File No. 573/115.

The British Ambassador to the Secretary of State .

No. 121.]

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of to-day, and I have sent by telegraph to the acting governor general of Canada the telegram which it incloses and the substance of your letter.

I have also written to him on the subject, inclosing the necessary parts of your letter and asking him to cause the facts to be inquired into, and to inform me by telegraph of the course which he may take.

I need not assure you of the regret with which I hear of any incidents that can give rise to controversy between the Canadian authorities and the United States fishermen, nor how fully I appreciate your wish to prevent such incidents from becoming the cause of friction. Knowing that the governor general and Sir Wilfred Laurier entertain like feelings, and believing that these will animate those statesmen also who are for the moment in charge of affairs in Canada, I can not but hope that this matter may be soon adjusted and that arrangements may be reached calculated to prevent the recurrence of similar difficulties.

I have, etc.

James Bryce.