322 NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES 



abandoned her rights to the provisions of the former treaty 

 that had to do with the fisheries. 



Accordingly, as has been noted in Chapter VII, a spe- 

 cial commission was appointed in 1818, which made differ- 

 ent arrangements for the fisheries and which was a very 

 serious limitation of the rights enjoyed under the first 

 treaty. The provisions of the convention of 1818 have 

 been the basis of our fishing rights in Canadian and New- 

 foundland waters much of the time since 1818, and, with 

 certain modifications, are still in force. 



It appears that serious misunderstandings arose soon 

 after the ratification of the Convention of 1818 because of 

 different interpretations of several of its provisions. The 

 British Parliament, in June, 1819, passed an act follow- 

 ing closely the fisheries article of the convention and pro- 

 viding for its enforcement. 1 Between 1818 and 1854 the 

 Provincial Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New 

 Brunswick passed various statutes purporting to be based 

 on the treaty. They were more stringent and even more 

 specific in their application than the English Act. 2 Within 

 half a dozen years after the ratification of the treaty, 

 correspondence had arisen between the two governments 

 over the seizure of American fishing vessels in the Bay 

 of Fundy and their subsequent rescue from Canadian 

 authorities by Eastport enthusiasts. But from 1824 to 

 1836 little trouble seems to have occurred. 



In 1836 the Legislature of Nova Scotia passed what 

 was commonly designated the " hovering act, " in which the 

 hovering of American vessels within three miles of the 

 coast or harbors was sought to be prevented by imposing 

 various regulations and penalties. Subsequently "claims 

 were asserted to exclude fishermen from all bays and even 

 from all waters within lines drawn from headland to 



1 Sabine, p. 22. 



2 Elliott, p. 61. 



