_Province of New Brunswick, February 17, 1839_.
The OFFICER COMMANDING THE ARMED FORCE ON THE DISPUTED TERRITORY.
SIR: I am directed by His Excellency Major-General Sir John Harvey,
lieutenant-governor and commander in chief of this Province, to express
to you his great surprise at the very extraordinary occurrence of an
armed force of the description now with you having entered upon the
disputed territory (so called) and attempted to exercise a jurisdiction
there foreign to the British Government, seizing upon and maltreating
British subjects and retaining many of them prisoners without having in
the first instance given any notice or made any communication whatever
to the government authorities of this Province of such your intention,
or the causes which have led to these acts of aggression. If you are
acting under any authority from your own government, the proceedings are
still more unjustifiable, being in direct defiance and breach of the
existing treaties between the Central Government of the United States
and England. If you have not any such authority, you and those with you
have placed yourselves in a situation to be treated by both Governments
as persons rebelling against the laws of either country. But be that as
it may, I am directed by his excellency to give you notice that unless
you immediately remove with the force you have with you from any part of
the disputed territory (so called) and discharge all British subjects
whom you have taken prisoners and at once cease attempting to exercise
any authority in the said territory not authorized by the British
Government every person of your party that can be found or laid hold of
will be taken by the British authorities in this Province and detained
as prisoners to answer for this offense, as his excellency is expressly
commanded by his Sovereign to hold this territory inviolate and to
defend it from any foreign aggression whatever until the two Governments
have determined the question of to whom it shall belong; and to enable
him to carry these commands into full effect, a large military force is
now assembling at this place, part of which has already arrived, and
will be shortly completed to any extent that the service may require.
In doing this his excellency is very desirous to avoid any collision
between Her Majesty's troops and any of the citizens of the United
States that might lead to bloodshed, and if you remove from the
territory peaceably and quietly without further opposition such
collision will be avoided, as in that case his excellency will not think
it necessary to move the British troops farther; but if you do not he
will, in the execution of the commands of the British Government, find
it necessary to take military possession of the territory in order to
defend it from such innovation; and the consequences must be upon your
own heads or upon the authority, if any, under which you act. The three
gentlemen who were with you, and were taken prisoners by some of our
people, have been forwarded on to Frederickton by the magistrates of the
country and will be detained (as all persons heretofore have been who
on former occasions were found endeavoring to set up or exercise any
foreign jurisdiction or authority in the territory in question). They
will, however, be well treated and every necessary attention paid to
their comfort; but I have no doubt they will be detained as prisoners,
to be disposed of as may hereafter be directed by the British
Government. The warden of the disputed territory, Mr. Maclauchlan, went
out, I understood, a few days since to explain all this to you; but
he not having returned we are led to suppose you have still further
violated the laws and treaties of the two nations by detaining him, who
was a mere messenger of communication, together with Mr. Tibbets, the
person who was employed to convey him. But as Mr. Maclauchlan was an
accredited officer, acknowledged by the American Government as well as
the British, and appointed for the very purpose of looking after this
territory, I trust you will on reflection see the great impropriety and
risk you run, even with your own government, by detaining him or his
attendant, Mr. Tibbets, any longer.