The Sun. — London, England, 1842-10-05 00:00:00

t- - "+ ORTRERN CATTLE FAIRS. BROUGII-HILL FAlR.—This a tied fair is held an nually on the last day of September, and on the first day of October, on a large and commodious plot of ground contiguous to the market town of Brough, in the county of Westmoreland, and which is considered to b e one of the largest horse and cattle fairs in Eng land. The most respectable and extensive dealers from _ all parts of England, Ireland, and Scotland, attend it, • • both to sell and purchase stock. During the last few Years it has been 4:As2rved that the attendance of • . dealers and ~,the supply of horses and cattle were materially Tess, and consequently the fair was . considered to be on the decline. This observa tion, however, does not hold good this year, • for the attendance of dealers, and the show • of .every description of animals were very great, and the quality of the animals was excellent, With the exception of horses. The show of horses was abundant, but the best of them were bought up before they reached the fair. There were a great number of Shetland ponies, many of which were perfect beauties, and a great number of them ex • c hanged owners at good prices. There was an „ample e x hibiti on o f S co t c h an d I r i s h bullocks, a large quantity of which were sold at about 30s. a head lower than cattle of the like description and condition last year. Good short-horned calves were -eagerly s oug ht a f ter, an d purc h ase d a t p r ices a little lower than last year. The fact is, that cattle of every descripti on were lower in price than last year. Many thousands of Scotch and other sheep were offered for s aiel and a gr e at d e al of business was done among • them at prices not so low in proportion as among the cattle. Fat cattle were bad to sell. 27th FAlL—This cattle fair was held on the • ' l4l l ult., on the Nowt Fair Hill, near that town, in -• the, county of Cumberland. It was tolerably well .thronged with young bullocks, calving cows, heifers, • and other cattle and a great number of dealers being 'rese'resent, the stock sold pretty well. Two years old nt, were eagerly sought after, and great numbers Were sold at 61., 61. 10s., 71. 55., and 71. 10s. The -denaand for good buckened calves was brisk, and the 'greater part of them were bought at 101., 11/. 10s., 121 ' and as far as 131. a head. Fat cattle were some rwilat dow n i n pr i ce , b u t upon th e w h o l e th e fair w as a „, , g° o 4:l one. Littl e b us i ness was d o ne among the sheep. • DAMPT ON FAIR.—The exhibition of cattle and sheep tty b:44 this fair on th e 26th u lt. was a la r ge one, and the 4 k generally was in prime condition. A vast deal of b usiness was transacted, especially among the sheep, fair remunerating prices. FAlL—This fair took place on Monday 10„'eal which was numerously attended by dealers and , 4...111try people, and the cattle shown were of the first /3',Lra:te. condition. Prices were a little down, but not- ,417.1thstanding a great number of bargains were effected . , , or , .:,.. L ,./. TAE HAR VEST AND TILE THANKSGIVING.—Those . b ° 'ro are m os t sangu i ne an d most i ntereste d i n mag e n -e .._,..*the am o u n t o f th e y e a r ' s p ro d uc ti on d o no t yn t_ our 9 S I 0 i re tO estimate the crop beyond an averageone. of -1. 41W ri 'ltriowledge and observation, and the judgment . -41, 6i jthat practical m en , place it considerably b e l ow , ,„"rict tie cause, therefore, of wheat having fallen 14s. .% ir E a•,lds: a quarter, and being, in the opinion of one to be " as -'l7.!ll'i:onversant with these matters, . ' l ll*_, as 48s. before Christmas," is not likelythe of foreign i;':jarvest, but the abundant importation o wheat. It is true the Government, which . seems to think on this point with the Duke of Rutland, has . iss uo 4 : . _ dan official thanksgiving prayer for a " plenti ful" harvest ; and the leaders of the Anti-Corn-law Party, unwilling that their followers should gi v e Sir It. Peel's measure the credit of having lowered th e e . Nice, are labouring to keep up the same opinion f „the crop ; but we can hardly praise the Government ', goad taste or good feeling in this step. It might d res ue desirable to persuade the farmer that the ep s ion he felt was attributable to the rich plenteousness °f°f his own lands, though- his uncrowded stack yards VW their di m i n i s h e d y i e ld wou ld contrad i ct this. - 4 might be advisable to tell the manufacturers, that Nvith Plenty in the country, they Tight calculateßut,in u Pon a low price throughout the winter. 1141. opinion, it would have been far better to Itu ay t e_ -!B&dotts this in the mode which the Duke of is which Idadopted, or through the thousand chan f n e e 11,1 England are open to the Government r such a with the so tlloBe, than to mix up things political -..int feelings of religion, and confoundthe heartfelt tillatiti4e of the nation for the late auspicious h summer, I v ith the idea of abundance, when s we hear on every '44 'complaints of a deficiency.—E sex 'AVo orocOcits.—A fine woodcock was shot last week 4.. 11 i the parish of Ippleden, Devonshire, by Mr. Cour : nay brake —a remarkable instance of the early ap Arance of this far-famed visitant. linther notable quackery of the season, is the erranditi n t, 64 ,`kl for a law, whereby it shall be " once Pirint always in employment." Try it by Thi IhtdliOnis. Let it be remembered, that when we c .0 • 11 0si, as before long we shall be, our first al l i t ilsZtU tc; call for a law, whereby no landlord blat e Si . dlieliarte a tenant from his farm, or raise _— ..,!,: . rall igNri'ii` 3 : B ..ould the landlords be allowed to whit twitii ttopFuation of tenantry for their convenience, ,.. tads - their irelasOlift ; i n th t y he wide world the first tin te it of nation the of of lu t c h r e e land Y erin tlearuegsthatatsutehhe It proposal. But • the' same But is not all this part and Aortic quackery-, by winch a Hajji Baba of a Prime Minister parade s the Court, with " the Lord Steward eat monstrousl v " fa mine, and receive to pray ' the Shah to a cure for an artificial !instead ourage the deputationsas ` wearing. of the checks of Koordi sten i ! . of the P l a i n silks of Yspahan, by way of re g` the co mmerce of th e U n i te d Ki ng d om ?—Lot te rn Colonel Thompson. _ r The Colonel d u Nord states that the putting in ;!tree' the new regulation s f or co ll ecting the dut i es on _14.1e.-made sugars has th rown t h e trade into pertur au.lon, f rom an ev id ently erroneous construction of Intrticle 41, which it thus explains :—" Sugars sent o refineries were afterwards transported in their raW state to P g reat aris in suc h manner that there was 1 g. difficulty in t rac i ng them. The object of , I t. 41 was to p u t a stop to this fraud, by subjecting ;he refi ners to certain formalities required from the t anufac turers in re mov i ng t h eir raw sugars. The adMinistration have applied the article in such a manner, that not a si ng l e l oa f of refined sugar can be se nt out a the refineries without being stamped, and 1: acco mpanied with a c er tifi ca t e. C omplaints have veer), made to the Government, and redress will no' doubt b e granted; for this interpretation must be illegal, inasmuch as it subjects to restraints, and even a tax, an article not press l aw. " made liabl e t o th em b y any ex _ As; ENTutsiasT.--7The day before yesterday, just before dark, a Well-dressed young man was seen tot precipitate himself lute the Seine from the Pont-au extinctChange. A boat put off i mmediately, but life was when the body was recovered. The following note was found in one of the waistcoat ix )ekets :—" 1 owe to M. N—, of Mont-de-Marsan the sum of 1 16 f., arid 120 f. to my comrade N---, the ! ! aw student, Rue des Boucheries, Hotel de Landes. I entreat my landlord to pay these debts with the money L aisingfrom isply furniture and effects, which I authorise hi mto sell for duerpose of paying those gentlemen and ti to rent that 1.,. I die the victim of dreadful mas •hinations. I was a Republican, and have remained so up to the Moment of my death; but, before God an d men, I ! i.o test I am f ree f rom all bad thoughts am 3 actions. despi se mankind ; I ask pardon of my fin nily, and 4. am about to seek, in the bosom of God, ti te repose Which I have in vain sought on earth." The deceased gasL ° nly twenty-two years of age.' His Ix )dy was ; 4 "en to the Morgue, and notice of his death 1 vas sent ' his f atnily..—Galigrusnis Messenger. . -A. AVEDDING AT NEWFOUNDLAND.---11l the ? even -INf I went t o a we d d i ng at a fisherman ' s house '. The parry eurn consisti ng o f young men an d young 1 women, Vta flew of the se n i ors , assem bl e d a b ou t n i ne ( . 