No. 214.
Mr. Seward
to Sir Edward Thornton.
Washington, August 26, 1878.
Sir: Referring to your note of the 19th instant, in which you inform this Department that the Government of the Dominion of Canada has not yet made any provisions for extending to American vessels the reciprocal privileges alluded to in the act of Congress of June 19, 1878, I have the honor to state that I have just received a communication from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury which illustrates forcibly the necessity that exists for action upon the part of that government, in order to prevent exceedingly vexatious occurrences.
The facts as communicated by the Treasury Department are as follows: A few days since the American tug Champion, in taking a tow of vessels up the Detroit River, stopped on the Canada side, opposite Detroit, alongside the dock on that side, and made the tow fast, to enable the tug to go to Detroit for some purpose. There were five vessels in the tow, and the rear one came below the dock and washed against the bank of the river and lodged there. The captain of the tug, when he returned, started up his tow, and parted the tow-line between the rear vessel and the one ahead. He immediately anchored his tow in the river, and went back and pulled the vessel off and fastened to the tow again. For doing this the vessel was seized by the officers of the Dominion Government, and the captain was not allowed to proceed on his voyage until he had given bonds for $400. The Treasury Department furthermore has information that similar cases are of frequent occurrence in Canadian waters contiguous to the United States.
I have, &c.,
Acting Secretary.