The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-16 00:00:00

ratified by the President of the United States, by and
with the advice and consent of their Senate, and by Ids
B:: annic Majesty, au‘i chc respective ratifications
mutually exchangrd, shall be binding and obligatory on
no said thiiteii S:ates, and Maje-ty; and the
ratifications shall be rachariged in six month trum this
da1..., or sooner, if possible.
In witness wiaereot, the respective Plenipotentiaries
have signed the same, and have thereunto affixed the
seal of their arms.

Done at London, this twentieth day of October, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen.
(L s.) ALBERT GALLATIN.
(US.) RICHARD RUSH.
(L.S.) FREDERICK JOHN ROBINSON'.
(L.s.) HENRY GOULBURN.
Now, therefore, be it known, that I, James Monroe,
President of the United States, have caused the said
convention to be made
public, to the end that the same,
and every clause and article thereof. may be observed
and fulfilled, with good faith, by the United States, and
the citizens thereof.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my (L. s.)
hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be
affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this thirtieth day
of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and nineteen, and of independence the
forty-third.

JAMES MONROE,

By the P:esident,
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, Secretary of State,

theG Queen's
l.
legal opinion respectingb the interpre-
tation of the Treaty of
athis i.
on subject made by
n
compliance with a requisition
tl:
law officers, the Advoc43BlBndwtalase
Lord Palmerston in
Query 1. In obediencelB to your Lordship's commands,
we have taken these papers into consideration, and have
the honour to report that we are of opinion that the
treaty of 1782 was annulled by the war of 1812; and we
are also of opinion that the rights of fishery of the
United States must now be considered as defined and re-
gulated by the Convention of 1818, and, with respect to
the general question, "if so what right?" we can only
refer to the terms of the eonvention as explained and
elucidated by the observations which will occur in an-
swering the other specific queries.
2. Except within certain defined limits, to which the
query put to us does not apply, we are of opinion that, by
fcrboemterthe ms
roifghitheoti fishingreaty,American citizens are excluded
coast of British America; waitnhdin threethatthemipleraescarfib.‘ehde
distance of three miles is to be measured from the head-
lands or extreme points of land next the sea of the coast,
or of the entrance of the bays, and not from the interior
of such bays or inlets of the coast, and, consequently,
that no right exists on the part of American citizens to
enter the bays of Nova Scotia, there to take fish, al-
though the fishing being within the bay may be at a
greater distance than three miles from the shores of the
bay, as we are of opinion that the term headland is
used in the treaty to express the part of the land we have
before mentioned, excluding the interior of the bays and
the inlets of the coast.

4. By the treaty of 1818, it is agreed that American
citizens should have the liberty of fishing in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, within certain defined limits in com-
mon with British subjects, and such treaty does not
contain any words negativing the right to navigate the
passage of the Gut of Canso, and therefore it may be
conceded that such right of navigation is not taken away
by that convention; but we have now attentively con-
sidered the course of navigation to the gulf by Cape
Breton, and likewise the capacity and situation of the
passage of Canso and of the British dominions on either
side: and we are of opinion that, independently of
treaty, no foreign country has the right to use or navi-
gate the passage of Canso; and attending to the
terms of the convention relating to the liberty of fishery
to be enjoyed by the Americans, we are also of opinion
that that convention did not either expressly or by im-
plication concede any such right of using or navigating
the passage in question. We aro also of opinion that
casting bait to allure fish in the track of any American
vessels navigating the passage would constitute a fishing
within the negative terms of the convention.
5. With reference to the claim of a right to land on
the Magdalen Islands, and to fish from the shores thereof,
it must be observed, that by the treaty, the liberty of
drying and curing fish (purposes which could only
he accomplished by landing) in any part of the unsettled
bays, &c., of the southern part of Newfoundland, and of
the coast of Labrador,. is specifically provided for; but
such privilege is distinctly negatived in any settled bay,
&c.; end it must therefore he interred that if the liberty
of landing on the shores of the Magdalen Islands had
been intended to be conceded, such an important con-
cession would have been the subject of express stipula-
tion, and woald necessarily have been accompanied with
a description of the inland extent of the shore over which
such liberty was to be exercised, and whether in settled
or unsettled parts; but neither of these important parti-
culars are provided for even by implication, and that,
among other considerations, leads us to the conclusion
that American citizens have no right to land or conduct
the fishery from the shores of the Magdalen Islands.
The word " shore" does not appear to be used in the
convention in any other than the general or ordinary
sense of the word, and must be construed with reference
to the liberty to be exercised upon it, and would there-
fore compromise the land covered with water, as far as
could be available for the due enjoyment of the liberty
granted.

6 By the convention the liberty of entering the bays
and harbours of Nova Scotia for the purpose of parches•
ing wood and obtaining water is conceded in genera
terms, unrestricted by any condition expressed or im-
plied Hushing it to vessels duly provided at the com-
mencement of the voyage; arid wo are of opinion tha•
no such condition can be attache] to the enjoyment of
the liberty.
7. T e rights of fi3hory ceded to the citizens of the
United Sates, and th:)se reserved for the exclusive en-
joyment of British subjects, depend altogether upon the
convention of 1818, the only existing treaty oa this
sut.;jt!ct between the two countries; and the materis
points rising thereon have been specifically answered
our replies to the preceding queries.
We have, &c.,
(Signed)

J. DODSON.
TUO3. WILDE,
Viscount Palmeraton, K.B , &c. &c.