66 impartially stated by Col. Bouchette, in his Topography of British North America. He speaks as follows of the country between the St. Lawrence and the highlands south of the St. John: "The face of the "country, though abounding with extensive valleys and flats, is decidedly hilly; but it is neither so bold or so mountainous as the country "on the opposite banks of the St. Lawrence. The land generally "rises in irregular ridges from the borders of the river towards the rear, " and attains in general a considerable elevation at the distance of 10, "15, and 20 miles from the front, forming at its height the verge of a "broad and extended tract of table land of gentle descent towards the "River St. John, beyond which it re-ascends again and acquires a supe"rior degree of altitude towards the sources of the Allegash, merging "in the range of highlands that are a continuation of the Connecticut range, stretching eastwardly and winding round the sources of the "rivers falling into the Atlantic, and those flowing into the St. Law"rence and the St. John in the opposite direction." This description would be enough to indicate the natural boundary, viz.: the Connecticut range and the connecting highlands, which was evidently that on which the plenipotentiaries wished to agree. It seems but reasonable that the whole valley of the St. John was intended to belong to the British Possessions, for it is contrary to the spirit of the treaty to leave one part of a river in the exclusive possession of one power, and another part in the possession of another. Accordingly, the British Commissioner contended that Mars Hill was the point where the due north from St. Croix struck the highlands; the American said it crossed the St. John to the highlands which divided that river from the St. Lawrence. Moreover, again quoting from Bouchette, "In determining the geo"graphical boundaries between St. Regis and the Connecticut river, it was soon discovered that the original demarcation of the 45th parallel of "north latitude widely deviated from the true course of that parallel, "the position of which was carefully ascertained by the joint observa"tions of the British and American astronomers employed in that "service in 1818. It was found that the pre-existing line was drawn "almost wholly north of the true geographical bearing of that circle "of latitude. The astronomical observations taken at different stations "have yielded the following results: They prove that at St. Regis the "old line was actually 1,375 feet, statute measure, north of the 45° of "N. latitude, and that Ellicott's line was 30 feet too far north of the "true parallel. At French mills the observation of the old from the "new line was found to be 154 feet, the former lying north of the latter: "two miles and a half from thence the new line intersected the old, "and traversed to the south until it reached Chateauguay river, where "its greatest southering measured 975 feet. At Rouse's Point, on the "shores of Lake Champlain, a considerable difference was discovered; "the new boundary passing 4,576 feet south of the former, and involv"ing on the relinquishment of the triangular tract of territory thus formed, an American fort, which has been neglected since, and is now "in ruins. From the shores of Missisquoi Bay to the Connecticut river, "the old line lies universally to the north of the true boundary, forming "an elongated gore of land, stretching along the whole extent of the "frontier townships, from St. Armand to Hereford." The main portion of the territory in dispute, that between Canada and Maine, was then valued at $15,000,000, an absurdly low figure, covered eleven millions of acres, and completely intercepted the communication between Canada and the Maritime Provinces. It was in the occupation and under the jurisdiction of Great Britain. In 1831, the King of Holland communicated his decision to the Plenipotentiaries. It was as follows: We are of opinion that it will be expedient to adopt as the boundary of the two States a line drawn due north from the source of the River St. Croix to the point where it intersects the middle of the thalweg of the River St. John, thence the middle of the thalweg of that river, ascending it, to the point where the River St. Francis empties itself into the River St. John, thence the middle of the thalweg of the River St. Francis, ascending it, to the source of its south-westernmost branch, which source we indicated on the map A by the letter X, authenticated by the signature of our Minister of Foreign Affairs, thence a line drawn due west to the point where it unites with the line claimed by the United States of America, and delineated on the map A. Thence said line to the point at which, according to the said map, it coincides with that claimed by Great Britain, and hence the line traced on the map by the two powers to the north-westernmost source of Connecticut river. * * * We are of opinion that it will be expedient to proceed to fresh operations to measure the observed latitude in order to mark out the boundary from the River Connecticut along the parallel of the 45th degree of north latitude to the River St. Lawrence named in the treaties Iroquois and Cataraqui-in such a manner, however, that in all cases at the place called Rouse's Point, the territory of the United States of America shall extend to the fort erected at that place, and shall include said fort and its kilometrical radius. obtaining threeHe asserted that The American Commissioner, not satisfied with fourths of the disputed territory, at once protested. the King ought to have decided that either one or the other party was in the right, and that he had not been authorized to make a compromise. Eighteen months afterwards, the United States Government refused its assent to the award. The British Government, who had at first accepted it in good faith, then withdrew theirs, and proposed a partition of the disputed territory by a new conventional line. The United States refused, again proposing the River St. John as the boundary. Finally, the dispute became so serious that a new Treaty was negotiated in 1842, known by the name of Lord Ashburton, its negociator, which, by Canadians, should ever be held infamous. Its first article declares: That the line of boundary shall be as follows: Beginning at the monument at the source of the St. Croix, as designated and agreed to by the Commissioners under the fifth article of the Treaty of 1794, between the Governments of the United States and Great Britain; thence north, following the exploring line run and marked by the Surveyors of the two Governments in the years 1817 and 1818, under the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent, to its intersection with the River St. John and to the middle of the channel thereof; thence, up the middle of the main channel of the said River St. John, to the mouth of the River St. Francis; thence up the middle of the channel of the River St. Francis, and of the lakes through which it flows to the outlet of Lake Pohenagamook; thence, south-westerly, in a straight line to a point on the north-west branch of the 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, then the said point shall be made to recede down the said north-west branch of the River St. John 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 of 46° 25′ north, intersects the south-west branch of the St. John's; thence, southerly by the said branch to the source thereof in the highlands at the Metjarmette portage, thence down along the said highlands which divide the waters which empty themselves 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 surveyed and marked by Valentine and Collins, previous to the year 1774, as the 45th degree of N. 