'clock, t:sat round the room drinking grog for some , ' time. esently a piper struck up a tune, and reels an 1 jigs _ brideOn There was much bustling of women in _ d f a back room ; and about half-past ten the ' was said to be read •. The music ceased,altable was brought forward, the priest put on his scapt lar, t i l c T id the bride and bridegroom came forward , and telt before the table. The priest opened his bo 3k, a.. s,j l ted the usual questions in English, rapidly read l a ", u mber of Latin prayers, and the ceremony was con "Pyl:ted• Instantly there. was a struggle among th e p rid e un men around for the first kiss; but as the , ~,,"men not yet off her knees, and the bridegroom was kneeling beside her, he had the best chance, V pro d won accordingly. A plate of cake was next ueed and put upon the table ; the bride and rlsrldegroom came forward, took a piece of cake, and ,t.,.,)sited several dollars on the table before the e ri est. , Each in the room then came forward and ~r ( . ''. a piece of cake, leaving a dollar before the a r S ' e ,_ B t, who stood behind the table thanking th, un in t ric'y came up. I had nothing but two-dollar not es IN Tn Y Pocket, of which I laid down one, when Father .ki sf r t° e'lc it up, looked, shook his head, and said, " Ah, iloe f , l a g 'n my word, that's too much. A five pound cord ; - I was immediately held in great honour ac bef.„l7 ;Lind as I could not contradict the priest ledo,,,tat fl - oeic i I 'Was obliged to receive the acknow- Ii 7e l ats . 0f IW . people with the best grace I could. tl i "1 146 afterwards this was his object, and IlL t 4 1 . 6410 would now do anything for me. Ninti N ~ had: made their contributions they stood art I ,„',W..ilehe counted the money., and declared its ‘k Wit cl h - "h'statiag it at something under 101., which, l lsi . 41 ,r 44 as .he was :pleased to call it, made nearly Uni t/ ' 4 -Wish it Ivis more for your sake, Sir," was t br '"ereal•response round the room. Supper was now h (l : ug , ht in; . consisting of tea and hot cakes; after earl Nealthere was more dancing and more grog drinking to the break of day.—Jukes's Excursions in e.goiliUtland. . --01 e. late Irish Master of the Rolls had his life in sured for 26,000/. He is succeeded in the baronetcy y his SOD now Sir Coleman CeLoghlen, who was called free the bar in 1841: SPJ , ,CIAL COM iIISSIOY. STAFFORD, 'AIONDAY EVENING.—The Special Com mission appointed to try the prisoners committed for offences in Staffordshire during the late disturbances, was opened in Stafford on. Saturday evening, and yesterday the Judges, Chief Justice Tindal, Baron Parke, and Baron Rolfe, attended Divine serv'ee at Christ Church, when a most excellent and appropriate sermon was preached by the Rev. ;V. E. Co?dwell, from the following text, Titus, iii. 1,2, ' Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey Magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men." At ten o'clock this morning the Judges entered the court. Sir N. Tindal, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, presided, and was assisted by Mr. Baron Parke and Mr. Baron Rolfe. The proceedings appeared to excite but little interest in the town, and the bringing up of the prisoners in batches, escortei by a party of the 3d Dragoons, did not attract fifty spectators. The court, which is a large and convenient structure, was crowded, but by no means inconveniently. There was a large number of ladies in the galleries, and these, with the Grand Jurors, of whom there was a very numerous and respectable attendance, composed the great bulk of the auditory. On the bench we observed the Earl Talbot, Lord Lieutenant of'the county; the Earl of Dartmouth, the High Sheriff; J. E. Piercy, Esq.; the Mayor of Stafford, ' J. lice/Yrs, Esq., and several of the influential Magistrates of the county. The usual proclamations having been made, the following noblemen and gentlemen were sworn upon the Grand Jury :—Viscount Ingestrie, foremau ; Viscount Sandon ; the Hon. E. R. Littleton; Edward Monckton, Esq.; W. F. Chetavyad, Esq.; Henry Chetwynd, Esq. ; Francis Bid, Esq. ; Thomas Hale Parker, Esq. ; Edward Grove, Esq. ; 11. H. liamson ' ' Esq. • G. T. Whitgreave, Esq. ; Charles Ad derley, Esq., M.P.; H. J. Pyne, Esq. ; Leigh, Esq.; Henry llordern, Esq. ; Thomas Salt, Esq. ;J. Cartwright, Esq. ; 0. Oldham, Esq. ; Charles Coyne, Esq. ; Cantain Thomas Powys, Samuel S. Briscoe, Esq.; Charles S. Forster, Esq. ; Thomas Hartshorne, Esq. Her Majesty's most gracious proclamation having been read, Chief Justice TINDAL delivered to the Grand Jury the following charge :—Gentlemen of this Grand Inquest—lt is with unfeigned regret that those who have been appointed under her Majesty's Special Commission to inquire . into, and adjudicate upon, the numerous offences committed within this county since the last assizes, are called upon to meet you, the Grand Jurors of the county, on the 'present occasion. It is at all times a painful and, distressing occupation for the mind - of the Judge to pursue the investigation of charges of guilt, and to apportion the just measure of punishment to be awarded against each individual offender ; and if this be the case in the comparatively few instances which occur in the ordinary administration of criminal justice at the as sizes, much more is it so upon the present occasion, when the number of offenders is so large, the nature of the alleged offences so injurious to the welfare of society, and the offences have been committed, not by single individuals, or even small numbers of persons, but by large masses of the community impelled by one com mon motive, and labouring to effect one common ob ject. Gentlemen, it is not our design, nor indeed have we sufficient information on the subject, if we pro posed to do so, to trace, with any particularity, the origin or exact progress of those violations of the law which have taken place within this county, and which will shortly be brought under your consideration. It is fully sufficient for our present purpose to give a general outline of those transactions, drawn from the depositions taken before the Magistrates, the only le gitimate source of information to which we have had access. It appears that about the middle of the month of August last the workmen employed in many of the collieries, and also in many of the various manufac tories established in this county, had become dissatis fied as well with the amount of wages allowed by their employers as in some instances with certain regu lations under which they were placed in the course of their employment ; and that for the purpose of compel ling their masters to allow them greater wages, and to alter the regulations by vihich they thought them selves aggrieved, they refused to continue to work at the various employments in which they had been en gaged; that in a short time, not contented with simply refusing to work, they proceeded, by threats, intimidation, and violence, to compel other workmen, who were willing to continue to work, to join the number of those who were discontented. It appears further, that whilst large bodies of the workmen, per petually increasing in number, were thus collected together in a state of idleness, and of consequence destitution, certain strangers, persons altogether un connected with them in interest, appeared amongst them, and by addresses made to them against the religion, the law, and ' the Government, excited them to a state of dissatisfaction with all the established institutions of the country, and laboured to persuade them to persist in their refusal to return to their employment, as the sure, and effectual, and : only means of redressing the evils by which they were op pressed, and of obtaining their just rights, called by the speakers the " People's Charter." It' ap pears that after such addresses had been made, in some places tumult and disorder forthwith ensued amongst the assembled multitudes, to the great terror and alarm of the quiet and peaceable part of the com munity. In other places large bodies of the work men, so collected together, proceeded to acts of open violence and breaches of the law, in some instances against the persons of the subjects of the Queen, by beating some, cutting and maiming and robbing others, and sometimes against their property by acts of theft and plunder, by forcibly breaking into the dwelling houses of individuals by day and by night, by the de struction of dwelling-houses by actual demolition or by fire, beginning with the houses of Magistrates and other public functionaries, and soon carrying the work of ruin to the dwellings of private persons ; and it is impossible to foresee to what extent the ra pine and devastation of a lawless and misguided mob would have proceeded in the land if it had not beers met and countervailed by the zeal, activity, and firmness of the Magistracy of the county, aided by the unwearied exertions and courage of the military and yeomanry, who lent their effectual assistance, when called upon for that purpose,se security t repressing l ie gN v 'io s le a n l c li e l and disorder, and in giving wit property of their fellow -subjects, by whose combined efforts the work of further destruction was suspended, the fearful and ominous results which seemed to im pend were averted from the county, and the law was restored to its just supremacy. Gentlemen, it has already been intimated that we conceive it to he no part of our province on this occasion to discuss the Justice of the complaints made by the workmen against their employers, or to decide upon the merits of the dispute existing between them. Neither is it part of our duty to show by argument that the course. pursued by the parties who thought themselves ag grieved was of all others the least calculated to ac complish—on the contrary, perhaps, the most likely to defeat—the very object which they wished to attain. Nor, again, are we called upon to suggest or to discuss any remediot which may be provided by law for the prevention of similar mischief's, if, unfor