ers were expressly excluded but those which divide the waters that
flow in those different directions. The effect of their construction,
as we all know, is to give them the whole of the St. John, with all its
tributaries, and a tract of territory south of that river equal at least
to 75 miles square.

Whether from the peaceful spirit of our Government, the Christian
patience of Maine, or the "modest assurance" of the British
negotiators--any or all--certain it is that His Britannic Majesty's
pretensions _are growing every day_. It is not only an afterthought,
but one very recently conceived, that we were to be driven south of
the St. John.

His Britannic Majesty's agent, Mr. Chipman, who has been lately urging
us south of that river, was also agent to the commission, under the
treaty of 1795, to ascertain the true St. Croix, and in insisting on
a more _western_ branch of this river gives as a reason that a line
due north will cross the St, John _farther up_, whereas if you take an
_eastern_ branch such line will cross near Frederickton, the seat of
government of New Brunswick, and materially infringe upon His Majesty's
Province. He not only admits, but contends, that this north line _must_
cross the river. Here are his words: "This north line must of necessity
cross the river St. John." Mr. Liston, the British minister, in a
private letter to Mr. Chipman of 23d October, 1798, recommends a
modification of the powers of the commissioners for the reason that _it
might give Great Britain a greater extent of navigation on the St. John
River_. The same agent, Mr. Chipman, was also agent under the fourth
article of the treaty of Ghent, and we find him contending there "that
the northwest angle of Nova Scotia is the same designated in the grant
to Sir William Alexander in 1621, subject only to such alterations as
were occasioned by the erection of the Province of Quebec in 1763." Now
we have already seen that this south line of the Province of Quebec, so
far from _altering_ this northwest angle, in fact confirms it.

In perfect accordance with this disposition to encroach is a proposition
of the British minister (Mr. Vaughan) that inasmuch as the highlands can
not be found by a due north direction from the monument we should _vary
west_ until we should intersect them, _but not_ EAST. Now that in case a
monument can not be found in the course prescribed you should look for
it _at the left, but not to the right_, seems to us a