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 intersection, west, along the said dividing line as heretofore known and understood to the Iroquois or St. Lawrence river. Two tracts of great importance were thus surrendered. First, the most fertile portion of the valley of the St. John, including the region watered by its tributaries, the Aroostook, the Fish River, the Allegash, &c.; covering some 8,000,000 acres, the possession of which by a foreign power impedes direct communication between Quebec and the chief cities of the lower Provinces by rail as well as by internal navigation. Secondly, the tract between the true line of 45° and the old line, which gave the Americans possession of Rouse's Point. Of this Daniel Webster said, in an address to the New York Historical Society:"If we can trust the highest military judgment in the country - if we "can trust the general sense of intelligent persons acquainted with the "subject if we can trust our own common sense on looking to the mapan object of great importance has been attained for the United "States and the State of New York." Since then, the fort at Rouse's Point, which Bouchette describes as "neglected and in ruins," has been enlarged to the standard of a first-class fortress, and is to us a more obnoxious object than Luxemburg can possibly have been to France, or Napoleon's fleet at Boulogne to England, constructed as it is to hold an army, and situated almost within cannot shot of Montreal, the very heart of the country. In a few years we may perhaps expect to find another fort built on the head waters of the St. John, to which the States have no more equitable right than they have to Rouse's Point, as menacing to Quebec as the existing fortress is to Montreal. Possibly, however, events may take another turn. Injustice, arrogance and fraud1 do not always prosper long. It would be hard to tell how it may be brought about, but the writer enertains the hope that some day, by purchase, by the vote of the people of the districts in question, by voluntary or perhaps even by involuntary cession on the part of the United States, these districts, as well as the country between the Kennebec and the St. Croix, all parts of our home farm, will be re-united to the Dominion. Art. VI. of the Treaty of Ghent dealt with the boundary from the intersection of line 45° north latitude with the St. Lawrence, to the water communication into the Lake Huron. It provided as follows: And whereas doubts have arisen what was the middle of the said river, lakes and water communications, and whether certain islands lying in the same, were within the dominions of His Britannic Majesty or of the United States; in order therefore finally to decide these doubts, 'The map submitted to the King of Holland, as that which was before the framers of the Treaty of 1783, was Mitchell's map, a very incorrect one, on which the line running from the head waters of the St. Croix due north to the St. Lawrence is shewn as the boundary between Nova Scotia on one side and Sagadahoc and Canada on the other. The northwest angle of Nova Scotia would then be on the St. Lawrence, not on the highlands. Thus this could not have been the map in use in 1783. It became known too, soon after the Ashburton Treaty was signed, that the U. S. authorities were not unaware of the existence of the identical map which was then used, and they carefully kept it from the knowledge of Lord Ashburton. It appears that Count De Vergennes, on the 5th of December, 1782, sent a map to Dr. Franklin with the request that he would delineate on it the limits of the United States as settled in the preliminaries between the British and American plenipotentiaries, and that the map was returned by Dr. Franklin the next day, with a note, stating that he had marked with a strong red line the aforesaid limits. The map still exists in the geographical department of the French Archives of Foreign Affairs, and the line runs wholly south of the St. John and between the head waters of that river and those of the Penobscot and Kennebec. It is the line contended for by Great Britain, excepting that it allows, what Britain never afterwards insisted on, that the valleys of all the rivers intersected by the due north line from the St. Croix to Mars Hill should be British territory. * * to meet, in the they shall be referred to two Commissioners The Commissioners, Peter B. Porter and Anthony Barclay, made their decision in 1822, as follows:-[Decision already quoted on pages 49-52, which see.] -[Year Book and Almanac of Canada for 1868, p. 41. In determining the geographical boundary between St. Regis and the Connecticut river, it was soon discovered that the original demarcation of the 45th parallel of north latitude widely deviated from the true course of that parallel, the position of which was carefully ascertained by the joint observations of the British and American astronomers employed on that service in 1818. It was found that the pre-existing line was drawn almost wholly north of the true geographical bearing of that circle of latitude. The astronomical observations taken at different stations have yielded the following results: They proved that at St Regis the old line was actually 1375 feet, statute measure, north of the 45° of north latitude, and that Ellicott's line' was 30 feet too far north of the true parallel. -[Bouchette's British Dominions in North America, i, 17. * Canada Boundary. By royal proclamation, issued in Oct. 1763, the line 45° N. was fixed as the boundary between the provinces of Quebec and New York, and this was confirmed in council Aug. 12, 1768. The line was surveyed by Valentine and Collins, Oct. 20, 1774. By the treaty of 1783, the 45th parallel was recognized as the N. boundary of the State from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence. By the treaty of Ghent the same line was recognized as the boundary, and provisions were made for a re-survey. The lines of territory recited in the treaty of peace of 1783, were never actually drawn upon the land, but were described from the best maps then existing, but now known to be very inaccurate. To explore the frontiers together, and to fix muniments of boundary by common consent, had become a very necessary duty, in order to prevent conflict 1 "Beginning at a stone monument erected by Andrew Ellicott Esq., in the year 1817, on the south bank or shore of the river St. Lawrence, to indicate the point at which the 45th parallel of north latitude strikes that river." Bouchette, i. 16.- [P |