No. 366.
Mr. Blaine to Sir Edward
Thornton.
Washington, May 28, 1881.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of May 28, 1881, in which, referring to mine of the 6th, you convey the gratifying intelligence that Her Majesty’s Government has accepted the terms of settlement agreed upon by us of the difficulties at Fortune Bay, occurring on the 6th of January, 1878.
The understanding of this government is, as you state, that the payment of £15,000 sterling is in full satisfaction of all claims for disturbances of American fishermen in their fishing operations on the coast of Newfoundland and its dependencies up to 4th of March last, including the occurrences at Aspee Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in the Dominion of Canada, a statement of which is made at pages 138 to 141, inclusive, of Ex. Doc. No. 84 of the House of Representatives of the Forty-sixth Congress.
This government also clearly understands that the above-mentioned payment will be made without prejudice to any question of the rights of either of the two governments under Articles XVIII to XXV, both inclusive, and Article XXXII of the treaty of May 8, 1871, between the United States and Great Britain.
You can advise me of the time and method of payment, which I leave to be settled by your own convenience.
I have, &c.,