ned the boundary claimed by Maine must be
regarded as the right one, Great Britain was still more entitled to
insist on a similar pretension and to assert that until the line of the
treaty shall be established satisfactorily the whole of the disputed
territory ought to be considered as belonging to the British Crown,
since Great Britain was the original possessor, and all the territory
which had not been proved to have been by treaty ceded by her must be
deemed to belong to her still. But Mr. Fox said the existence of these
conflicting pretensions pointed out the expediency of a compromise; and
why, he asked, as a conventional line different from that described in
the treaty was agreed to with respect to the boundary westward from the
Lake of the Woods, should such a line not be agreed to likewise for the
boundary eastward from the Connecticut? Her Majesty's Government could
not, he added, refrain from again pressing this proposition upon the
serious consideration of the United States as the arrangement best
calculated to effect a prompt and satisfactory settlement between
the two powers.

With reference to the American proposition to make the river St. John
from its mouth to its source the boundary, Mr. Fox remarked that it was
difficult to understand upon what grounds any expectation could have
been formed that such a proposal could be entertained by the British
Government, for such an arrangement would give to the United States
even greater advantages than they would obtain by an unconditional
acquiescence in their claim to the whole of the disputed territory,
because it would give to Maine all the disputed territory lying south of
the St. John, and in exchange for the remaining part of the territory
lying to the north of the St. John would add to the State of Maine a
large district of New Brunswick--a district smaller in extent, but much
more considerable in value, than the portion of the disputed territory
which lies to the north of the St. John.

With regard to the proposition for the appointment of a commission of
exploration and survey, Mr. Fox stated that Her Majesty's Government,
with little expectation that it could lead to a useful result, but
unwilling to reject the only plan left which seemed to afford a chance
of making a further advance in this matter, would not withhold their
consent to such a commission if the principle upon which it was to be
formed and the manner in which it was to proceed could be