy of our sister States which Maine has always accorded to them ; we ask, nay, we de- ■iMMlMMl [ Doc. No. 31. ] 15 *j»js.,» mand, in the name of justice, how kono we are to be thus trampled down by a fojreign people ? and we trust we shall meet a cordial and patriotic response in the breast of every republican of the Union. . I our committee, therefore, submit the following resolutions. L. J. HAM, NATH'L S. LITTLEFIflLD, SAMUEL P. BENSON, Uf the Senate. EBENEZER HI66INS, JOHN R. REDMAN, JOHN HOLMES, J. A. LOWELL, NATHAN IDE, DANIEL SMALL, SEWALL PRESCOTT, EPHRAIM WEEKS, JAMES BURBANK, CHARLES HUNT, JOHN D. RICHARDS, y^-ii^-.TM-' If* ■ft.;' 'a Vf-: ^ .if.l-'ittv- >of the Bmse* • -■'- - .^■■v* .'■ ..» ,. V ''<• STATE OF MAINE. llesolves relative to the Martheastern Boundary. }■. I ■ y'iJ.'i-,'-': f Reaolvedf That we view with much solicitude the British usurpations and encroachments on the Northeastern part of the territory of this State. Resolved, That pretensions so groundless and extravagant indicate a spirit of hostility which we had no reason to expect from a nation with whom we are at peace. Resolvedf That vigilance, resolution, firmness, and union on the part of this State, are necessary in this state of the controversy. ^Resolved, That tho Governor be authorized and requested to call on the President of the United States to cause the Northeastern boundary of this State to be explored and surveyed and monuments erected according to the treaty o( 178S. .. " Resolvedf That the co' operation of Massachusetts be requested. Reedved, That our Senators in Congress be instructed and our Repre- sentatives requested to endeavor to obtain a speedy adjustment of the con- troversy. Resolved, That copies of this report and resolution be transmitted to the Governor of Massachusetts, the President of the United States, to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, and other Senators in Congress, and tiie Governors of the several States In the House of Representatives, March 24, 1837. Read and passed. H. HAMLIN, Speaker. In Senate, March 35, 1837. Read and passed. J. C. TALBOT, PrMid«tit. > Marches, 18S7. Approved: * , . ROBERT F DUNLAP. ' ./ 16 [ Doc. No. 31. ] STATE OF MAINE. ■i^ ExEcvTivB Department, Augusta, June Vt, 1837* Sir : I lose no time in communicating to your excellency a copy of a letter from Sir John Harvey, Lieutenant Governor of tiie province of New firunswiclc, and also a letter from J. A. Maclauctilan to Sir Jolin Harveyi in relation the arrest and imprisonment of Ebcnezer S. Greely. I Iiavo tbe lionor to be, with liigli considerations, Tour obedient servant, ROBERT P. DUNLAP. His Excellency Martin Van Bvbbn, Fresident of the United States. -. > ^;iS/-vV!iiw>& <•■ ^i • >. V OOTBRNMENT HOVSE, FrEDERICKTOIT, N. B., June IS, 18Sr. Sir : Since I had the honor of addressing your excellency under date the 6th instant, announcing my assumption of the administration of this Government, a report has been laid before me by the warden of tlie dis- puted territory, a copy of which I feel it to be an act of courtesy towards your excellency to lose no time in communicating to you. In including the territory within the limits of the British claim in the census which *>Ebenezer Greely* appears to have been instructed to take of the population of the county of •* Penobscot,*' he has evidently acted in ignorance or under a misconception of the subsisting relations betwixt England and the United States vf America, which I cannot allow myself to doubt that your excellency will lose no time in causing to he explained and removed. Though necessarily committed to confinement, I have desired tliat every regard may be shown to Grecly's personal con- venience, consistent with tbe psition in wliich he has « voluntarily*' placed himself : I use this expression because, as your excellency will observe, Greely was informed by the warden that if ho would desist from the act in which be w«ii engaged and the language which lie was holding to the people of the Madawaska settlement, (actn constituting not only an.inter- ference with the acknowledged ri|;hts of jurisdiction of this province but the positive exercise within its limits of actual jurisdiction, however unau thorized on tbe part of the State of Maine,) and would withdraw from this district, he should be allowed to do so, otherwise, that in the discharge of the duties imposed upon him by his office, he (the warden) who is in the Cttmmission of tlie peace, must be under the necessity of apprehending, in order to make hira amenable to the laws of the province. This proposal Greely rejected, and was accordingly committed to jail, to be dealt with according to law. In the mean time, as an evidence of my desire to culti- yate the most friendly understanding \s ith the Government of the State of which Greely is a citizen, I lose no time in saying that, upon receiving an assurance from your excellency that your authority shall be exerted tn restraining \\\U or any other citizen ol' the State of Miiliie from adopting proceedings within the British limits, (as claimed,) calculated to infringe tii-.'j? . ^-. f Doc. No. 31. J U the autlioiKy and jurisdiction of this province and to distarb and unsettle the minds of that portion of its inhabitants residing in the disputed terri> tories, until the question in dispute be brought to a final settlement, Greely shall be immediately enlarged. Trusting that your excellency will see in this proposition an anxious desire on my part to redeem the pledge given in my communication of the 6th instant, I have the honor to be. Your