Earnscliffe, Ottawa, Sept(ember). 20, 1889. One sheet folded into four pages, 7 3/4 x 5 in. (197 x 127 mm). Two-page autograph letter, signed by Canadian Prime Minister John Macdonald, to W. Masham Adams of Boston, discussing the rights of American fisherman: "Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your favour of the 15th inst. enclosing certain newspaper extracts on the subject of the Convention of 1818 between the United States and Great Britain. The statements made both in the report of your interview and in your letter as to the effect of the convention are incontrovertible. American fishermen can only enter our waters for the purposes mentioned in the Treaty, and one cannot well understand how there can be any constrictions given it other than that put up with by yourself. I have the honour to be sir, Your Obedient Servant, John Macdonald." In mat with portrait of Macdonald as well as a reproduction illustrating the recto, and unexamined out of frame, 25 x 15 3/4 in. (635x 400 mm).

Fine autograph letter signed by John Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada, discussing a question on rights of American fisherman, and citing the Treaty of 1818. The Treaty of 1818 between the United States and Great Britain resolved longstanding boundary issues between the two nations, and resulted in the last major British loss of territory in the Continental U.S.