(Enclosure)—Mr. Adams to Visct. Castlereagh, London, Sept. 17. 120

(Enclosure)-Visct. Castlereagh to Mr. Adams.. London, Sept. 28. 125

(Enclosure)-Four Articles proposed by Visct. Castlereagh.

31. Mr. Adams to Visct. Castlereagh...

(Enclosure 1.)—Orders issued by Adm. Milne.. Bermuda,.. May 12. 139 (Enclosure 2.)-Capt. Chambers to Adm. Milne. Off Shelburne, June 8. 139

50. Messrs. Gallatin and Rush to Mr. Adams.. London, Oct. 20. 167 (Enclosures)—Protocols of Conferences, London, August to October. List of Protocols and Annexes.

No.

56. Mr. Rush to Mr. Adams..

57. Mr. Rush to Mr. Adams

58. Mr. Adams to Mr. Rush......

SIR,

No. 1.-Mr. Monroe to Mr. Baker.

Department of State, Washington, 18th July, 1815.

I HAVE the honour to communicate to you a Copy of a Letter from the Collector of the Customs at Barnstable, to the Secretary of the Treasury, by which it appears that an American Vessel, engaged in the Cod Fishery, in longitude 65° 20', latitude 42° 41', was warned off by the Commander of the British Sloop of War, Jaseur, and ordered not to approach within 60 miles of the Coast; with which order the Master of the American Vessel immediately complied. It appears also, that a similar warning had been given by the Commander of the Jaseur to all the other American Vessels which were then in sight.

This extraordinary measure has excited no small degree of surprize. Being altogether incompatible with the rights of The United States, it is presumed that it has not been authorized by your Government. I invite your attention to it, in the hope, that, as you have been charged by your Government with the execution of the late Treaty of Peace, and are acquainted with its views on all questions connected with it, you will consider yourself authorized to interpose to prevent the progress of an evil which will be so extensively and deeply felt by the Citizens of The United States.

Anthony St. John Baker, Esq.

I have, &c.

JAMES MONROE.

(Enclosure.)—The Collector of Customs at Barnstable, to the Secretary of the Treasury.

SIR,

Collector's Office, Barnstable, 3d July, 1815. I THINK it my duty to inform you, that the Captain of a Vessel regularly licensed for the Cod Fishery, has just reported to this Office, that on the 19th day of June last, being in longitude 65° 20′, north latitude 42° 41', about 45 miles distant from Cape Sables, he fell in with His Britannic Majesty's Sloop of War, Jaseur, N. Lock, Commander, who warned him off, and endorsed his Enrolment and License in the words following:

"Warned off the Coast by His Majesty's Sloop Jaseur, not to come within 60 miles.

19th June, 1815." N. LOCK, Commander. In consequence of which, the Fisherman immediately left the fishing ground, and returned home without completing his fare.

The Captain of the Fisherman further states, that all the Fishing

Vessels then in sight were warned off in the same manner, by the said

Captain Lock.

The Hon. A. J. Dallas.

I am, &c.

ISAIAH L. GREEN.

No. 2.-Mr. Baker to Mr. Monroe.

SIR,

Philadelphia, 31st August, 1815.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Letter of the 18th ultimo, together with its Enclosure, relating to the warning off, to the distance of 60 miles from the Coast of Nova Scotia, of some American Fishing Vessels, by His Majesty's Brig Jaseur.

This measure was, as you have justly presumed in your Note, totally unauthorized by His Majesty's Government, and I have the satisfaction to acquaint you, that orders have been given by the Naval Commanders in Chief on the Halifax and Newfoundland Stations, which will effectually prevent the recurrence of any similar interruption to the Vessels belonging to The United States engaged in fishing on the high seas. I have, &c.

The Hon. James Monroe.

(Extract.)

ANTHONY ST. JOHN BAKER.

No. 3.-Mr. Monroe to Mr. Adams.

Washington, 21st July, 1815. AMONG the acts which we have to complain of with greatest earnestness, is a late warning given by the Commander of a British Sloop of War to our Fishermen, near the coast of the British Northern Colonies, to retire thence to the distance of 20 leagues. This, it is presumed, has been done under a construction of the late Treaty of Peace, which, by being silent on the subject, left that important interest to rest on the ground on which it was placed by the Treaty of 1783. The right to the Fisheries required no new Stipulation to support it. It was sufficiently secured by the Treaty of 1783. This important subject will claim your early attention. The measure thus promptly taken by the British Government, without any communication with this Government, notwithstanding the declaration of our Ministers at Ghent that our right would not be affected by the silence of the Treaty, indicates a spirit which excites equal surprise and regret, one which by no means corresponds with the amicable relations established between the 2 Countries by that Treaty; or with the spirit with which it has been executed by The United States.