tunately, at any future time the same ground of dis pute should arise between masters and workmen—a discussion which is better fitted for a legislative as sembly than for the members of this tribimal, to whom the only duty allotted is that of declaring the law as it stands at present. Our direct and more useful course will, therefore, be to endeavour to expound the law as it applies itself to the several cases arising out of these unhappy transactions, upon which you will be re quired to exercise your judgments, in order that you may arrive at a just conclusion whether sufficient ap pears in each individual case to call upon the parties accused to appear before a Jury of the country. And the first observation that arises is, that if the workmen of the several collieries and manufactories, who complained that the wages which they rece i ve d were inadequate to the value of their services, had as sembled themselves peaceably together for the purpose of consulting upon and determining the rate of wages or prices which the persons present at the meeting should require for their work, and had entered into an agreement amongst themselves for the purpose of fixing such rate, they would have done no more than the law allowed. A combination for that purpose, and to that extent (if indeed it is to be called by that name), is no more than is recognised as legal by the statute 6 George IV. ; by which statute also exactly the same right of combination, to the same extent, and no fur , ther, is given to the masters when met together, if they are of opinion the rate of wages is too high. In the case supposed—that is, a dispute between the maa ters and the workmen as to the proper amount of 1 wages to he given—it was probably thought by the Legislature, that if the workmen on the one part re fused to work, or the masters, on the other, refused i `ci employ, as such a state of things could not centi n uo long, it might 'fairly le expected that the party must ultimately give way who4e pretensions were not fount led in reAson and justice—the masters if they offered too little, the workmen if they demanded too much. But, un fortunately for themselves and others, these who were d iscontented did not rest here. Not satilfied with the , exercise of their own right to with hold their own labour if they were discontented with the p rice they received for it, they assumed the power of in terfering with the right which others pos sessed ..f . exercisin g their discretion upon the same point; and ,lccordingiy you will have numerous cases laid bef bre yo u in which large bodies of dissatisfied workmen inte.itered, by personal violence and by threats and intii ticlaticv, to compel others, who were perfectly willing to ,-toutinue to labour in their call ings at the rate o f* wages then paid, to desist from their work, to leave th.r mine or manufactors-, and against their own IN ill to add th e M se l ves to the.num bers of the discontel sited party; than which a more glaring - act of tyral, my and despotism by one set of men over their fellows cannot be conceived. If there is one right which, beyond all others, the labourer ought to be able to call his own, it is the right of the exertion of his own personal strength and skill, in the full enjoyment of his own free will, altogether un shackled by the control or dictates of his fellow-work men ; yet, strange to say, this very right, which the discontented workmen claims for himself to its fullest extent, he does, by a blind perversity and unac countable selfishness, entirely refuse to his fellows who differ in opinion from himself. It is unneces sary to say, that a course of proceeding so utterly unreasonable in itself, so injurious to society, so de trimental to the interests of trade, and so oppressive against the rights of the poor man, must be a gross and flagrant violation of the law, and must be put down, when the guilt is established, by a proper measip'e of punishment. But, even without any evidence that combination is the object: or pur pose of the meeting, it' a large body of the ,- people assemble themselves together for the purpose Of',ob taining any particular end, and conduct themselves in a turbulent manner, either accompanied with acts of violence, or with threats and intimidation calcu lated to excite the terror and alarm of the Queen's ' subjects, this is in itself a riot, whether the end and object proposed be a just and legitimate one or not. - 14 therefore, bills should be brought before you charging individuals with riot, for the purpose of raising the rate of wages, and the evidence should show the conduct of the parties to have been of the ( I .!scription just adverted to, the offence of riot is com plete in point of law. Gentlemen, there is another description of offence which will probably be sub mitteit to yOur consideration—namely, the exciting an d ereouraging large masses of the people, by means of seditious and inflammatory speeches, to commit acts of violence. and to break the peace. If such charges are brought forward it must be left to your own good sense to distinguish between an honest declaration of the speaker's opinion upon the political subjects on which he treats—a free discussion on matters that concern the public, as to which full allowance should be made for the zeal of the speaker, though he may somewhat ex• . coed the just bounds of moderation ; and, on the other gage], a wicked design by inflammatory statement and crafty and subtle arguments, to poison the minds of the hearers and render them the instruments of mis chief. He that addresses himself to a crowded auditory of the pool er class, without employment or occupa tion, and brooding at the time-over their wrongs, whether real or imaginary, will ndt •want hearers ready to believe and apt followers of mischievous ad vice. You will consider, therefore, the languagelhat is employed on such an occasion ; if it consist' of broad and bold assertion, unfounded in fact : if, in discussing religious topics, you find the speaker endea vouring to be sprightly and facetious on those subjects which make wise and good men serious ; if, instead of argument, he deals only in sneers and sarcasm, it will he for yourselves to say whether, under such circum stances, the party charged with the offence is an honest but mistaken man, or whether he is wickedly intending to bring the religion, laws, and Goverment of the country into contempt, and to teach the hearers to despise all those institutions which it is their duty to hold in re spect and veneration. Gentlemen, it has been al ready stated, that in the multiplicity of charges which spring out of the transactions above adverted to, some ' will appear for assaults ; some for the felonious offence, of cutting and maiming with intent to do grievous bodily harm ; some for robbery by violence and force; ' some for theft ; some for breaking into dwelling houses by night or by day; some for riotous assem bling, and beginning to demolish, or actually demo lishing, the dwelling houses of Magistrates and Clergymen, the offices connected with the police establishments, and the private houses of individuals ; some charges also fon effecting similar works of de struction by means of fire. But it would be tedious, and, at the same time, altogether unnecessary, to en large upon the law by which those offences are regu lated, more especially togentlemen so well experienced as yourselves in the ordinary business of the assizes. One observation only can be made, which relates to every species of offence committed by several acting in concert and company together—namely, that if many are present at the time when the breach of the law takes place, having one common design in view, and acting with common consent, although they do not all take share in the performance of the very act which is the subject of the indictment, yet by affording countenance, encourage ment, and protection to the pe.rsons who actually per petrate the crime, they are all equally guilty in the eye of the law. But there is one case in the calendar to which, for the purpose of avoiding any interruption in the general view of the transactions which have taken place in this country, I have not yet adverted-- I' - mean the case of one William Ellis, who has been committed by the Magistrates on a ch arge o f hi g h treason ; and as we are not aware whether bills of in dictinent may not possibly be presented against that person, and perhaps others also who appear upon the depositions to stand in the same predicament for the offence of high treason, it becomes necessary that the principles of the law, so far as it relates • to the species of treason upon which the charge, if preferred, will probably be founded, should be laid before you with suilieient precision to enable you to determine whe titer the accusation is so far established that the parties - seemed ought to he put upon their trial for that offence. Gentlemen, the precise species of high treason upon which the charge, if made, must rest, is either that of levying war against her Majesty in her realm, under the statute of Edward 111., or that for which Ellis was committed,—viz. "compass ing and intending to levy war against the Queen within her realm, in order by force or constraint to compel her to change her measures or counsels ;" which latter offence was first made substantive treason by the more recent statute 36th