The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-11-22
toFFIcIAL PUBLICATION
The Maine Commissioners TO Mr.. Wsbst1.
CORRESPONDENCE
Hin British Special Mission.
AND soRTHwEsrERN BOUNDARY.

Lord Ashburton dated the ith instant, and by you
to the commissioners Of Maine and
Massachusetts, that the line proposed by US as con-
ventional line with the assent and concurrence OF
the commissioners of Massachusetts in our note TO
you of the 29th ultimo, is nadmsslble. His lord
ship even expresses himself being quite at loss
10 account for such proposal" and appeals To your
candid iulg ment 10 say whether this is PROPOSE
ton of conc alton, and whether IL could reasonably
be expected that, whatever might be the anxiety oil
his Government for friendly settlement, he could
be found with power to accede 10 such terms mat
public TO which his lordship than once alludes
in both his letters, win have il in their power to judge
which proposition, the whole, under all the CIR
cumstances Of the case, best entitled To the charac
ter Of conciliatory his lordships or ours. To you,
sir, The commissioners must be permitted TO INSIST
that they did intend and consider their offer pro-
position Of Cancellation, however IL may appear to
Lord Ashburon. 1t Is predicated upon the basis OF
yielding to Great Britain all she needs, and more
than she needs for the natural convenient, and UNI
obstructed communication and connexion Of her col
onies with each other" desire on her part TO OBJ
tain which, is believed TO be at the bottom of this
roversy and the necessity Of securing which even his
ordshp 10 admit, has been the main reason OF
her continuing to persist in IT, The royal arber, as
his ordshp is pleased to call him, clearly understood
this and governed himself accordingly He recon
mended the yielding, the part of the United States,
of this portion Of territory, coupling it at the
time with the yielding ON the part of Great
Britain, to the United States, of Rouses point,
Id
ted, with its kilometrical radius, and so much
Of the territory adjacent might be necessary
to include it, The existence of such place and its
Notifications had not been even alluded TO in the
American statements nor by the American agents.
The British agents could not suffer such fact TO pass
unnoticed. They studiously informed the royal ar
bitter in their first statement and took to advert
TO il again in their second, that there was certain
point called Rouses point, where there happened TO
be important American fort which had been
I'D haf,ra nf 1In
defence for that frontier Thus admonished of the
fact the royal arbiter readily avaed himself of it,
and placed the value and convenience of this sup
posed important military position and ratification, so
the account of the United States, offset for the
territory in Maine, needed for the convenience Of
Great Britain, and for g the unobsructed commune
cation and conneXion of her colonies with each 9TH
er, )" surprising, without doubt, that in doing he
was promoting the interest, and objects, and conve
nience of both nations. When, therefore, Lord Ash
burton bases his proposition on the opposition that
50 the division by the King of the Netherlands salts
fed fairly the equity of the between the parties
and restrans that mondrchs views to equitable dyl
sion of the territory in dispute in Maine only be
looks, it appears TO u.s. the fact that both matters
were before his malesty's mind at and the
time; and that in the one instance, he recommended
that certain portion Of territory should be yield ID
by the United States to Great Britain for her
mediation, so, in the other, he recommended that a
certain other portion OF territory belonging of right
Great Brita TO the United States for their supposed
accommc dation and security. 1t is true that Houses
point had formerly been considered as of great inn
portance military position and that the United
States had expended very large sums of money in
erecting Notifications there. The royal arbiler,
therefore, acting under the influence Of the er-paris
Information gratuitously furnished him, might well
attach to Rouse's point and It's Notifications an in
hated Importance, and taking the whole relations
and interests of the parties before him conside
uarl IDAHO
ing fairly the equity of the between the parties
But however this may be- it is certain that what would
be equitable division of the territory in dispute
was never submitted to the King Of the Netherlands
at all by hs ned Staes That ~ Edffif r States t
nor were the United States their agens ever heard
or consulted on that point by him. Against the
adoption OF his recommendation in this respect the
State of Maine has soemnIy protested and the
Senate of the United States who alone had the con-
slltutona power to ADOPT and ratify it, elected il
with great unanimlty 1 he recommendation Of the
royal arbiier, therefore, given under such crcum-
stances, can IN way affect the rights Of the parte
IN interest," and in fact entitled TO no more consdet
ion and respect than that OF any other gentleman
OF equal intelligence and information under the same
circumstances. We feel it our duty therefore IN
say TO you that the hypothesis assumed by Lord Ash
BURTON that the portion of disputed territory cut off
from Name by the line recommended BY the King of
the Netherlands should be yielded to Great Britain
without any equivalent whatever, cannot be- and in
ed
or acquiesced IN by the commissioners of Milne
Among c objections made by Lord Ashburton to
the line proposed by US, drawn from the bend of the
ST John, three miles above the mouth of the MAZDA.
waska, to the outlet of Long lake, one is that it is
an arbitrary line which nobody ever sugoested
be ore and that it would give to great Britain less
than The award OF the arbiter. this is true But
the line proposed by us is a straight line like that
from The source of the st. Croix drawn from one
wen known natural monument to another well known
natural monument within convenient distances of
each other, and about which there could be no mis-
take dispute 1t yields also all and more than all
That needed by Great Br tain, for the unobstructed
communication and conneXion of her colonies with
each other; and, as suggested by in our note of
the 29th ut was proposed, rather than the channel
oil the Madawaska solely for that reason and on that
account and what does Great Britain want of more
If the true character of that territory be of the de-
scription, the miserable description" stated by his
lordshp IN his note OF the DIST ult why should he
feel it TO be objection, that the line proposed by
us would give to Great Britain less than the award of
the arblter, when it gives her enough to answ er all
her purposes! Beyond the designated bend of the
St. John, the of that river is such rs To
make with the st. Francis acute angle thereby
forming between them a wedge of territory inserting
itself for its whole length according to that award
into the territory of the United States. Again al
the mouth OF the Turtle river called few miles
above the designated bend of the St John there is
small settlement OF Americans holding their lands
under grants from Maine and Massachusetts, Again
the river ST. Francis is one whose course is exceed
ingly crooked, having many sharp bends so that
while the distance by the river and lakes from The
Grand Portage to the mouth of the ST Francis is es
tmated by the assistant geologis of Massachusetts
who followed it down its whole length, at not less
than eighty hve miles, the distance from the one point
to the other in straight line is only about forty
miles. Moreover the line recommended by the
King of the Netherlands without any knowledge of
the topography Of the country, is believed TO be i'm
practicable, on account o; their being in fact no such
stream emptying into the lake, as in his rccommen-
dalton he supposes TO exist. And we will add that
however miserable his ordshp may consider the ter
rory there 10 be- we regard 1t as Of much value in
asmuch as II is well known to be covered with fine