As you are well acquainted with the solidity of our right to the Fisheries in question, as well as to those on the Grand Bank, and elsewhere on the main Ocean, to the limit of a marine league only from the coast, (for the pretension to remove us 20 leagues is too absurd to be discussed,) I shall not dilate on it, especially at this time. It is sufficient to observe here, that the right of The United States to take fish on the coast of Newfoundland, and on the coasts, bays, and creeks,

of all other His Britannic Majesty's Dominions in America, and to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks, of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador; in short, that every right appertaining to the Fisheries, which was secured by the Treaty of 1783, stands now as unshaken and perfect as it then did, constituting a vital part of our political existence, and resting on the same solid foundation as our independence itself. In the act of dismemberment and partition, the rights of each party were distinctly defined. So much of territory and incidental rights were allotted to one-so much to the other and as well might it be said, because our boundary had not been retraced in the late Treaty, in every part, that certain portions of our Territory had reverted to England, as that our right to fish, by whatever name secured, had experienced that fate. A liberty of unlimited duration, thus secured, is as much a right as if it had been stipulated by any other term. Being to be enjoyed by one, adjoining the Territory allotted by the partition to the other party, it seemed to be the appropriate term. I have made these remarks to shew the solid ground on which this right is deemed to rest by this Government, relying on your thorough knowledge of the subject to illustrate and support it in the most suitable manner.

It can scarcely be presumed, that the British Government, after the result of the late experiment, in the present state of Europe, and under its other engagements, can seriously contemplate a renewal of hostilities. But it often happens with Nations, as well as with Individuals, that a just estimate of its interest and duties is not an infallible criterion of its conduct. We ought to be prepared at every point to guard against such an event. You will be attentive to circumstances, and give us timely notice of any danger which may be menaced. Mr. Adams.

(Extract)

JAMES MONROE.

No. 4.-Mr. Adams to Mr. Monroe.

London, 15th August, 1815. I HAD mentioned the subject of the slaves in my first interview with him, (Lord Castlereagh,) and he had then expressed an intention to refer it to the Commissioners, with whom we were then negotiating the Commercial Convention. But they received no Instructions relative to it; and considered their powers as limited to the objects upon which my Colleagues were authorised, conjointly with me, to treat. The day before Lord Castlereagh left town, I spoke to him again concerning it. He had just received Despatches from Mr. Baker relating to it, but had not had time to read them, and merely told me that, during his absence, Lord Liverpool, or Lord Bathurst, would attend to the business of his Department. After writing the Note, of which the Copy is enclosed, I requested an interview with Lord Liverpool, for which he appointed last Saturday, but an accident prevented me from then

meeting him. I have renewed the request, but as he was not in Town when my Note was sent, it may be deferred until after Mr. Bagot's departure.

The Hon. James Monroe.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

(Extract.)

No. 5.-Mr. Adams to Viscount Castlereagh.

Charles Street, Westminster, 9th August, 1815. In two several Conferences with your Lordship, I have had the honour of mentioning the refusal of His Majesty's Naval Commanders, who, at the restoration of Peace between The United States and Great Britain, were stationed on the American Coast, to restore the Slaves taken by them from their Owners in The United States during the War, and then in their possession, notwithstanding the Stipulation of Article I, of the Treaty of Ghent, that such Slaves should not be carried away. Presuming that you are in possession of the Correspondence on this subject, which has passed between the Secretary of State of The United States and Mr. Baker, it will be unnecessary for me to repeat the demonstration that the carrying away of these Slaves is incompatible with the terms of the Treaty. But, as a reference to the Documents of the Negotiation at Ghent may serve to elucidate the intentions of the Contracting Parties, I am induced to present them to your consideration, in the hope, that His Majesty's Minister now about to depart for The United States, may be authorised to direct the restitution of the Slaves, conformably to the Treaty; or, to provide for the payment of the value of those carried away contrary to that Stipulation, which, in the event of their not being restored, I am instructed by my Government to claim. The first Projet of the Treaty of Ghent was offered by the American Plenipotentiaries; and that part of Article I, relating to Slaves, was therein expressed in the following manner:-"All Territory, Places, and Possessions, without exception, taken by either Party from the other during the War, or which may be taken after the signing of this Treaty, shall be restored without delay, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any artillery, or other public property, or any Slaves, or other private property."

This Projet was returned by the British Plenipotentiaries, with the proposal of several alteratious, and, among the rest, in this part of the first Article, which they proposed should be so changed as to read thus:

"All Territory, Places, and Possessions, without exception, belonging to either Party, and taken by the other, during the War, or which may be taken after the signing of this Treaty, shall be restored without delay, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery, or other public property, or any slaves, or other private property, originally captured in the said Forts or Places, and