George 111., c. 7, made perpetual by a subsequent Act. Gentlemen, you are well aware, that at least as early as the statute 0 5th Ed ward 111., and thence down to the present time, the bare compassing or imagining the death of the Sovereign, when proved by any open or overt act, la amounted to high treason. For, where the life or personal safety of the Sovereign is concerned, so pre cious has it always been held in the eye of the law, that the bare intention or imagination of the heart to put it in jeopardy, although no injurious consequences follow from such intention, when proved by an overt act, has of itself, and alone, constituted the treason. By that statute also the levying of war within the realm, when proved by an overt act, is made a dis tinct and substantive species of treason. But the mere " compassing" or " intending to levy war," that is, the mere purpose or design of the mind or will to commit that crime, was never made a specific treason until the statute 36th George 111., c. 7, and then only " where such compassing or intention is expressed, uttered, or declared, by publishing any printing or writing, or by any overt act or deed." Now, the only or principal evidence of treason stated in the depositions is the uttering of violent and in flammatory speeches to the assembled multitude. But it is to be observed, that the mere speaking and utter ing of words, considered by itself, and abstractedly, and without reference or connexion with any act or design, however wicked and atrocious those words may be, is not an act of treason. The Judges, on a reference made to them in the 4th year of Charles 1., upon the subject of words spoken by one Pyne, certi fied unanimously, " that though the words were as wicked as might be, yet they were no treason, for unless it be by some particular statute no words will lie treason." On the other; hand, however, where words are uttered and spoken with reference to any treasonable plan or design already laid, and in the contemplation of the speaker, if they are words of ex hortation or encouragement to carry into effect such plan or design, such speaking or uttering of words is strictly and properly an overt act of treason, being the means Made use of to effect the treasonable pur pose; although, even in that case, the more precise and accurate mode of expression would seem to be that the plan or desiß is the treason, and the words of en couragement and • incitement are evidence of the ,existence of it. It will be for you, therefore, to say, supposing no further evidence is given than that •of words.uttered, supposing there is no proof laid before you of any existing plan to subvert the authority of the 'Queen, the established order of government, or the laws of the land—whether, from the mere speaking and uttering of the words by the party charged with treason, you can feel yourselves authorised to infer that at the time the words were uttered there did exist a deliberate design in the mind of the speaker to effect any -of those wicked purposes, and that the speech was made by him to induce the hearers to take up arms, or to use force and violence, for the purpose of carrying such design into effect; you must deter mine for yourselves whether such is the safe conclu sion at which you can arrive upon such evidence alone, or whether the words are not rather to be con sidered as the production of a heated and distempered mind, thrown out at the moment rashly and hastily— words, indeed, " as wicked as might be," as was said in Pyne's case, but words spoken without refer ence to any formed design or settled purpose in the heart of the speaker. In the latter mode of viewing them they would not constitute an act of treason, but be punishable as a high misdemeanour only. Gentle men, I cannot close the observations which I have thought it right to submit to you without expressing the earnest hope of my brethren and myself, that the administration of criminal justice under the Commis sions which have been specially issued into this county, and into others where similar enormities have taken place, may have the wholesome effect of teach ing all who need such warning, first, that in this country the punishment of crime will follow the commission of it with a pace so sure, so steady, and so speedy, that the guilty can have no chance of esec t) 4 B , l and secondly, the more important lesson, that what-, ever attempts may be made by discontented persons to subvert the Government, the laws, or the religion of their country, and to establish a new order of things in their stead, they will find the law of the land too strong for them, and that the honest part of the community, the lovers of peace and order, will at all times unite themselves with the established authorities of the Go- THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 5, 1842. vernment to render their attempts futile and abortive, and to put down such evil-doers with a strong hand ; and I would, in conclusion, further suggest that the effectual, and only effectual, method of counteracting the attempts of wicked and designing men to undermine the principles of the lower classes, and t9,kender them discontented with the established institutions of their country, is the diffusion of 'sound religious knowledge (in which there can be no excess) amongst those classes who are the most ex posed to their attempts, and the educating their children in the fear of God, so that all may be taught that obedience to the law of the land and to the Government of the country is due, not as a matter of compulsion, but of principle and confidence. Gen tlemen, her Majesty's Judges will be happy to render you any assistance in the performance of your duty, if any difficulty should arise. The Counsel retained for the Crown are Sir W. Follett (Solicitor-General), Mr. Sergeant Ludlow, Mr. Sergeant Talfourd, Mr. Godson, Mr. Waddington, and Mr. Talbot. •At the time of writing there are eight bills before the Grand Jury, but not any as vet brought into Court. The bill for treason against Ellis has not yet been presented. The first case t o b e tried will - be that against the men charged with setting fire to Dr. Vale's house at Hanley. It is expected to come on this afternoon, and, next to the charge against Ellis, is considered the most important of the special assizes. It will occupy several hours. Although there are large bodies of troops, both cavalry and infantry, in the vi c i n ity, there appears to be little likelihood of their services being called into requisition, the town and adjoining district being perfectly tranquil, and the only bustle observable in the town is occasioned by the holding of the cattle fair, which has brought a larger number of the peasantry than ordinary into the borough. THE BOUNDARY LINE. (Concluded from The Snn of yesterday.) LORD ASHBURTON TO MR. MWISTER. Washington, July 11, 1842. SIR-I lose no time in acknowledging the receipt of the note you did me the honour of addressing me on the Bth instant, and I beg, in the first place, to say that I am duly sensible of the assurance you give me that the President has been pleased to appreciate the motive which induced my present mission, and much flattered by your recognition of the candour and frank ness which have hitherto marked our intercourse. I had hoped that we had . escaped by mutual consent from a return to the endless and fruitless argument on the general question of the rights of our respective Governments. in the matter of the north-eastern boundary. It seemed to me to have been decided by so many high and competent authorities, that the precise geo graphical point so long looked for was not to be found, that it necessarily followed that any hope of settle ment must rest upon an amicable compromise. The arrival here of the Commissioners from Maine and Massachusets, and the admitted disposition of the two Governments, have given the public a very general expectation that this compromise might at last be effected ; and I hope you will excuse my expressing my regret that the note now before me, and the paper from the gentlemen from Maine, addressed to you, which accompanied it, should have contained so much of a renewal of the old controversy, and should not have been confined to the simple question whether we could or could not agree to terms of settlement. If the observations contained in my note of the 13th ult. have given rise to these consequences, I much regret it, and I would now pass over all these more than useless discussions, and proceed at once to notice the proposal you make, if I were not apprehensive that my so doing might be construed into some want of respect for the parties from whom these observa tions have proceeded. I will, however, endeavour to bring within a nar row compass what I have to say on the subject, and the more so, because, with all deference to you, Sir, I may add, that there is little in these arguments that is new, or that has not been often advanced and re futed during the many past years of controversy. I should except from this want of novelty the posi tion, one; entirely new, advan e c x e p d re b ss y t C h o e m th m in is g - N sio o n v e a rs se f o r t o i m a, w A h la ic i h ne i , s, t as hat y, t o h u e north-west angle to be sought for and found," was the f Madawaska river, which river, it is maintained by a long argument, supported by authorities and maps, was always