A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 4, part 2: John Tyler
History
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 4, part 2: John Tyler
Presidents -- United States; Tyler, John, 1790-1862; United States -- History -- Sources; United States -- Politics and government
Connected with this subject, although, like it, wholly irrelevant, is
another conclusion which Messrs. Mudge and Featherstonhaugh attempt to
draw from the same grant to Sir William Alexander. That charter directs
the line "versus septentrionem" to be produced "ad proximam navium
stationem, fluvium, vel scaturiginem in magno fluvio de Canada sese
exonerantem." It can hardly be credited that, although a literal
translation of this passage is given, including the whole of the three
terms naval station, river, _or_ spring, that it is attempted to limit
the meaning to the first expression only, and to infer that as Quebec,
in their opinion, is the first naval station above Gaspe on the St.
Lawrence, the line "versus septentrionem" was intended to be drawn
toward that place, but that as "spring" is also mentioned the line
must stop at the source of the Chaudiere. Now it has been uniformly
maintained by British authorities, and most strongly in the discussion
which preceded the War of 1756, that Nova Scotia extended to the St.
Lawrence. The boundary of Sir William Alexander's grant was therefore to
be changed from a geographical line to a water course as soon as it met
with one, and the apparently useless verbiage was introduced to meet
every possible contingency. Supposing, however, that it did not extend
so far, the northwest angle of his Nova Scotia will be where the
meridian line of the St. Croix crosses the Beaver Stream running into
Lake Johnson, only a mile to the north of the point maintained by the
American claim to be such.
The map of L'Escarbot, quoted by Messrs. Mudge and Featherstonhaugh,
illustrates both this point and the second instance in which the term
"versus septentrionem" is employed. On that map, due north of the Bay
of St. Marys, a deep inlet of the Bay of Fundy is represented, and,
continuing in the same direction, a deep inlet of the St. Lawrence is
figured. The latter does not exist, but this map shows that it was
believed to exist at the time of the grant, and must be the "statio
navium" of that instrument.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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