No. 312.
Sir Edward
Thornton to Mr. Fish.
Sir: With reference to your note of yesterday relative to the provisions of the XXXth article of the treaty of May 8, 1871, I have the honor to submit to you that the practical mode of carrying out those provisions would be that the regulations of the United States and of the Dominion of Canada relative to the transit of goods should be reciprocally examined, and, if approved, should be agreed to.
You are aware that the Secretary of the Treasury invited the government of the Dominion to make any observations it might think proper upon the United States regulations.
The Dominion government suggested some alterations, in a portion of which the Secretary acquiesced, and at the same time transmitted a copy of its own regulations. Both of these documents I had the honor to transmit to Mr. Bancroft Davis in my note of the 21st of July last. In your note of the 5th of August last, you were good enough to forward [Page 547] me the observations of the Secretary of the Treasury upon the suggested alterations, but he made no comments upon the Canadian regulations, nor did he state whether they were satisfactory to his Department.
It would appear to me, therefore, that it would be expedient that I should be enabled to inform the governor-general of Canada whether the Canadian regulations are approved and acquiesced in by the government of the United States, and to transmit to him at the same time a fresh copy of the United States regulations embracing the amendments which the Secretary of the Treasury may think it right to adopt. It will be seen that at the end of the report of the Canadian customs department, of the 4th of June last, copy of which was inclosed in my note of the 21st of July, it is suggested that on receiving a copy of any new or amended regulations adopted by the Government of the United States, a complete revision of the Canada regulations and an assimilation as far as possible with those of the United States should be ordered.
I have, &c.,