considered as the real St. John, and this is stated to justify the opinion expressed by the old Congress, in 1799, that this north-west angle was at the source of the St. John. _ _ _ Giving all possible consideration to this apparently new discovery, - I cannot say that it appears well founded. Looking at Mitchell's map, the use of which, by the negotiators of the peace of 1783, has been al ways so much relied upon on the part of America, there is nothing more clearly marked than the great distinct channel of the upper St. John, and it seems hardly possible that the negotiators or the Congress should have made the supposed mistake. But supposing this hypothesis were well founded, the Temiscouata Lake is, then, to be now this long lost angle of Nova Scotia. What becomes, then, of the point so long contended for by Maine, between the Metis and one of the tributaries of the Resti gouche ? These points must be about fifty miles apart. Both cannot be true ; and if it be maintained, as I rather collect it to be, from the paper of the Maine Commissioners, that the point at the Metis is the true boundary, as being the point stricken by the north line, though the other be the true north-west angle of Nova Scotia, there is at least an end of the whole argument, resting upon this north-west angle, being, as stated by you, " the thing to be sought for and found." If this new discovery leads us to no other inference, we can hardly fail to derive from it the conviction that all the ingenuity applied to unravel this mystery leaves us equally in the dark ; and that it is not with out reason that it has been decided by so many per sons, after careful examination, that this boundary is not susceptible of settlement according to the precise words of the treaty. This decision has been come to by Mr. Madison in 1802, by Mr. Jefferson in 1803, by Judge Sullivan about the same time, by the arbiter in 1831, and it has been acted on by nearly every Secretary of State of the United States during the controversy from that time to this ; for although in a case of dispute each party during the dispute endeavours to hold his own, I am not aware that any Secretary a State, or any President of the United States, has ever treated this subject otherwise than as one attended by that degree of uncertainty that it could only be solved by an ar biter, or by a compromise. I would appeal to your candour, Sir, to say whether, at this time, and under these circumstances, it is fair to speak of this disputed territory as belonging indisputably to one party, and to be yielded by way of concession, and for equiva lents, to the other. Any convention I may sign must be for a division of that which is in doubt or dispute ; with any arrangement between the State of Maine and the general Government I have nothing to do ; and if, which God forbid, our endeavours at an ami cable compromise should at last fail, I must hold that Great Britain retains her right, at least equal to the United States, to every part of the territory in dis pute, until by a renewed reference, or by the skill of some more fortunate negotiator, this difference may be brought to a close. I have now only to add a few observations upon the arguments contained in your own note. Some stress is laid upon the fact that the joint Commissioners of the two Governments, in 1817, directed the surveyors to run the north line from the St. Croix, until it met water running into the St. Lawrence. The lines to be run were to ascertain the exetent first i ns t ance, a line 9litimed by e ith er geographical facts of the case. No proceeding could be more proper. The claims of the two parti es var i e d, i sahnoduiltdNbveasrnuantunroarlth to t that, in he the party ; where that line would reach, or what high lands or streams it might strike, Was unknown ; so much so, that Mr. Gallatin, in his letter from Ghent, mentioned in my note of the 13th ult., expressed his doubts on this subject. His predietiou turned out to be true. The point where the line strikes the Metis was a point not fulfilling the words of the treaty. It did not divide the waters as desired, unless the Bay of Chaleurs and the Gulf of St. Lawrence are considered to answer to the description of the Atlantic Ocean. Mr. Gallatin was sensible of this, and intimates that if this fact created doubt, the lands about the Resti gouche might be given up ; but he forgets, that in giving up this territory, he gives up his argument; for he maintains, in opposition to the British line of boundary, that it does not continuously, and in all its parts, divide the waters, as required by the treaty. The American line was in this equally deficient, and it is useless, therefore, now to consider whether it would have been preferable to the British line, if it had divided the waters of the St. Lawrence from those of the St, John. . . To make even a plausible •case for the America*, line, both the St. John's and the Restigouche m -P. st be held to be rivers emptying into the Atlantie ocean. .4 The Royal arbiter says it would be b 7 class them. I believe that whatevc.:e zardous so t o argument mi g ht be made in the case of the St, -•, argument connected with the distinctions with wh_ ; :c i n it was mentioned, in the treaty, to consi , ler the Restigouche as flowing into the Atlantic ocean would be more than hazardous— it would be most absurd. At all events, I would submit tO ;you that no inference could be drawn from trig Ontranissioners in 1817 having ordered a north lino to be run ; the same Commissioners, after drawing the line, having disagreed as to any conclusions from it. I am rather surprised that an inspection of the map should lead us to such different views of the course of the rivers and of the coast as stated by yon. I find that the upper St. John's and the Restigouche, so far from cutting at right angles the parallel lines of the coast and the St. Lawrence, as you say, run in their main course nearly parallel with them. I am 1, not aware that the last is important,although it seems connected with your argument. My inspection of these maps, and my examination of the documents, lead me to a very strong conviction that the highlands contemplated by the negotiators of the treaty, were the only highlands then known to them, at the head of the Penobscot, Kennebec, and the rivers west of the St. Croix ; and that they did not precisely know how the north line from the St. Croix would strike them ; and if it were not ra y wish to shorten th e di scuss i on , I believe a very goodargu ment might be drawn from the words of the treaty in proof of this. In the negotiations with Mr. Living ston, and afterwards with Mr. M‘Lane, this view seemed to prevail ; and, as you are aware, there were proposals to search for these highlands to the west, where alone I believe they will be found to answer perfectly the description of the treaty. If this ques tion should unfortunately go to a farther reference, I should by no means despair of finding some confirma tion of this view of the case. I shall now, Sir, close what I have to say on the controversial part of this question. I should not have treated of it at all but from respect to the gentlemen from Maine, whose arguments you conveyed to me; and I shall certainly not renew it unless called upon by you to do so. Our immediate business is with the compromise of what is not otherwise to be set tled • and argument and contr oversy , f ar f rom assist ing ;hat end, have ever generally a tendency to irri tate and excite. Referring, then, to our more immediate subject of a line by agreement, I deeply regret, on reading your observations and proposals, that we are yet so far asunder. I always thought this part of our duty better performed by conference than by correspond ence, unless, indeed, we had the misfortune not to be able ultimately to agree, in which case it would cer tainly be necessary that our two countries should see clearly on paper how nearly we had approached to each other ; and on whom the blame at last rested of leaving unsettled a question involving such serious consequences. I would still recommend this course of personal discussion and conference, but, in the meantime, I proceed to consider the proposals and ob servations contained in your note. It is sufficiently explained in my plan for a settle ment, why I was anxious not to divide in two parts, by any new line of boundary, the Madawaska settle ments ; and I am sorry to say that the information I have since received, both as to local circumstances and the anxiety of the people themselves, tends strongly to confirm my impressions. At the same time, you will have seen that I was sensible that some good reason should be assigned why we should not be satisfied with what you justly term the otherwise perfect boundary of the St. Johns. In your reply you recognise the difficulties of the case, and do justice to our motives, but you state dis tinctly, on the part of your Government, that you can consent to no line which should bring us over the St. John without some equivalent of territory to be found out of the limits of that part which is in dis pute ; and you refer more particularly to a certain narrow strip lying between the north line and the river. This strip I have no power to give up ; and I beg to add, that the refusal of my Government is founded simply on their objection to dispose arbitra rily of the persons and property