Where and how does the British line begin?
The British line does not continue up Portland Channel to the 56th degree of parallel north latitude, but takes a different direction from the head of this channel.
It runs, almost directly westward, from the head of Portland Channel, fifty-seven miles to a point on the 56th degree of latitude.
The treaty says. “la dite ligne remontera au Nord”, until it reaches the 56th degree.
The British line does not go northwardly until it reaches the 56th degree.
The Faden, Vancouver, Arrowsmith, and Russian maps all showed the crest of the mountains on the 56th parallel near the head of Port- land Channel. It is not possible to lay down the British line on any one of those maps and say that it crosses the 56th degree of latitude at the point where the crest of the mountains begins.
When the British line strikes the 56th parallel on Faden’s map, it is distant from the nearest point of the chain of mountains on that map thirty-eight miles. Faden’s map was before the negotiators, and Mr. George Canning said in his letter to Sir Charles Bagot that it was the most reliable map of them all.
The point of departure of the British line at the head of Portland Channel is distant from the nearest chain of mountains on Vancouver’s map (No. 2 British Atlas) six miles. The point where the line strikes the parallel of 56 degrees is distant from the nearest chain of mountains, on that map, twenty-five miles.
Take Vancouver’s general map, No. 1 British Atlas. The point where the line leaves the head of Portland Channel is distant from the nearest continuous chain of mountains twenty-two miles. The point where it strikes the 56th parallel is distant from the nearest chain of mountains twenty-five miles.
This general map of Vancouver seems to show, to a small extent, an exterior range of mountains for short distances, but this is not the continuous range of mountains, as defined in the treaty. This range is what might be termed the interior range of mountains on this map, and also the interior range on Map No. 2. It has a very large brank at the head of Bradfield Canal of fifteen miles. The so-called exterior range, really only spurs, as shown on Vancouver’s map No. 1, runs only from Observatory Inlet around Portland Channel and to Behm Canal,