excellency's most obedient humble servant. J. HARVEY, His Excellency the Governor M. O., Lt. Oovernor, ^c of the Stale of Maine. v Fredericktoit, New Brunswick. June 10, 1837. May it piease tour Excellency : In obedience to your excel- lency's instructions, coiiimunicated to me through the Advocate Gener.tl, in the absence of the Attorney and Solicitor Generals, I have now the honor to report, for thw information of your excellency, that I proceeded with the least possible delay to the Madawaska settlement. On my arri- val at the Great falls, one hundred and thirty miles from hence, I was Informed that tiic American citizen, Kbenczer S. Greely, had passed up the day previous, for the puriiose of again proceeding with the cen- sus of the inhabitants of Madawaska, under authority from the State of Maine. Aware of the probable excitement tiiat would naturally arise between the two Governments* from this circumstance, and at the same time fully convinced that his Majesty's Government would but I'egret any unnecessary misunderstanding during the pending negotiation, I thought it advisable to call upon Mr. Coombs, a magistrate residing twelve miles above the falls, and reijuest iiim to accompany me, which .he readily did, to witness the conversation between Mr. Greely and myself. We then proceeded, and overtook Mr. Greely a short distance above Green river, about twenty. four miles from the falls, having ascertained by the inbabitants, as he passed up tlio river, that Mrk Greely was the wlHile of the previous day employed in taking down their name's, number of each family, and stating they would shortly receive from the State of Maine, a sum of money not exceeding three dollars for each head of family, out of the surplus revenue of the United States. I required Mr. Greely to show me his instructions for exercising author- ity in Madawaska, when he handed me a document, a copy of which I beg to enclose to your excellency, and after i)erusing the same I re< turned it, with my opinion that I really thought he (Mr. Greely) had mistaken the intention of his instructions, as no allusion was made either to that settlement or the territory in dispute, and therefore, if he would then desist in taking the census, I would take no notice of what had passed. Moreover, in reply to my advice and request, he (Mr. Greely) remon- strated, and attempted to make it appear that he would be fully borne out by his Government in what he had done ; and that it was also his intention to complete the census if he was not prevented. This reply I regret hav- ing left me no alternative but to make him a prisoner, which I did on atitIM .-Jt^^ IWIII llfc [ Doc. No. 31. ] Wednesday the 7 111 instant. On Friday evening i arrived at Fredericlc- ton, and tliis morning. (Saturday,) by tlie advice of tiie Advocate Gencrais, 1 committed liim to tiie jail of tiiu county nl' Yorlc. 1 liave tiie Imnor tn be your exrcllejicy's Moat obedient, Itumble servant, J. A. MACLAUCHLAN, ' JFarden of the ditputed terrilary. His Excellency Maj. Gen. Sir John Uauvet, Lieutenant Oovernor, ^r. STATE OP MAINE. ExcccTiYE Department, June 19, 18S7. SiK : I iiavo tlie Iionor to enclose to your excellency (lie copy of a let- ter which came to hand by the last mail, by which it ap|iears that Eben- rzcr S. Grecly, Est]., the agent employed by the county commissioners for the county of Penobscot to take the census of the town of Madawaska, has been arrested by the auiiiorities of the province of New Bruswick, and is now incarcerated in the jail at Ffederickton. In this state of things it becomes my ]iainful duty to make this commu- nication to your excellency, and to inHiHt that prompt measures bo adopt- ed by the Government of the United States to effect the early release of the aforementioned citizen. I have the honor to be. With great respect, your obedient servant, . KOBERT P. DUNLAP. His Excellency Martin Van Bcren. President of the United Stales. •OfS- Fredbrickton, Province ov New Brunswick, ^,: June 12, 1837. Sir : On the 15th of May last, 1 was appointed l>y the coiinty comniis- sioners of Penobscot county to take the census of Madawaska. On the 6th of June instant, 1 was arrested by Mr. Maclauchlan, from this place, and committed to jail by him, and tliere I now remain in the prison at Fred- erickton. I was committed on the lOth instant. I addressed a letter to you on the 10th, which has gone by the way of St. Andrew's. Fearing that letter will not arrive soon, 1 write again to.day by way of Houlton. I have described my arrest more particularly in my lii'st letter, which you will undoubtedly receive befure long ; therefore, i only give the facts in this, having a chance, by the assistance of Mr. Lombard, of flailowell, of forwarding this to Houlton privately. I was employed in business of the State, and do expect my Government will- intercede and liberate me from prison in a foreign and adjacent province. 1 shall be pleased to receive a line from you expressing your opinion, direction, &c. 1 remain, sir, respectfully, Your obedient servant, ,,!