of her Majesty's sub jects, living by preference under her authority ; an objection which, you are aware, applies with peculiar force to the inhabitants of this part of New Brunswick. I had hoped that the other equivalents which I had offered, combined with the sense entertained by the Government of the United States of the pressing im portance of the case on the ground of humanity, would have been sufficient for the purpose I so anxi ously desired ; but perceiving, from your note, as well as from personal conversation, that concession upon this point is insisted upon, I might be disposed to consider whether my anxious desire to arrive at a friendly settlement would not justify me in yielding, however reluctantly, if the latter part of your propo sal did not, if finally persevered in, forbid all hope of any settlement whatever. "The boundary you propose, supposing the British territory not to come over the St. John, is to run from the north side of that river, three miles above its junction with the Madawaska, over an arbitrary line, which my map does not exactly permit me to follow, until it reaches, somewhere, the St. Francis. I need not examine this line in its precise details, because I am obliged frankly to state that it is inadmissible. I think I might, Sir, appeal to your candid judgment to say whether this is a proposition of conciliation — whether, after all the antecedent discussions on this subject, it could be reasonably expected that, whatever might be the anxiety of my Government for a friendly settlement, I could be found with power to accede to such terms. I need not observe to you that this would give to great Britain less than the award of the arbi ter, while at the same time she would be called upon to give up what that arbiter awarded her, and if I do not mistake you, the floatage of the lumber of Maine down the St. John is also expected to be surrendered. I must beg to say that I am quite at a loss to ac count for such a proposal. Your own principle of maintaining the great river as the best boundary, is abandoned—an arbitrary line is drawn which nobody ever suspected before, and I can only suppose this course to be dictated by that general assumption that, notwithstanding all former admissions and decisions to the contrary, this territory said to be in dispute, in truth belongs to one party to be doled out as a favour to the other ; an assumption that cannot for a moment be admitted, and which you, Sir, with the records of your office before you, will hardly maintain. The position in which this negotiation now stands seems to prove what I have before ventured to ad vance, that it would have a better chance of success by conference than by correspondence ; at all events, that we should soon arrive at ascertaining what we can or cannot do. Slow, unnecessarily slow, our pro gress has hitherto been, and the public seems some how or other to have become informed that there are differences. I hope that when we come to discuss them, they will prove less serious than they are sup posed to be, but it is very desirable that doubts and distrusts should be set at rest, and that public credit and the transactions of commerce should suffer the least possible disturbance. For although, should this negotiation unfortunately fail, it will be our duty im mediately to place it in some new course of further reference, it is not to be disguised that such a result must be productive of considerable public anxiety and disappointment. What I have said in relation to the Madawaska settlements will, I trust, sufficiently prove my disposi tion to approach such a discussion with the true spirit of conciliation, and I trust that you will permit me to express a hope that it will be met with a correspond ing feeling. Before concluding, I wish to add a few words re specting the line of the St. John's to one of its sources, and the navigation for certain purposes of that river. It may be true that the district between the St. John's and the highlands west of the St. Francis, may be of some extent, but your own surveyors will confirm to you that it is of very little value either for cultivation or for timber. Is it reasonable that in the division of an object in dispute, its intrinsic value should be only disregarded, and its extent alone considered ? I would farther suggest for your consideration whether, supposing the division of the King of the Netherlands to be admitted to supply fairly the equity of the case between the parties, what is pro posed to be added to Great Britain, viz., the strip on the 45th parallel of latitude, and the use of the navi gation of the St. John, be not an ample compensation for what we ask in return, viz., that barren strip above the upper St. John, which is wanted for no other phrpose than as a boundary, for which purpose it is admitted on all sides to be most convenient. The right to use the St. John for floating down the lumber of Maine on the same terms as the river is use d by the Queen's subjects, is now treated as a matter of light importance. This is not uncommon when a concession of any kind is about to be yielded, but I beg to remind you that this was not formerly so considered. It has been repeatedly solicited and invariably refused, and n o Mi n i s t er o f Great Britain has before been permitted to connect this concession with the settlement of the boundary. It is considered by my Government as a very im portant concession. I am sure that it must be con sidered by all persons in Maine connected with the lumber trade as not only valuable, but indispensable, and I am compelled to add, that I am empowered to allow this privilege only in the event of a settlement of the boundary on satisfactory terms. It is said in the memorandum of the Maine Commissioners that this conceded navigation will be as useful to the town of St. John's as to the - lute l Jerers of Maine, but it will not escape you that even if this be so, it is a concession necessary 'to 'give any value whatever to so bulky an arti'...ie as lumber, which being not otherwise dispe,sable, would bear any reasonable toll which the Provincial authorities of New Brunswick might th:ink it expedient to levy upon it. Farther, it should not be forgotten that the timber, once at mouth of the St. John's, will have the privilege of reaching the British as well as other markets, and lastly, that it is a very different thing to held a privi lege of this important description by right or by mere sufferance, to be granted or withheld at pleasure. I have to apologise for entering into these details in treating of the great question with which we a re oc cupied, but they seem called for by observations in the paper you sent me. I beg, Sir, you will be assured of my unfeigned and distinguished consideration. ASHBURTON. Hon. Daniel Webster, &c., &C., &C. LORD ASIIBURTON TO MR. 'WEBSTER. Washington, July 16, 1842. SlR—There is a further question of disputed boundary between Great Britain and the United States, called the north-west boundary, about which we have had some conferences ; and I now proceed to state the terms which I am ready to agree to for the settlement of this difference. As the principal object in dispute is to be given up by Great Britain, I trust, Sir, that you will here again recognise the spirit of friendly conciliation which has guided my Government in disposing of these questions. I have already sufficiently discussed with you the boundaries between her Majesty's provinces and the United States, from the monument at the head of the river of St. Croix, to the monument on the river St. Lawrence, near the village of St. Regis. The Com Missioners under the sixth article of the treaty of Ghentsucceeded in continuing this boundary from St. Regis, through the St. Lawrence and the great northern lakes, up to a point in the channel be tween Lake Huron and Lake Superior. A further , continuation of this boundary, from this point through Lake Superior to the Lake of the Woods, was confided to the same Commissi on , under the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent, but they were unfortunately unable to agree, and have con sequently left this portion of the boundary undeter mined. Its final settlement has been much desired by both Governments, and urgently pressed by com munications from Mr. Secretary Forsyth to Mr. Fox, in 1 t 39 and 1840. What I have now to propose cannot, I feel assured, be otherwise than satisfactory for this purpose. The Commissioners who failed in their endeavours to make this settlement differed on two points : First, as to the appropriation of an island called St. George's Island, lying in the water communication between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. And, Secondly, as to the boundary through the water communications from Lake Superior to the Lake of the Woods. The first point I am ready to give up to you, and you are no doubt aware that it is the only object of any real value in this controversy. The Island of St. George is reputed to contain 25,920 acres of very fertile land ; but the other things connected with these boundaries being satisfactorily arranged, a line shall be drawn so as to throw this island within the limits of the United States. In considering the second point, it really appears of little importance to either party how the line be determined through the wild country between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, but