Ocean-a principle equally realized by both lines. : Thirdly That the line claimed at the north of the river St John does not divide, even immediately, the rivers that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence from the rivers St John and Restigouche, but only rivers that empty themselves into the St John and Restigouche, with the exception of the last part of said line, near the sources of the river St John, and that hence, in order to reach the Atlantic Ocean, the rivers divided by that line from those that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence, each need two intermediate channels, to wit: the ones, the river St John and the bay of Fundy, and the others, the river Restigouche, and the bay of Chaleurs : And on the other hand, That it cannot be sufficiently explained how, if the High Contracting Parties intended in 1783, to establish the boundary at the south of the river St John, that river, to which the territory in dispute is, in a great measure indebted for its distinctive character, has been neutralized and set aside : That the verb divide' appears to require a contiguity of the objects to be divided': while the boundary claimed at the north of the river St John divides, immediately, the waters of the rivers Restigouche and St John, and, mediately, the Schoodic lakes; and the waters of the rivers Penobscot and Kennebec, from the rivers that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence, to wit: the rivers Beaver, Metis, Rimousky, Trois, Pistoles, Green, Du Loup, Kamouraska, Ouelle, Bras St Nicholas, Du Sud, La Famine and Chaudiere. That even setting aside the rivers Restigouche and St John, for the reason that they could not be considered as falling into the Atlantic Ocean, the northern line would still be as near to the Schoodic lakes, and to the waters of the Penobscot and of the Kennebec, as the southern line would be to the rivers Beaver, Metis, Rimousky, and others that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence; and would, as well as the other, form a mediate separation between these and the rivers falling into the Atlantic Ocean. That the prior intersections of the southern boundary by a line drawn due north from the source of the St Croix river, could only secure to it an accessory advantage over the other, in case both the one and the other boundary should combine, in the same degree, the qualities required by the treaties: That the said boundary forms at its western extremity, only, the immediate separation between the river Metjarmette, and the northwesternmost head of the Penob- And the fate assigned by that scot, and divides, mediately, only of 1783 to the Connecticut, and the rivers that empty themselves even to the St Lawrence, preinto the river St Lawrence from cludes the supposition that the the waters of the Kennebec, Pen- two Powers could have intended obscot, and Schoodic lakes; to surrender the whole course of each river, from its source to its mouth, to the share of either the one or the other : Considering, That, after what precedes, the arguments adduced on either side, and the documents exhibited in support of them, cannot be considered as sufficiently preponderating to determine a preference in favor of one of the two lines respectively claimed by the High Interested Parties, as boundaries of their possessions from the source of the river St Croix to the northwesternmost head of Connecticut river; and that the nature of the difference and the vague and not sufficiently determinate stipulations of the treaty of 1783, do not permit to adjudge either of those lines to one of the said Parties, without wounding the principles of law and equity, with regard to the other: Considering, That, as has already been said, the question resolves itself into a selection to be made of a ground dividing the rivers that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence from those that fall into the Atlantic Ocean : that the High Interested Parties are agreed with regard to the course of the streams delineated by common accord on the map A, and affording the only basis of a decision: And that, therefore, the circumstances upon which such decision could not be further elucidated by means of fresh topographical investigation, nor by the production of additional documents : 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 southwesternmost branch, which source we indicate, 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 said map, it coincides with that claimed by Great Britain, and thence the line traced on the map by the two powers, to the northwestermost source of Connecticut river. As regards the second point, to wit: the question which is the northwestermost head of Connecticut river: Considering, That, in order to solve this question, it is necessary to choose between Connecticut-lake river, Perry's stream, Indian stream and Hall's stream: Considering, That, according to the usage adopted in geography, the source and the bed of a river are denoted by the name of the river which is attached to such source and to such bed, and by their greater relative importance, We are of opinion, That it Thalweg-a German compound will be suitable (il conviendra) It means here the deepest channel of word-Thal, valley, and Weg, way. to adopt as the boundary of the the river. as compared to that of other waters.communicating with said river: Considering, That an official letter of 1772 already mentions the name of Hall's brook; and that in an official letter, of subsequent date in the same year, Hall's brook is represented as a small river falling into the Connecticut : That the river in which Connecticut lake is situated appears more considerable than either Hall's, Indian, or Perry's stream: that the Connecticut lake, and the two lakes situated northward of it, seem to ascribe to it a greater volume of water than to the other three rivers: and that by admitting it to be the bed of the Connecticut, the course of that river is extended farther than it would be if a preference were given to either of the other three rivers : Lastly, that the map A, having been recognised by the convention of 1827, as indicating the courses of streams, the authority of that map would likewise seem to extend to their appellation, since in case of dispute, such name of river or lake, respecting which the parties were not agreed, may have been omitted; that said map mentions Connecticut lake, and that the name of Connecticut lake implies the applicability of the name of Connecticut to the river which flows through the said lake: We are of opinion, That the stream situated farthest to the northwest, among those which fall into the northernmost of the three lakes the last of which bears the name of Connecticut lake, must be considered as the north westernmost head of Connecticut river. And as to the third point, to wit: the question, which is the boundary to be traced 