-. EBENEZER S. GREELY. Robert P. DvNLAp. Esq. Oovernor of Maine. ~'A I receive a [ Doc. Np. 31. ] Hi '1^ DEFiUTMENT OF StATB, ff'athington, June i6, \637, Sib : I iiavo the honor, by direction of the Pre«i(]ent. to acknowledge the receipt of your letter to him of the 19th inHtant, cnclofling fhe copy of ■ a cummunicatiun dated the I2th of the Haine month, addreHMed to yon by Ebenezer S. Grcely, Esq., the agent emphiyi'd by the county comiHiiiMian< era for tlie county of Fenobscot to talie the censuff of the town of Mada- waska ; from which it ap|iears tliut he has been nrreiited by the authoritieH of the province of New Brunswick, and is now in confineinrnt in tlie jail at Frederickton ; and insisting tliat prompt meamirea lie adopted by the Government of the United States to effect the early releaae of the above- named citizen. TIte circumstances attending this outrage, as given in Mr. Greely's letter, are not sufficient, in the view of tlie President, to warrant the in- terference of the Government at present. For what cause, at what place, and by what authority, the arrest was made, is not slated. The necessary explanations may lie found, |ierha|i8, in tlie previoua communication which Mr. Greely refers to as having been addressed to you by him on the lOtli June ; if not, it is probable that you will easily be able to obtain explicit information from other sources, and communicate it to this Department. It is indispensable that a full knowledge of all the facts illustrative of the case should be in possession of the Government before any formal appli- cation for redress can be pro]iei-ly preferred. In the mean time, I have, in conversation, unoflicially called the atten- tion of Mr. Fox, the British minister at Washington, to thia complaint, and he has given me an assurance that he will immediately addresa a representation on the subject to the Governor of New Brnnavtick, request- ing, unless there shall be some very extraordinary reasooi against it, that Mr. Greely may be set at liberty. 1 am, sir, your obedient servant, JOHN FORSYTH. His Excellency Robert P- Dunlap, Esq., Governor of Muine» STATE OF MAINE. «",Ur4!*»» Executive Depautment, July 3, 1837, Sir : I have had the honor to receive yours of the 2dth of Juno last, in which, by direction of the President, you indicate that the circumstances detailed in Mr. Greely's letter relative to his arrest and imprisonment arc not of themselves, without further explanation, sufficient to juatify the in- terference of the Government of the United States. This information is received with some surprise, and much regret : surprise, because I had understood Mr. Greely's communication to ahow, that while Employed within the limits of this State, and under its authority, on a business intrusted to him by tlie laws of the State, he was, without being charge«l or suspected of any other offence, seized and trans|Kirted to a foreign fail ; regret, inasmuch as the feelings of the people of this State have been strongly excited by this outrage u|Hin the honor and aoverelgnty of Maine ; and each additional day's contineinent which that unoffending citizen endures, is adding to the indignation of our citizens. 1 tliereore hasten •v^i-V A ^X «!>' >¥ 30\ a^--?^ &k [ Doc. No. 31. ] to lay before you a summary of the transactions connected with this sub- ject, as they are gathered from Mr. Greely's communications to this De- partment. Tlie facto are to be considered the less indisputable, because tliey are in the main confirmed by the statements containe(( in the, letter of the Lieutenant Governor of the province of New Brunswick, by whose onler the imprisonment was madr, and a copy of which I recently had the honor of transmitting to tlie President. On the eighth day of Marcli last, the Legislature of this State passed an act relative to the surplus revenue, a copy of which is enciosrd, to the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth sections of wliich I beg leave to refer yovr attention. An additional act was passed on the 89th day of March last, a copy of which I also enclose. By this last-named act, it became the duty of the county commissioners of Penobscot county to cause an enumeration to be taken of the inhabitants of said county residing north of the surveyed and located townships. Ths tract thus defined comprised the town of Madawaska, which was incorporated by this State on the 19th of March, 1831. Pursuant to that requirement, the county commissioners of said county appointed Ebenezer S. Greely to perform that service; and being duly commissioned, he forthwith proceeded to the place designated, and entered upon the required operations. Being thus employed, he was, on the 89th day of May last, arrested by the authorities of the province of New Brunswick, and conveyed to Woodstock, in the county of Carleton^ in said province ; but the sheriff of the county refused to commit him to jail, and he was accordingly discharged. He immediately returned to the Madawaska settlements, to enter again upon the duty intrusted to him. On the 6th day of June last, he was arrested a second time by the same aathorities, and committed to ttie jail at Frederickton. It is for this act of obedience to the laws of his Governmeut, that Mr. Greely now lies incar- cerated In t 'lublic jail in the province of New Brunswick. Is not redress urgently called for ? Must not this unoffending citizen be immediately released ? Permit me, sir, to add my confident belief that the President, on this presentation of tlie facts relative to this outrage upon the National as well as the State rights, will not fail to deaiand the immediate release of Eben- ezer 8. Greely, and to interpose snitabie claims of indemnity for the wrongs BO wantonly enforced u|)on him. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ,,,y^ j^ ROBERT P. DUN LAP. Bon. John FoBSTTH, " , Secretary of State of United States, JJ V»i-.i|f Aa additional to the Act providing for the distribution and repayment of the pn I State of Maine on depotite by the Government of the United Statea. nblie money apportioned , i.'