it is im portant that some line should be fixed and known. The American Commissioner asked for the line from Lake Superior up the River Kamarastaquid to the lake called Dog Lake, which he supposed to be the same as that call e d Long Lake in the treaties, thence through Sturgeon Lake to the Lac la Pluie, to that point where the two lines assumed by the Commissioners again met. The British Commissioner, on the other hand, con tended for a line from the south-western extremity, at a point called Le Fond du Lac to the middle of the mouth of the estuary or Lake of St. Louis River, thence up that river, through Vermilion River, to Lac la Pluie. Attempts were made to compromise these diffe rences, but they failed ; apparently more from neither party being willing to give up the Island of St. George, than from much importance being attached to any other part of the case. Upon the line from Lake Superior to the Lake of the Woods, both Com missioners agree to abandon their respective claims, and to adopt a middle course, for which the American Commissioner admitted that there was some ground of preference. This was from Pigeon River, a point between Ka marastaquid and the Fond du Lac ; and although there were differences as to the precise point near the mouth of Pigeon River where the line should begin, neither party seem to have attached much importance to this part of the subject. I would propose that the line be taken from a point about six miles south of Pigeon River, where the Grand Portage commences on the lake, and continued along the line of the said Portage alternately by land and water to Lac la Pluie—the existing route by land and water remaining common to both parties. This line has the advantage of being known and attended with no doubt or uncertainty in running it. In making the important concession on this boun dary, of the Isle of St. George, I must attach a con dition to it of accommodation, which experience has proved to be necessary in the navigation of the great waters which bound the two countries—an accommo dation which can, I apprehend, be no possible incon venience to either. This was asked by the British Commissioner, in the course of the attempts at compromise above alluded to; but nothing was done because he was not then prepared, as I am now, to yield the property and sovereignty of St. George's Island. The first of these two cases is at the head of Lake St. Clair, where the river of that name empties into it from Lake Huron. It is represented that the channel bordering the United States' coast in this part is not only the best for navigation, but, with some winds, is the only ser viceable passage. I do not know that under such circumstances the passage of a British vessel would be refused; but on a final settlement of boundaries it is desirable to sti pulate for what the Commissioners would probably have settled had the facts been known to them. The other case, of nearly the same description, occurs on the St. Lawrence, some miles above the boundary at St. Regis. In distributing the islands of the river by the Com missioners, Barnhart's Island and the Long Sault Islands were assigned to America. This part of the river has very formidable rapids, and the only safe passage is on the southern or American side, between those islands and the main land. We want a clause in our present treaty to say that for a short distance, viz. from the upper end of Upper Long Sault Island to the lower end of Barnhart's Island, the several channel& of the river shall be used in common by the. boatmen of the two countries. I am not aware that these very reasonable demands are likely to meet with any objection, especially when the United States will have surrendered to them all that is essential in the boundary I have now to pro pose to you. I beg you will be assure, Sir, of my unfeigned and distinguished consideratic,n. ASHB RION. Hon. Daniel Webster, &c. &c. MR. WEBSTER. TO LORD ASHBURTON. Department of Sicate, Washington, July 27, 1842. MY LORD,—I have now to propose to your Lord ship a line of division embracing the disputed portions of the boundary between the United States and the British provinces of New Brunswick and the Canadas, with its considerations and equivalents, such as con form, I believe, in substance, to the result of the many conferences and discussions which have taken place between us. The acknowledged territories of the United States and England join upon each other from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains, a distance of more than three thousand miles. From the ocean to the source of the St. Croix the line of division has been ascertained and fixed by agreement; from the source of the St. Croix to a point near St. Regis, on the river St. Lawrence, it may be consi dered as unsettled, or controverted ; from this last mentioned point along the St. Lawrence and through the Lakes, it is settled, until it reaches the water com munication between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. At this point the Commissioners under the 7th article of the treaty of Ghent, found a subject of disagree ment which they could not overcome, in deciding upon which brunch or channel the line should pro ceed till it should reach a point in the middle of St. Mary's river, about one mile above St. George's or Sugar Island. From the middle of the water communication be tween the two lakes at the point last mentioned, the Conmussionets extended th e li n e through the remain ing part of that water communication, and across Lake Superi or to a point north of Isle Royale ; but they could r of agree in what direction the line should run from Ihe last-mentioned point, nor where it should leaves Lake Superior, nor how it should be extended to the Rainy Lake or Lac la Pluie. From this last-me 3 ationed lake they agreed on the line to the north-weste almost line of the Lake of the Woods, which they found to be in latitude 47. 23. 55. The line exteneis, according to existing treaties, due south from this point to the 49th parallel of north latitude, and by that parallel to the Rocky Mountains. Not 'tieing able to agree upon the whole line, the Commissioners under the 7th article did not make any joint report to their respective Governments; so far as they agreed on any part of the line, that part has been considered settled ; but it may be w ell to give validity to these portions of the line by a treaty. To complete the boundary line, therefore, and to remove all doubts and disputes, it is necessary for the two Governments to come to an agreement on these points :- 1. What shall be the line on the north-ea.3tern and western limits of the United S Thi ta is tes b from the St. Croix to the St. Lawrence ? s y far the mo s t important and difficult of the subjects, and involves the principal questions of equivalents and compensations. 2. What shall be the course of the boundary from the point where the Commissioners, under the 6th article of the treaty of Ghent, terminated their labours, to wit, a point in the Neebush channel in the Muddy Lake, in the water communication between Lake Huron and Lake Superior, to a point in the middle of St. 31ary's river, one mile above Sugar Island ? This question is important, as it involves the owner ship of that island. 3. What shall be the line from the point north of Isle Royale, in Lake Superior, at which the Commis sioners of the two Governments arrived, by agreement, to the Rainy Lake ? and also to confirm those parts of the line to which the said Commissioners agreed. Besia l es agreeing up on the line of division through these controverted portions of the boundary, you have suggested also, as the proposed settlement provides, upon the ground of compromise and equivalent, that boats. belonging t o h er M a j es ty' s su bjects may pass the falls of the L ong d Sault islands ; and that the pas sage between th e i s l the river St. CI an slying at or near the junction of Clair, with the lake of that name, should be severally free and open to the vessels of both coon • tries. There appears no reasonable objection to what is requested in these particulars ; and on the part of the United States it is desirable that their vessels in proceeding into Lake Erie into the Detroit river, should have the privilege of passing between Bois Blanc, an island belonging to England, and the Ca nadian shore, the deeper and better channel being on that side. The line, then, now proposed to be agreed to, may thus be described. Beginning at the monument at the source of the river St. Croix, as designated and agreed to by the Commissioners under the sth article of the treaty of 1794, betlN een the Governments of the United States and Great Britain ; thence, north, fol lowing the exploring line run and marked by the surveyors of the two. Governments in the years 1817 andlBlB, under the sth article of the treaty of Ghent, to its intersection with the river St. John's, and to the middle of the channel thereof; thence, up the middle of the main channel of the said river St. John's, to the mouth of the river St. Francis ; thence, up the middle of the channel of the said river St. rancis, and of the lake through which it flows, to the outlet of the Lake Pohehagarnook ; thence, south westerly, in a straight line, to a point on th e north west branch o f th e river St. John, which point shall be ten miles distant from the main branch of the St. John, in a straight line, and in the nearest direction, but if the said point shall be found to be less than seven miles from the nearest point of the summit or crest of the highlands that divide those rivers which empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which fall into the St. John's, then the said point shall be made to recede down the said river to a point seven miles, in a straight line, from the said summit or crest; thence in a straight line, in a course about south, eight degrees west, to the point where the parallel of latitude 0f45. 