i88 THROUGH THREEFOLD TENSION 



return? Fortunately a now long-standing dis 

 pute over the ancient subject of the fisheries 

 enabled Westminster to make an answer that, 

 after years of consideration, was accepted as 

 sufficient. 



We have seen that in 1818 the United States 

 renounced the liberty of taking fish &quot;within 

 three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, 

 creeks, or harbors&quot; of British America except 

 certain clearly described portions of the shores 

 of Newfoundland and Labrador. In the later 

 thirties complaints began to be heard from 

 Nova Scotia that the American fishermen were 

 disregarding this agreement by plying their 

 trade in the bays of that colony. Legislation 

 was enacted to punish the intruders and ulti 

 mately British naval vessels were sent to patrol 

 the coast. The Americans stoutly denied that 

 they were intruding, and the seizure of their 

 fishing-vessels gave rise to prolonged diplo 

 matic proceedings. 



It appeared that certain most valuable species 

 of fish had, with the disregard of human con 

 ventions that is so characteristic of the lower 

 species of animate things, manifested their pres 

 ence in paying numbers much nearer land than 

 the standard cod ever ventured. In pursuit of 



