332 NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES 



In order to make the purchase of bait or other fishing supplies 

 an offense under the treaty, it was therefore necessary to con- 

 sider this act as 'preparing to fish' within the prohibited 

 waters. . . . 



"The cause of complaint on the part of American fishermen in 

 the summer of 1886 was not so much on account of not being 

 permitted to buy bait and other supplies, as it was on account 

 of the harsh and unreasonable manner in which the Canadian 

 authorities carried out the regulations under the convention of 

 1818 and their own customs laws. A vessel, according to this 

 interpretation, could enter a port to repair damages, but was not 

 permitted to buy a rope or anything that might be wanted for 

 such repairs; she could procure water, but if her water casks 

 were out of repair, she was not allowed to buy new ones, or even 

 a hoop with which to mend the old ones; she could enter a har- 

 bor for shelter, but if she put a man on shore or took one on 

 board, she was subject to detention and fine: and in any case 

 she was often so pestered and insulted by revenue officials that 

 it was better to run the chances of shipwreck than to enter a 

 harbor where it was easy to find an excuse for her detention. 

 . . . Such acts as these revealed the animus of the Canadians, 

 which would seem to have been to take advantage of every 

 technicality of law or treaty, to annoy and provoke the Amer- 

 ican fishermen, with the probable motive of ultimately forcing 

 the United States to make a new reciprocity treaty." 1 



By an act of Congress, March 3, 1887, called the re- 

 taliatory act, the President, in his discretion, was empow- 

 ered by proclamation to deny to vessels, their masters and 

 crews, of the British dominions of North America any 

 entrance into the waters of the United States, except cases 

 of distress or necessity, and also to deny entry of fresh 

 fish or salt fish or any other product of the dominions in 

 question or other goods coming from such dominions into 

 the United States. The President did not exercise his 

 authority under this act. But negotiations were continued 



1 Snow, pp. 451-458, passim. 