25. north intersects the south west branch of the St. John, thence, southerly, by the said branch, to the source thereof in the highlands at the Metjarmett portage; thence down along the said highlands which divide the waters which empty them selves into the river St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic ocean, to the head of Hall's stream ; thence down the middle of said stream till the line thus run intersects the old line of boundary, sur veyed and marked by Valentine and Collins previous to the year 1774, as the 45th degree of latitude, and which has been known and understood to be the line of actual division between the States of New York and Vermont, on one side, and the British province of Canada on the other : and from said point of inter section, west, along the said dividing line, as here tofore known and understood, to the Iroquois or St. Lawrence river ; and from the place where the joint Commissioners terminated their labours under the 6th article of the treaty of Ghent, to wit, at a point in the Neebush Channel, near Muddy Lake, the line shall run into and along the ship chan nel, between St. Joseph's and St. Tammany Islands, to the division of the channel at or near the head of St. Joseph's Island, thence turning eastwardly and north wardly, around the lower end of St. George's or Sugar Island, and following the middle of the channel which divides St. George's from St. Joseph's Island, thence up the east Neebush channel, nearest to St. George's Island, through the middle of Lake George, thence west of Jonas Island into St. Mary's River, to a point in the middle of that river, about one mile above St. George's or Sugar Island, so as to appro priate and assign the said island to the United States, thence adopting the line traced on the maps by the Commissioners, through the river St. Mary and Lake Superior, to a point north of Isle Royale, in said lake, one hundred ya r d s t o th e north and east of Isle Cha peau, which last mentioned island lies near the north eastern point of Isle Royale, where the line marked by the Commissioners terminates ; and from the last mentioned point southwesterly through the middle of the sound between Isle Royale and the northwestern main -land, to the mouth of Pigeon River, and up the said river to and through the N or th ' an d S out h Fowl Lakes, to the lakes of the height of land between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods ; thence along the water communication to Lake Saisaginaga, and through that lake; thence to and through Cypress Lake, Lac du Bois Blanc, Lac la Croix, Little Vermi lion Lake, and Lake Nawecan, and through the seve ral smaller lakes, straits, or streams, connecting the lakes here mentioned to that point in Lac la Pluie, or Rainy Lake, at the Chadiere Falls, from which the Commissioners traced the line to the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods ; thence along the said line to the said most northwestern point, being in lat. 49 deg. 23 min. 55 sec. north, and in long. 95 deg. 14 min. 38 sec. west from the observatory at Greenwich; thence, according to existing treaties, the line extends due south to its intersection with the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, and along that parallel to the Rocky Mountains. It being understood that all the water communications, and all the usual portages along the line from Lake Superior to the Lake of the - Woods, and also Grand Portage from the shore of Lake Superior to Pigeon River, as now actually used, shall lie free and open to the use of the subjects and citi zens of both countries. It is desirable to follow the description of the exact line of the original treaty as far as practicable. There is reason to think that " Long Lake," men tioned in the treaty of 1783, meant merely the estuary of Pigeon River, as no lake called " Long Lake," or any other water strictly conforming to the idea of a lake, is found in that quarter. This opinion is strengthened by the fact that the words of the treaty 'would seem to imply that the water intended as " Long Lake" was immediately adjoining Lake Su prior. In one respect an exact compliance with the words of the treaty is not practicable. There is no continuous water communication between Lake Su perior and the Lake of the Woods, as the Lake of the Woods is known to discharge its waters through the Red River of the north into Hudson's Bay. The dividing height or ridge between the eastern sources of the tributaries of the Lake of the Woods and the ivestern sources of Pigeon River, appears, by authentic :maps, to be distant about forty miles from the mouth of Pigeon River, on the shore of Lake Superior. It is not improbable that in the imperfection of knowledge which then existed of those remote coun tries, and perhaps misled by Mitchell's map, the ne gotiators of the treaty of 1783, supposed the Lake of the Woods to discharge its waters into Lake Superior. The broken and difficult nature of the water commu nication from Lake Superior to the Lake of the "Woods, renders numerous portages necessary, and it is right that these water communications and these portages should make a common highway, where ne cessary, for the use of the subjects and citizens of both Governments. When the proposed line shall be properly described in the treaty, the grant by England of the right to use the river waters of the St. John for the purpose of transporting to the mouth of that river all the tim ber and agricultural products raised in Maine, on the waters of the St. John's, or any of its tributaries, without subjection to any discriminating toll, duty or disability, is to be inserted. Provision should also be made for quieting and confirming the titles of all persons having claims to lands on either side of the line, whether such titles be perfect or inchoate only, and to the same extent in which they would have been confirmed by their respective Governments, haddt no change taken place. What h as been agree a e o s , also, in respect of the common use of certain ms in the rivers and lakes, as alr ead y stated, must pas -bemade matter of regular stipulation . b the correpond on the two ence which formerly took place bet y w e th a t there is a fund arising from the Your Lordship is also i nformed, Governments, It will be eedient to +hut arran men h sale of timber, concerning which fan . d an under.stand ing was had some years ago. *de by the treaty that g e s hall be rovi carried into effect. A proper article will be necessary to provide for th e creation of a Commission to run and mark some parts of the line betwe en Maine and the British provinc es . These several ob j ects a pp ear to me to embrace all respec ting th e boundary line and its equ i va l ents, the treaty needs to contain as matte rs o f stipu lation between the United States and Engl an d. I have the honour to be, with high cons id erat i on, your Lordship's most obedie n t servant, Lord Ashburton, &c. DANIEL, WEB S TER. LORD ASHBURTON TO MR. NVEBSTER. SIR, -1 he attentivelyconsidered g t t o h n e , J s tualt3e aN • rents contained in the letter did 9e; you me the honour of ad dressing me the 27th of this month, of the terms agreed to for the settlement of • boundaries between her Ma jesty's provinces and • the United States, being the final result of the many conferences we have had on the subject. This settlement appears suktantially correct in all its arts, and we may now proceed, without further delaydraw the treaty. Several to up of the articles for thi; purpose are already agreed, and our most convenient course will be to take and con sider them singly. I would beg leave to recommend, that as we have excellent charts of the country through which the boundary, which failed of being settled by the Commissioners under the seventh article of the treaty of Ghent, is partially marked, that it would be advisable to make good the delineation on those charts, which would spare to both parties the un necessary expense of new Commissioners, and a new survey. In this case the only Commission required would be to run the line on the boundary of Maine. The stipulations for the greater facility of the navi ' ga tion of the River St. Lawrence, and of the two pas sages between the upper lakes, appear evidently desi rable for general accommodation, and I cannot refuse the reciprocal claim made by you to render common the passage from Lake Erie into the Detroit River. This must be done by declaring the several passages in those parts free to both parties. I should remark, also, that the free use of the navi gation of the Long Sault passage on the St. Lawrence must be extended to below Barnhart's Island for the purpose of clearing those rapids. I beg leave to repeat to you, Sir, the assurance of my most distinguished consideration. Hon. Daniel Webster, &c. &c. ASHBURTON.