laws may make such a distinction, and it is
understood that in fact the privilege of so shipping fish from American
vessels has been refused during the last year.

I also respectfully refer to Senate Miscellaneous Document No. 54,
Forty-ninth Congress, second session, being a communication from the
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries to Hon. George F. Edmunds, chairman
of the Committee on Foreign Relations, dated February 5, 1887, which is
accompanied by a partial list of vessels injuriously treated by the
Canadian authorities, based upon information furnished to the United
States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries.

This list is stated to be supplementary to the revised list which had
been transmitted to the committee by the Secretary of State January 26,
1887.

Of the sixty-eight vessels comprised in this list it is stated that six,
to wit, the _Nellie M. Snow_, _Andrew Burnham_, _Harry G. French_,
_Col. J.H. French_, _W.H. Wellington_, and _Ralph Hodgdon_, were
refused permission to transship fish. None of these cases, however, were
ever reported to the Department of State by the parties interested, or
were accompanied by affidavit; nor does it appear the facts ever were
investigated in any of the cases by the parties making the reports,
which were obtained by circulars issued by order of the Commissioner of
Fish and Fisheries. The concluding inquiry is as follows:

And also that he communicate to the Senate what instances have occurred
since the 3d of March, 1887, of wrongs to American fishing vessels or
other American vessels in the ports or waters of British North America,
and what steps, if any, have been taken in respect thereto.

Soon after the passage of the act of March 3, 1887, the negotiation
which had been proceeding for several months previously progressed
actively, and the proposed conference and the presence at this capital
of the plenipotentiaries of the two Governments, out of which the since
rejected treaty of February 7, 1888, eventuated, had their natural
influence in repressing causes of complaint in relation to the
fisheries. Therefore since March 3, 1887, no case has been reported to
the Department of State wherein complaint was made of unfriendly or
unlawful treatment of American fishing vessels on the part of the
Canadian authorities in which reparation was not promptly and
satisfactorily obtained by the United States consul-general at Halifax.

A single case of alleged un