he St. Andrews and Quebec Railroad Association,
for the purpose of bringing into public notice the practicability of
constructing a railway between those ports, and that sundry resolutions
were passed in furtherance of this object; that the project was
sanctioned and patronized by the governor in chief of British North
America, the lieutenant-governors of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and
the legislatures and people of the Provinces of Lower Canada and New
Brunswick; that the route of the proposed railroad had been explored as
far as the head waters of the St. John River by surveyors employed by
the association; that an act has actually passed the legislature of
New Brunswick incorporating this company, and that a similar act was
expected to be passed in Lower Canada; that letters were addressed to
the boards of trade of Quebec and Montreal requesting their cooperation;
that these communications were favorably received, and that petitions
had been forwarded to His Britannic Majesty, signed by committees of the
association and by inhabitants of the cities of Quebec and Montreal,
soliciting the construction of a railway between the ports above named,
or the extension of royal aid and protection to the petitioners in the
proposed undertaking.

Without allowing himself for a moment to believe that His Britannic
Majesty's Government will in any manner countenance the projected
railroad from St. Andrews to Quebec when the slightest inspection of the
map of the country which it crosses will show that its intended location
would be for a great portion of the route an encroachment upon the
territory in dispute between the United States and Great Britain, the
President yet sees cause for painful surprise and deep regret in the
fact that the civil authorities of His Majesty's Provinces on our
northeastern borders should have lent their encouragement to or should
in any wise have promoted an undertaking which if persevered in will
inevitably lead to the most disastrous consequences. The object of the
association from its inception was objectionable, since it could only be
effected by entering upon territory the title to which was controverted
and unsettled--a proceeding which could not fail to be offensive to the
Government and people of the United States. Still more unjustifiable was
the act of sovereignty giving to this company corporate powers over
property known to be claimed by citizens of a friendly and neighboring
State, an