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 Cataraguy: Considering, That the High Interested Parties differ in opinion as to the question-Whether the treaties require a fresh survey of the whole line of boundary from the river Connecticut to the river St Lawrence, named in the treaties Iroquois or Cataraguy, or simply the completion of the ancient provincial surveys. Considering, That the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent of 1814, does not stipulate that such portion of the boundaries which may not have hitherto been surveyed, shall be surveyed; but declares that the boundaries have not been, and establishes that they shall be, surveyed: That, in effect, such survey ought, in the relations between the two Powers, to be considered as not having been made from the Connecticut to the river St Lawrence, named in the treaties Iroquois or Cataraguy, since the ancient survey was found to be incorrect, and had been ordered, not by a common accord of the two Powers, but by the ancient provincial authorities: That in determining the latitude of places, it is customary to follow the principle of the observed latitude: And that the Government of the United States of America has . erected certain fortifications at the place called Rouses' Point, under impression that the ground formed part of their territory-an impression sufficiently authorized by the circumstance that the line had, until then, been reputed to correspond with the 45th degree of north latitude. esty, the King of the Netherlands, on the tenth inst. a document purporting to be an expression of his opinion on the several points submitted to him as arbiter, relative to certain portions of the boundary of the United States. In a period of much difficulty, his Majesty has had the goodness, We are of opinion, That it for the purpose of conciliating will be suitable [il conviendra] to conflicting claims and pretensions, proceed to fresh operations to to devote to the High Parties Inmeasure the observed latitude, in terested, a time that must have order to mark out the boundary been precious to himself and peofrom the river Connecticut along ple. It is with extreme regret, the parallel of the 45th degree therefore, that the undersigned, of north latitude to the river in order to prevent all misconSt Lawrence, named in the treaties Iroquois or Cataraguy, in such a manner, however, that, in all cases, at the place called Rouses' 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, [rayon kilometrique.] Thus done and given under our Royal Seal, at the Hague, this tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirtyone, and of our Reign, the eighteenth. (Signed) WILLIAM. The Minister of Foreign Affairs. (Signed) VERSTOLK DE SOCLEN. Protest of the United States (COPY) The Hague, 12th Jan. 1831. The undersigned, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary of the United States of America, had the honor to receive from the hands of his Maj ception, and to vindicate the rights of his Government, feels himself compelled to call the attention of his Excellency, the Baron Verstolk Van Soclen, his Majesty's Minister of Foreign Affairs, again to the subject. But, while, on the one hand, in adverting to certain views and considerations, which seem, in some measure, perhaps, to have escaped observation, the undersigned will deem it necessary to do so with simplicity and frankness; he could not, on the other, be wanting in the expressions of a most respectful deference for his Majesty, the arbiter. The language of the treaty, which has given rise to the contestation between the United States and Great Britain, is, 'And that all disputes which might arise in future on the subject of the boundaries of the said United States, may be prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the following are and shall be their boundaries, viz. from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, viz. that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from the source of the St Croix river to the highlands, along the said highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the northwesternmost head of Connecticut river, hence down along the middle of that river, to the fortyfifth degree of north latitude; from thence by a line due west on said latitude, until it strikes the river Iroquois or Cataraguy ****. East, by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river St Croix, from its mouth in the bay of Fundy, to its source: and from its source directly north, to the aforesaid highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean, from those which fall into the river St Lawrence.' The manner of carrying this apparently exceedingly definite and lucid description of boundary into effect, by running the line as described, and marking the same on the surface of the earth, was the subject, the sole, exclusive subject submitted by the convention of September, 1827, in pursuance of the treaty of Ghent, 1814, to an arbiter. If, on investigation, that arbiter found the language of the treaty, in his opinion, inapplicable to, and wholly inconsistent with the topography of the country, so that the treaty of 1783, in regard to its description of boundary, could not be executed according to its own express stipulations, no authority whatever was conferred upon him to determine or consider what practicable -boundary line should, in such case, be substituted and established. Such a question of boundary, as is here supposed, the United States of America would, it is believed, submit to the definite decision of no sovereign. And in the case submitted to his Majesty the king of the Netherlands, the United States, in forbearing to delegate any such power, were not influenced by any want of respect for that distinguished monarch. They have on the contrary, given him the highest and most signal proofs of their consideration and confidence. In the present case especially, as any revision or substitute of boundary whatever, had been steadily and in a spirit of unalterable determination, resisted at Ghent and Washington, they had not anticipated the possibility of there being any occasion for delegating such powers. Among the questions to which the language of the treaty of 1783, already quoted, gave rise between the High Parties interested, is the following, viz. where at a point due north from the source of the river St Croix, are 'the highlands which divide the rivers, that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence, from those that fall into the Atlantic Ocean,' at which same point on said highlands was also to be found the northwest angle of the long established, well. known, and distinctly defined British province of Nova Scotia. On the southern border of the river St Lawrence, and at the average distance from it of less than thirty English miles, there is an elevated range or continuation of broken highland, extending from |