^s■^ Sec. 1. Beit enacted by the Senate and House of Sepresentatives in Legis- lature assembled, That the time allowed to the respective cities, towns, and plantations, in which to take the census and make returns thereof to the State treasurer is hereby extended to the twentieth day of .Tune next Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That the treasurer is hereby directed to distribute the amount of the second instalment of the surplus revenue "^'•'■.hL. .L, v.,_v * ^**i^sfflP'"Wi»rvir*^^ 'V. 'r18oc:%o.'8i. J amon^ the cities, towns,, and plantations, according to tlie number of tlieif respective scliolars, as borne on tlie sciioot fund apportionment of tlie pres- ent year. And the third instalment siiall be distributed according to the same ap|K)rtionment, unless the census required by the act to which this is additional sliall bo fully made, and tlie returns thereof to the treasurer completed, by the first day 'of July next. Sec. S. Be it further enacted, That the third and fourth instalments shall he distributed among the towns, plantations, cities, and unincorporated places, in such manner as that the aggregate of the four instalments shall be in ejEact proportion to their population, as ascertained by said census. Sec. 4. Be it further enacted. That, in addition to the enumeration re- quired by the act aforesaid to be taken by the county commissioners, ft shall be the duty of the county commissioners of the county of Penobscot to take the enumeration or census of all the inhabitants of said couhty ivsiding north of the surveyed and located townships. '^' Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That tlie treasui-ep be directed to cause the first section of this act to be forthwith published in all the newspa|»ers that publish the laws of the State. Sec. 6. Be it further enacted. That the act to which this is additional, and also this act, shall take effect and be in force from the times of the passage tliereof respectively. [Appi^oVcd by the Governor March 29, 1837.1 I ■•' •- ' ■' ': M^ ■ , isft- llth, 13th and 13th Sections of An Act providing for the ditposition and repayment of the pnblic money apportioned to the State of Maine on depoiite by the Oovernment of the United Statei.. i|^ Sec. l\. Be it further enacted, Tliat, for the purpose of ascertaining tlib population of the several cities, towns, and plantations, in this State, the aldermeu of cities, the selectmen of towns, and tlie assesisors of planta- tions, are hereby authorized, at the expense of their respective cities, towns, and plantations, to cause the number of the inhabitants thereof, (omitting in such enumeration foreigners not naturalized, whose residence has not been established at least four years in any of the cities, towns, or plantations, or otlier place wherein such enumeration is to be made, and Indians not taxed,) to be taken, according to the directions of this act. The said enumeration shall distinguish all jicrsons under the age of four years ; those of four and under twenty-one ; and tlio.se of twenty-one and upwards, belonging to each city, town, and plantation in this State, on the first day of March, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven. Sec. 12. Be it further enacted, That said aldermen, selectmen, or as- sesHors, or such person or persons as sliall be appointed by them for that purpose, shall respectively, before entering upim the performance of their duty as aforesaid, take and subscribe an uatli or affirmation^ before some justice of the ]>eace, for the faithful performance of tiieir duties, in sub- Htaiico as follows : I, — — , of — — , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will truly and faithfully make a full and perfect enumeration and description of the persons resident within tlie of on the first day of March, eigh- teen hundred and thirty.seven, and return the same to tlie treasurer of m \ > --.^ i% [ Doc. No. 31. ] Maine. . ly to tlic din 'riionfl of an act entitled « An net providing ' •• Mil' ui ,i( >t\ Hiiil re|ia,>»ifnf t4 tlio public moric.v*apportioncd t<» the biaiB ofMaint .. flt-iioMitH t>y t lie (iovcrnment of the United States," ac- cvriiing to the best ot my »bility; and that f will inako said enumeration Md deKcription by actual iii<|uiry at evrry d celling house in said ■■ - or fM'Honal inquiry of tlu' head of every family, and not otherwise. Sec. 1 3. Be il fnrlhet rnucfed. That said enumeration shall be fully ^i^plcted, and accurate returns thereof made to the treasurer of the State, (Mi Ui iff ■'•)]'(!' the twentieth day of April **'Xt ; which returns shall be made in a sclicHitfle, the form of which (with the form of the oath specified in this section) shaff be provided and furnished by sain4dprations to delay a formal application to the British Gov- vernm^'nt ; *(>'• rrlcase of Mr. Greely, it lost no time, as has been already stated, >r v.- wrin;jf viie interference to that end of the British minister near thii" (tu<"^ rir,:n( ; and I hiwe now the satisfaction to inform you that ',?'