642 



THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



The Seven Stones Rocks are a reef near the south-west 

 extremity of Cornwall, about seven miles from Land's End, 

 and about a mile in length, and with a lightship at it; but 

 it does not appear that any portion is above the sea -level 

 at low-water of neap tides. Complaints were made to the 

 Government by the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee that 

 French fishing -boats fished within three miles from the 

 rocks, and close to them ; but it was stated by the Admiralty, 

 and also by the Foreign Office, that these rocks could not be 

 claimed as being within British territorial waters. 1 In this case, 

 presumably, the decision might rest on the fact that the rocks 

 do not appear at low- water of ordinary tides. The Eddystone 

 is somewhat different. The rock or reef on which the light- 

 house is placed lies about fourteen miles south-west of Ply- 

 mouth, and while covered by the sea at high tide, is exposed 

 to the extent of an area of about 500 yards at low-water of 

 neaps. French fishermen also fish around it and close to 

 it, a practice which caused the Devon Sea Fisheries Committee 

 to complain. The gunboat Circe, in August 1905, seized and 

 took into Plymouth two French " crabbers " for fishing within 

 three miles from the Eddystone, but after communicating with 

 the Board of Trade, instructions were sent to release the 

 boats; and the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, while 

 saying that they were not in a position to express an authori- 

 tative opinion on the matter, called attention to the decision 

 in 1902 regarding the somewhat similar case at the Seven 

 Stones. Here, no doubt, the decision rested on the absence 

 of the specific inclusion of "rocks," as distinguished from 

 islands, in the conventions, and one can understand the ex- 

 pression of surprise by the Devon Sea Fisheries Committee 

 that a rock which was recognised as British, and was inhabited 

 by lighthouse-keepers, was not considered as within the terri- 

 torial limit for fishing purposes. 



Similar complaints have been made concerning the Bell 

 Rock, which lies about ten miles east-south-east of Arbroath, 

 Forfarshire, and has a lighthouse upon it. It is entirely 

 covered at high-water; at the ebb of spring tides it is un- 

 covered to a depth of four feet, while at low-water of neap 

 tides the top of the rock is just visible, and would thei 

 1 Fish Trades Gazette, May 31st, 1902, p. 8 ; ibid., April 4th, 1903, p. 21. 



