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which mark deflections are placed, as on the "north line," anglewise with the line; all the others are placed square with it. The maps show the position of each.

On the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog, an astronomical station was established; and, on a large flat rock of granite, which happened to lie between the astronomical station and the boundary, was cut the following inscription:

British Boundary Commission.
Capt. Robinson.

Astronomical Station

422 feet north.

Meridian line.

Boundary line

595 feet south.
August, 1845.

A mark was cut upon the stone, as indicated by the dot upon the meridian line above, from which these measurements were made.

At Rouse's Point, a monument of wrought stone was set up, at the intersection of the boundary by the meridian of the transit instrument used there by Major Graham; and an inscription was cut upon it, stating the latitude and longitude, the name of the observer and his assistant, the names of the commissioners, and the territories divided.

To mark the positions of the instruments used at the following astronomical stations along the west line, two monuments, within a few feet of each other, have been erected at each station, and they have been placed on the boundary line due north or south of the instrument, as the case may have been.

The stations are

Lake Memphremagog,

Richford,

John McCoy's,

Trout river.

The boundary along the west line, though very far from being a straight line, is generally about half a mile north of the true parallel of latitude 45°, from Hall's stream to Rouse's Point. At about twentyeight miles west of Rouse's Point it, however, crosses that parallel to the south, until it reaches Chateaugay river, where it bends northwards, and, crossing the parallel again, about four miles east of St. Regis, it strikes the St. Lawrence one hundred and fifty-one feet north of 45°. At that point, a large monument has been erected, on the bank of the

St. Lawrence.

Two large monuments have also been erected either side of the river Richelieu, near Rouse's Point.

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No marks of the old line were to be found about St. Regis. It was, therefore, agreed to run a line due west from the last blaze which should be found in the woods, on the east side of St. Regis. That blaze occurred about one mile east of the St. Regis river.

The maps, which exhibit the boundary on a scale of four inches to one statute mile, consist of sixty-two consecutive sheets of antiquarian paper, as constructed by the British, and of sixty-one, as constructed by the American commission. A general map has also been constructed on a scale of eight miles to one inch, by the British, and of ten miles to one inch by the American commission, upon which the before mentioned sheets are represented.

The following portions of the boundary have been laid down by the British commission, on detached maps, on a scale of twelve inches to one mile, which have been signed by both commissioners:

Grand falls of the St. John, including the intersection of that river by the north line.

Islands of the St. John.

The outlet of Lake Pohenagamook.

The turning point of the boundary on the northwest branch of the St. John.

The intersection of the southwest branch by the parallel of latitude 46° 25'.

The source of the southwest branch.

The source of Hall's stream.

The intersection of Hall's stream by the west line.

Rouse's Point.

St. Regis.
Derby.

But similar maps have not been prepared by the American commission, because, during the interval between the finishing of the maps of the British commission and those of the American, it was thought that the maps already constructed, upon a scale of four inches to one mile, represented the boundary with sufficient clearness and accuracy.

The astronomical observations were begun at the Grand Falls, early in June, 1843, and were carried up the St. John river to the northwest branch by a chain of stations, which, together with the results obtained, are tabulated in the appendix accompanying this report.

From the valley of the St. John, an astronomical connection was made. with Quebec, and thence to Montreal, and so to Rouse's point. From Rouse's point, a connection was obtained with Cambridge University, near Boston.

The astronomical stations on the west line were
Intersection of Hall's stream by the west line,
Lake Memphremagog,

Richford,

Rouse's Point,

John McCoy's,

Trout river,
St. Regis.

Latitude was also obtained at an astronomical station, established for the purpose, at the head of the Connecticut.

Volumes containing the astronomical observations of both commissioners are herewith submitted. From them, it will be observed, that the results for absolute longitude, obtained by the British and American astronomers, do not agree. It being a difference in no way affecting the survey of the boundary line, the undersigned do not feel called upon to attempt to reconcile it. The data upon which these results are based, may be seen in the volumes of observations accompanying this report. In the appendix will be found, in a tabular form, the following: An abstract of the survey of the boundary along the north line.

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The position of the monuments erected on the southwest branch of the St. John, and on Hall's stream.

The distribution of the islands of the St. John, and the monuments on them.

The guide lines and offsets run by each commission for the survey of the Highlands.

The azimuths of verification for the survey of the Highlands.

The latitudes and longitudes obtained from the astronomical observations.

The comparative longitudes obtained, and the methods used for the purpose.

Upon comparing the maps of the two commissions, it will be seen that the American commission numbers two monuments more than the British. Those are to be found, one on the "Fourth island," in the River St. John, and the other on the Highlands, between the source of the S. W. branch of the river St. John and the Kennebec road.