-<\..i irv;i *'^*^*i^^^BiiK^VP^'^y!i;,, . , ri'^''^^\^l^0^-'- [ Doc. No. 31. ] ^ I have learnt from him that he lias (ipeneil a coi-icsjionilence with the Lieu- tenant Governor of New Brunswick, which it is exjiei ted will lead to the release of Greely from confinement, without \' aiting tor the decision of his Britannic Majesty's Government on the wliolc tjuestion. The information communicated to the Dt'j)iu'tment .sinro the receipt of your letter of the Sd instant, is suflicicntly > plicit. and a note founded upon it has been, by direction of the President, addressed to Mr. Steven- son, instructing him to demand the immediate liberation of Mr. Greely, and indemnity for his imprisimment. I have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient servant, « JOHN FOKSYTH. li Hon. Rop'iirT P.DcrNLAP, -' 'jf ,.Ciover/icr of the State of Maine. ,«i^«i P. S. Th ! i'. Tiers asked for in your letter of the S7th ultimo will be sent to yo'U $ STATE OP MAINE. EXECUTITK DePARTMKNT, * Augusta^ June 27, 1837. Sir : I would respectfully solicit copies of all documents and papers in the Department of State of the United States, in relation to the subject of the Northeastern boundary, witli the exception of such as were furnished this Department by the General Government in the year 1827. It is un- derstood that C(>pie.s have been furnished relative to this subject down to the i-espective statements submitted by the two Governments to the King of the Netherlands, but the urgunients we have not been furnished with. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ROBERT P. DUNLAP. Ho». John Fohsyth, Secretary oj State of the United States. ' • . -« : -a- ■fr Department of State, - irashinglojif July 19, 1837. Sir : In compliance witli the request contained in your letter of tiie 2rtli ultimo, I have the honur to traiiKmit to you a printed volume, cori- tainhig a ft.i.cmeiit on the part of the United States of the case referred, , , ui-Huance of tlie convention of the 29th Sei»tember, 1827, lietwecn tlie said States and Great Britain, lo tlie King of the Netherlands for liis de- cision thereon, and to refer you, for sucli other papers and documents in relation to the Northeastern boundary as have not been specially furnisiied by tliis Department to the tCxecutive of Maine, to the following numbers in the volumes of documents of the Senate arid House of Representatives, distributed under a resoliitimi of Congress, and whicii have been from time to time transmitted to the sclera! State Governments, including that of Mainc.tv'j.v-MT-i-^f,; ^ ~ *v ,/»>•■ A j«i«t*j(<'Hi <■ - " Your obedient servant, JOHN FORSYTH, . Robert P. Dcnlap, ^ ■'' , Secretary oj" State ,4jw *. Oovernor of JUaine. • ■ t "(i--,tf^v J/*,:^':'iTJ ■ . \ STATE OP MAINE. ' j^ f . Executive Department, Ju/i/ 28, 1837. Sin : Impelled by a sense of duty, arising from the oversight com- mitted to me of tlie rights and interests of this State, I beg leave to invite the attention of your excellency to the subject of the Northeastern boundary of Maiiie. By the Federal compact, the obligation of defending each State against foreign invasion, and of protecting it in the exercise of its juris- dictional rights up to its extreme line of boundary, is devolved upon the National Government. Permit mc respectfully to inform the President that, in tlio opinion of the people of Maine, the justice duo to this State, in this respect, has not been rendered. Let it not be suspected that the discontents which are moving strongly and deeply througli the public mind, flow from any deficiency of attach- ment or practical adhesion to our National Government. Without ap- pealing to the blood so freely poured out in war by the citizens of Maine ; to the privations so chcerfidly endured while the restrictive measures of the Government were prostrating the most important interests of this commercial people, or to tiio supfwrt of the Union so cordially given through every vicissitude up to the present hour : such a suspicion, if it could arise, would bo sufficiently refuted by merely adverting to the for- bearance with which they have so long endured the aggressions by a foreign Government upon their sovereignty, tlieir citizens, and their soil. It would he easy to prove that the territory of Maine extends to the highlands north of the St. John. But that point, having been not only admitted but successfully demonstrated by the Federal Government, needs not now to bo discussed. Candor, however, requires me U* say that this conceded and undeniable position ill accords with the proceedings in which the British authorities have for niuiiy years been in«lidged, and by which th;i rightful jurisdiction of Maine lias been subverte«l, her lands ravaged of tlieir most valuable products, and her citizens dragged beyond the limits of the State, to undergo the sufferings himI ignominies of a foreign jail. These outrages '-ave been tnade Uiiown to tlie Federal (jovernmeiit. I hey have been the suiiject of re|ioated reiiionstrances by the State, and tliese remonstrances seem as often to have been contemiicd. it cannot bo deemed irrelevnnt for me hero to asU, amid all these various impositions, and while Maine has been vigorously employed in sustaining tiio Union ''mm [ Doc. No. 31. ] H^ nnd in training tier children to tlie same liigli standard of devotion to tlie political institutions of the country, what relief has been brought to us by the Federal Government ? The invaders have not been expelled. The sovereignty and soil of the State are yet stained by tlie hostile machina- tions of resident emissaries of a foreign Government. The territory and the jurisdiction of six millions of acres, our title to which the Govern- ment of the United States has pronounced to be perfect, have, witliout the knowledge of Maine, been once put entirely at hazard. Grave discus- sions, treaty arrangements, and sovereign arbitration have been resorted to, in which M^ine was not permitted to sfMiak, and they have resulted, not in removing the factitious pretensions, but in supplying new encourage- ments to tlie aggressors. Diplomatic ingenuity, the only foundation of the