The treaty between the United States and Great Britain concerning the Canadian International boundary, concluded April 11, 1908, authorizes the appointment of two commissioners to define and mark accurately the international boundary line between the United States and the Dominion of Canada in the waters of the Passamaquoddy Bay, and provides for the exchange of briefs within the period of six months.  The briefs were duly presented within the prescribed period, but as the commissioners failed to agree within six months after the exchange of the printed statements, as required by the treaty, it has now become necessary to resort to the arbitration provided for in the article.

The International Fisheries Commission appointed pursuant to and under the authority of the Convention of April 11, 1908, between the United States and Great Britain, has completed a system of uniform and common international regulations for the protection and preservation of the food fishes in international boundary waters of the United States and Canada.

The regulations will be duly submitted to Congress with a view to the enactment of such legislation as will be necessary under the convention to put them into operation.

The Convention providing for the settlement of international differences between the United States and Canada, including the apportionment between the two countries of certain of the boundary waters and the appointment of commissioners to adjust certain other questions, signed on the 11th day of January, 1909, and to the ratification of which the Senate gave its advice and consent on March 3, 1909, has not yet been ratified on the part of Great Britain.

Commissioners have been appointed on the part of the United States to act jointly with Commissioners on the part of Canada in examining into the question of obstructions in the St. John River between Maine and New Brunswick, and to make recommendations for the regulation of the uses thereof, and are now engaged in this work.

Negotiations for an international conference to consider and reach an arrangement providing for the preservation and protection of the fur seals in the North Pacific are in progress with the Governments of Great Britain, Japan, and Russia.  The attitude of the Governments interested leads me to hope for a satisfactory settlement of this question as the ultimate outcome of the negotiations.

The Second Peace Conference recently held at The Hague adopted a convention for the establishment of an International Prize Court upon the joint proposal of delegations of the United States, France, Germany and Great Britain.  The law to be observed by the Tribunal in the decision of prize cases was, however, left in an uncertain and therefore unsatisfactory state.  Article 7 of the Convention provided that the Court was to be governed by the provisions of treaties existing between the belligerents, but that “in the absence of