On the maps of the British commission, representing the "West line," the name of the town of "Derby" has been improperly placed north of the line, instead of south of it. Also, on the same maps, the direction of

Salmon river, near the western extremity of the "West line," has been incorrectly laid down from the boundary line northwards. A direction has been given to it northeasterly, instead of northwesterly.

The above two corrections the British commissioner is authorized to make on his maps, after his return to England.

To avoid unnecessary delay in making their joint report, the undersigned have attached their signatures to the maps, although the lettering of some of the astronomical stations upon the maps of the American commission, as well as the alterations before mentioned in the maps of the British commission, are yet to be made. But in the maps of both, the boundary has been laid down accurately and definitively; and the undersigned engage that it shall not be altered in any respect.

In conclusion, the undersigned have the honor to report, that the line of boundary described in the foregoing statement has been run, marked, and surveyed, and the accompanying maps faithfully constructed from the survey.'

The undersigned take leave to add, that the most perfect harmony has subsisted between the two commissions, from first to last, and that no differences have arisen between the undersigned in the execution of the duties entrusted to them.

Signed and sealed in duplicate, at the city of Washington, this twentyeighth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.

J. B. BUCKN ALL ESTCOURT, Lt. Col. [SEAL.] H. B. M. Commissioner. [SEAL.]

ALBERT SMITH,

United States Commissioner.

NOTE. The astronomical computations of the American commission not being completed, and it being unnecessary to defer the signing of the report on that account, the American commissioner engages to transmit them, with any other papers or tables not yet finished, as soon as they shall be so, to the British commissioner, through the American minister resident in London, to whom, upon delivery of the documents, the British commissioner will give a receipt, to be transmitted to the American commissioner."

J. B. BUCKNALL ESTCOURT, Lt. Col. [SEAL.] H. B. M. Commissioner of Boundary. [SEAL.]

ALBERT SMITH,

United States Commissioner.

-U. S. Senate Docs., 1848, v. 8. No. 71.

A set of these maps, as officially published, in thirty-nine large sheets, is on file in the office of the Secretary of State, as portfolio 368, and another set in the State Library, Albany.-[P.

These papers were subsequently destroyed by fire, and have not been published. See Commissioner Smith's note of April 20, 1848, on page 53, and Assist. Sec'y Seward's, of July 26, 1879, in Appendix.- [P.

VIEWS OF RECENT WRITERS.

OUR BOUNDARIES.

The Dominion of Canada is the legitimate heir to the old French Empire in North America, and although the inheritance has come down to us sadly diminished in extent, we may indulge ourselves in a condensed review of its ancient limits.

In 1540, Roberval was declared by Francis I. to be Lord of Norembégue, i. e., of the lands on the Penobscot. In 1603, De Monts received letters patent to trade from Cape De Roze to the 40th degree N. latitude. Under this authority he wintered on St. Croix Island in 1604, sailing, in 1605, to Norembégue, Kennebec, Casco, Saco, and even Cape Cod. In 1627, "La Nouvelle France, called Canada," is declared in the charter of the Hundred Associates to extend from Florida to the Arctic Circle, and from Newfoundland to the furthest affluent of the St. Lawrence, but this excessive claim was never seriously maintained, and when Acadia was divided from Canada, it was defined as being bounded N. by the Gulf of St. Lawrence, E. by the Atlantic, S. by the River Kennebec, W. by the Province of Canada. Even this boundary was indeed disputed. In 1613, Capt. Argal came northwards from Virginia, convoying fishing craft, and finding the French clearing lands on the Penobscot, attacked them, saying the territory was part of Virginia, which owned all to 46° N. lat. In 1655, by the treaty of Westminister, the conflicting claims were referred to a commission, but though the commissaries were appointed in 1662, nothing was done. In 1656, Cromwell's grant of Acadie to Latour, Temple and Crowne, defined the territory to be "along the Bay to Fort St. John, and thence following "all the coast as far as Pentagoet and the River St. George in Mescourus, situate on the borders of New England, and further on to the "first habitation." The treaty of Breda, 1667, restored Acadia to France, and the French commission to Grand Fontaine, 1670, set the Quinebequi as the boundary of his government - a boundary asserted by Villebon, the French Governor of Acadia, against Lieut.-Governor Stoughton, of Massachusetts, in 1698. Charlevoix, pp. 348, 349, says that about this time the River St George, about half-way between Pentagoet and the Kennebec, began to be spoken of as the boundary. In 1700, after the peace of Ryswick, it appears by a letter from de Beauharnois and Hocquart, respectively Governor and Intendant of Canada, "a post was planted on an island at the mouth of the St. George, with 'the arms of England on the west side and those of France on the east "side, to serve as bounds to the lands of the two crowns, and to distin"guish them;" and in 1703 a judgment of the King's Council of State grants to le Borgne, "Pentagoet, &c., with ten leagues on each side of

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