British claim, iias been arrayed against the perfect right. In the mean time a stipulation made by the Executive of the nation, with- out the knowledge of Maine, purported to preclude her from reclaiming her rightful jurisdiction until the slow process of a negotiation should be brought to a close. Whatever the real force of that stipulation might be, made as it was without the concurrence of the two branches of the treaty- making power, it was hoped, wiien it expired by the closing up of tiiat negotiation, that a measure fraught with such hurtful consequences to Maine would not again be attempted. But that hope was to be disap- pointed, and now, by a compact of similar character, a writ of protection ap- pears to have been spread by our own Government over the whole mass of British aggressions. What then has the Federal Government done for this State ? May it not be said, in the language of another, «< Maine has not been treated as she endeavored to deserve." On the twenty-second day of April last, I had the honor to transmit to your excellency certain resolves passed by the Legislature of this State, relative to the Northeastern boundary, and, in behalf of the State, to call upon the President of tlie United States to cause the line to be explored and surveyed, and monuments thereon erected. That this call, made by direc- tion of tiie Legislature, did not extend to the expulsion of invaders, but merely to the ascertainment of the treaty line, will, 1 trust, be viewed as it was designed to be, not only as an evidence of the continued forbearance of Maine, hut as a testimonial of the confidence she cherished that the Fed- eral Executive would protect the territory, after its liinitation should be ascertained. That tliis application would meet with favor from the Federal Executive was expected, more especially as Congress had made a specific npproprialinii for the purpose. I will not attempt to conceal the niortiiica- tion 1 have realized, that no reply has been made to that communiration, nor any measures taken, so far as my information extends, for eflfocting the object proposed. It now remains, that in the exerciso of that faithfulness for which I stand srdemiily pledged to the people of Mtiitu', I shouhl again commend to the attention of the National Executive this apparently unwelcome but really important subject. 1 have tlirrei'ore the honor again to requrst that the President will cause the treaty line upon the norllKMstcrn limits of Maine to he run and marked, and I cannot but hope that, on a re>examination of the subject, your excel- lency will concur with this State in relation to the rightfulness and the iiecesKJiy of the measure proposed, as well as to all tlio remedies to be I \ % \ ^1 .■^^' ,-...'•' I III . « W fcl -4 «.».ii>im''iiifii i»ini*Jl!>* 26 [ Doc. No. 31. ] i / adopted for restoring to Maine the invaluable rights from which she has so lung been debarred. „,,,. I have the honor to be, .^^, ,, •i*j With l)igb consideration, •'■ ': Your obedient servant, ROBERT P. DUNLAP. To liis Excellency Mabtin Van Rurek, President of the United States* '- ' , , Department or State, Washington, Mgust I7f 18S7> Sir : Your letter of the 28th ultimo, to the President, was duly re- ceived. It has been referrsd to this Department, with instructions to make a suitable reply. Your excellency is of opinion that the Federal Grovcrnment has, for a aeries of years, iailed to protect the State of Maine in the exercise of her jurisdictional rights to the extent of her boundary, and complains that these rights have been, in consequence thereof, subverted, the lands of the State ravaged of their most valuable productions, and her citizens sub- jected to imprisonment in a foreign Jail. Your excellency particularly objects to the course of the Federal Government for having, without the knowledge of the State, put entirely at hazard the title of Maine, admitted by the Government of the United States to be perfect, to the territory in question, by the resort to diplomatic discussions, treaty arrangements, and foreign arbitration, in which Maine was not permitted to speak ; for having entered into a sti;uilatiun, without her consent, purporting to preclude tliu State from retaining her rightful jurisdiction, pending a negotiation, and fur the continuance of it after that negotiation was supposed to hnve been concluded ; and for an omission, on the part of the Executive of the United States, to comply with an application of the State, made through her Legis* lature, to have the boundary line between Maine and tlio British North American possessions explored, surveyed, and monuments erected thereon, in pursuance of the authority cotilerrcd on the President by Congress, and of a request made by your ejcrellency, whicli is now renewed. The views which your excellcn<'y has been plevtscd to take of the sub- ject at this time, embrace measures, some of which have long since ceased to be operative, and reach back to the propriety of the stipulations entered into by the treaty of Ghent ; also, of the subsequent negotiation designed to bring those stipulations to a satislactory i-esult, in the mode prescribed by that treaty — that of arbitremcnt. It being, as your excellency states, the opinion of Maine that those |)roreeilings were unjust and unwise, it is, in a matter in which she is so deeply ioteresled, her undoubted right to say so ; yet the President thinks that lie cannot be mistaken in believing that no practical good can, at this time, bo expected fnnn diKcussi(m between the Federal and State (roverrnments upon those points. That the meas- ures referred to have not been as fortunate in their results as wan hopeo, Is entirely true, but your excellency may nevertheless be assured tliat they had their origin in a sincere desire, on the part of the Federal Giv- crnment, to discharge all its duties towards the State til" Maine as a nieni- ber of the Union, and were resorted to in tiie full belief that her jtiit riglils would bo promoted by their adoption. --w-'»:^ _, j. .