It was perhaps inevitable that an agreement, whose technical provisions were exceeded more than half a century ago, was subject from time to time to cases considered by both parties as technical offences, and in such cases there is a clear record. However, we believe that it can be said successfully that, without a certain degree of tolerance, the agreement, in its original form, would hardly have survived to this day. But it is equally important that, even if both governments were forced to depart from strict compliance with their conditions, they feared that the spirit underlying them would be preserved. With regard to the size of these vessels, it was found that all over one hundred tonnes are the limit set by the agreement. The transition from wood to steel in the middle of the last century, as well as other factors, helped to render this part of the agreement obsolete. To our knowledge, the Canadian government has not objected to the presence of more than 100 tonnes of loads of more than 100 tonnes on the Great Lakes, and there would be no tendency to question Canada`s maintenance of vessels similar to those we operate. It seems that the practice of our Department of the Navy has for many years been to deploy only “unclassified” vessels on the Great Lakes that have long survived their usefulness in modern warfare and have a design of no more than fourteen feet. I understand that these vessels are of no use other than basic training for naval reserves. Mr.
Hull considered it desirable to pursue this policy, which went beyond the objectives of the 1817 agreement, but was so clearly in line with the current temperament of public opinion. He`s informing the Navy Department. The rush bagot pact was an agreement between the United States and Great Britain to eliminate their fleets from the Great Lakes, with the exception of small patrol vessels. The 1818 convention established the border between the territory of Missouri in the United States and British North America (later Canada) at the forty-ninth parallel. Both agreements reflected the easing of diplomatic tensions that led to the War of 1812 and marked the beginning of Anglo-American cooperation.