*Wti> .a*. ftmrn mmmt [ Doc No. 31. J m III speaking (>r the restrictions imposed upon Maine in reclaiming Iter rigiitful jiirisidictiun, your excellency doubtlessly refers to the under- standing between the Fedi'rai Government and tliat of Great Britain, that each party should abstain from the exercise of jurisdiction over the dispu- ted territory during the pendency of negotiation. Unless it be correct to say that tiie controvcisy was one that did not admit of negotiation, and that the duty of the Federal Government consisted only in an immediate resort to maintain the construction put by itself upon its own riglits and those of the State of Maine, there would seem to be no reasonable objec- tion to such an arrangement as that alluded to, whether it be viewed in re- spect to the interests or the pacific and just characters of the respective Governments. That this arrangement was not abrogated at the period at which your excellency is understood to suppose that it ought to have beeo done, viz : upon the failure of a settlement of the controversy by arbitra- tion, is explained by events of subsequent occurrence. When the award of the arbitrator was submitted by the late President to the Senate of the United States, thad body refused its advice and consent to the execution of the award, and passed a resolution recommending to him to open a new negotiation with Great Britain for the ascertainment of the boundary ac- '^'"•ding to the treaty of peace of 1783. That negotiation was forthwith V • .red upon by the Executive, is still pending, and has been prosecuted v\Jh unremitting assiduity. It is under such circumstances that the. Fed- I'l-al Executive has deciy no means imperative in its character. 'J'ho simple legislative act of plucing a sum of money under tlio control of the Executive for a designated oltject, is not understood to be a directi(m that it must in any '», ■s "-• ''iinlt^ii ..-.liLd 28 [ Doc. No. 31. ] event be immrdiately applied to tlie prosecution ot tlmt object. On the contrary, so far from implying tliat the end in view is to be attained at all hazards, it is believed that it merely vests a discretionary power in the President to carry out the views of Congress, on his own responsi- bility, should contingencies arise to render ezi)edient the proposed ex.- penditure. Under existing circumstances, the President deems it proper to wait for the definitive answer of the JRritisli Government to the last proposi- tion oflfered by the United States : when received, a further communica- tion to your excellency may be found proper ; and if so, will be made without unnecessary delay. It cannot be necessary to assure your excellency that the omission to reply (o your communication forwarding to this Department the resolu- tions of the Legislature of Maine, did not, in any degree, arise either from a want of respect for their wishes, or for the wishes of your excel- lency, or from indifference to the interests of the State. When these resolutions were received, there was every reason at no distant day to ex- )iect what is now daily looked for, a definitive answer to the proposition just alluded to, to which the attention of the British Government had been again forcibly invited about the time those resolutions were on their passage. Under this expectation, a reply to the application from Maine was temporarily delayed ; the more readily, as, about the time of its reception, the Representatives of Maine, acting in reference to one of those resolutions, had a full and free coTiversation with the President. The most recent proceedings relative to the question of boundary were shown to them in this Department by his directions, and the occasion thus afforded was cheerfully embiaced of ofiering frank and unreserved expla- nations of the President's views. Of the recent events which have called the attention of the State of Maine to the question of the Nortlieastern boundary, and which have been brought by it to the notice of the President, one, the arrest and imprison- ment of Mr. Greely, has already been made the subject of communication with your excellency. All that it wiis competent for the Federal Executive to do, has been done. Redress has been demanded, will be insisted upon, and is expected, from that authority from whom alone redress can properly be sought. The President has followed the same course that was pursued by one of his predecessors, and whicii was understood to be satisfactory to tlie State of Maine under circumstances of a somewhat similar char- acter. In respect to the other — the projected construction of a railroad between St. Andrew's and Quebec — a representation has bi-en addressed to the British Government, stating that the proposed measure is inconsistent with the understanding between the two Governments to preserve the status quo in tiie disputed territory until the (piestion of boundary bo f>at- isfactorily adjusted, rcmonstrntiiig against the project as contrary to the American claim, and demanding a suspension of all further movements in execution of it. No answer has yet been received to this communication. From an informal conversation between the Britisli minister at Washing- ton and myself, at the Department of State, tlio I'reHident is, however, firm in the conviction tha^ the attempt to make the road in question will not be farther prosecuted. I am, in conclusion, directed to inform you that, however unbounded '\ 1 ^. [ Doc. No. 31. J 1^ may be the confidence of the Legislature and people of Maine in the jus< tice of (heir claim , to the boundary contended fur by the United StateH, the Fresident'ti is not less so ; and your excellency may rest assured tliat no exertions have been, or shall be, spared on his part, to bring to a fa- vorable and speedy termination a question involving interests so highly important to Maine and to the Union. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, &r. JOHN FORSYTH. His Excellency Robebt P. Dcnlaf, . ' v.-\ m - y- vf ■ ■ • ■ ^.f Governor of Maine. . ;, . >■ - ■*(■■". , ■ ;"'^ _ '•■■■■■* t ■ '-'^ '"*■- Dbfabtmbnt or State, ■■''•-■•• '^' f- '^v^> M -^ >v^^.i. JfhiAiti^ton, Jlu5'«5«25, 1837. Sir : I have the honor to transmit to your excellency, by direction of the President, the copy of a note from the British minister at Washing- ton, dated yesterday, stating that the Government of her Britannic Ma- jesty has been pleased to direct the immediate discontinuance, by the colo- nial authorities of Lower Canada and New Brunswick, respectively, of all operations connected with the projected railroad between the cities of Quebec and St. Andrew's. Mr. Fox took occasion, on Wednesday last, to inform me that Mr. Greely had been discharged from imprisonment at Frederickton ; a fact uf wiiich. doubtlessly, your excellency has been sometime since apprized. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, &c. JOHN FORSYTH. His Excellency RoBBBT P. DcNLAP, Governor of Maine. Dbfabtmbnt OF St ATB, Washington, March 23, 1837. I'he undersigned, Secretary of State of the United States, has the honor, by direction of tlie President, to invite the attention of Mr. Fox, his Brit- uiinlc Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenijiotentiary, to a subject which, from its high importance, demands the prompt a>nsiilera- tion of his Majesty's Government. It appears from representations and documents recently received at the Department of State, that a number of inhabitants of the town of St. Andrew's, in New Brunswick, associated themselves together, in the year 1833, by the name of the St. Andrew's and Quebec Railroad Association, for the purpose of bringing into public notice the practicability of con- structing a railway between those ports ; and that sundry resolutions were passed in furtherance of this object ; that the project was sanctis8essions in North America. The undersigned, in accordance with the wishes of tlin President, signi- [fied in Mr. Forsyth's official note, will not fail immediately to convey that .j.j^tJiSietiLLMtA, ' ' m *tm friliiiiM liiin I,.. -t J". " Ir;: 'if*.' '*'■{' J U' f Poc. 1^. 3|,: ] rat% of npte t lii )4hecitieii of Queb«c ttid St. Andrew^af^htch, l«^ ain prehended, would, if carried into effect, traverse a part of the teri>i[tory at present in dispute between Great Britain and the United States, 1 am now enabled to inform you that, in consideration of^he argumenta and ob- servations contained in your note, lier Majesty's Government has been pleased tii> direct the colonial authorities ot Lower Canada and New Bruns- wick, respectivelv, to cause all oiierations connected with the above-men- tioned project, within the limits of the disputed territory, to bo immediately discontinued. ' I have the honor to be, sir, with high respect, kc. H. 8. FOX. Hon. JoHir Fobstth, Secretary of State. ■m Mr. Stwentim id Lord FiUlmwtton. — Extract. :% iV^ The nhdersigned will avail himself of the occasion to remind Lord Pal- roerston of the urgency which exists for the immediate and final adjustment ^ of this long-pending controversy, [re8|iecting the Northeastern boundary,] and the increased obstacles which will be thrown ir. the way of its harniu- iiious settlement by these repeated collisions of authority, and the exercise of exclusive jurisdiction by either party within the disputed territeriry. Be. beg8 leuve, also, 4o reneat to bia^dMiip «f«iirattce8 of itiie earnest . and nnabated desire which the President ftN^ls, that tiie cojitroversy should \\ t be speedily and amicably settled, and to express the anxiety witli which the Ciovei^ent of the United Stales is waiting the promised decision of her Majesty's Government ufiun the proposition submitted t6 it as far back is July, 1836, and which the undersigned had hern led to believe would lung since nave been civen ; and he has been further direptoid to aay, that shbuld this propt^kition oe disapproved, the President entertains the hope that some V, new one, on the part of her Majesty's Gevernmen^'^will immediately be ' V made for the final and favorable termination of this {tlrotracted and deeply- exciting controversy. • The uni^rsigned begs Lord Palmerat6h to receive renewed asaurances ;^o^ his distfbguished consideration. •« ^ ^ 8S POETKAHD PXiAOS, JlugU$t \0, 1887« A. .f - . - _1* 4 STPJJfNSON. ,-*34S<«' * 'vJ« S M: ^'V'.r^V»\^ t' ■•v..;Ki">«, " % ■■^m-mm'i ^^^■'^"'vmm-'t •»tl4ft of ittertQip if. For- , 18S7. ilie Prmi- teii>ltory ates, I am tfl and ob- bas been Bw Brun8« bove-raen- imediately . FOX. Lord Pal- adjustment boundaryO its hariiio- le exercise ritoriry, tiie earnest erny tihould iK'itli which decision of as far back would lung tbat should le that some nedtatfly be and deeply- asaurances ENSOM.