646 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEA 



relation to conventional law appears to be as follows. With 

 respect to France and Belgium, the three-mile limit, with the 

 ten-mile line for bays, seems to be in force along the whole 

 extent of the British and Irish coasts. With respect to the 

 other Powers which were parties to the North Sea Convention 

 of 1882, namely, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, 

 this limit is in force only on the eastern, or North Sea, coasts 

 of England and Scotland. On the north and west coasts of 

 Scotland, the south and west coasts of England, and the whole 

 of the coast of Ireland, the limits of exclusive fishery as regards 

 these countries, and as regards all countries except France and 

 Belgium, fall to be determined by the principles of interna- 

 tional law. With respect to all other nations, as, for example, 

 the Norwegians, Swedes, and Spaniards, the limits on all parts 

 of our coasts also fall to be determined under international 

 law. The principles of international law, as expounded by the 

 accredited writers, do not, as will be shown later, and as is 

 implied in the quotations from the Acts above cited, support 

 the view that the right of exclusive fishing, apart from treaty, 

 must necessarily be restricted to the three-mile limit. The 

 preponderance of opinion is that the boundary of the territorial 

 sea, including, therefore, the exclusive right of fishery, coincides 

 with the range of guns from the shore ; and it is evident that 

 as against such nations as claim for themselves a greater ex- 

 tent than three miles on their own coasts viz., Norway, 

 Sweden, and Spain a larger limit than that contained in 

 the conventions could be rightfully enforced on the British 

 coasts. 



There are many things to show that the unsatisfactory state 

 of affairs, not to say confusion, with respect to the limits of 

 exclusive fishing to which we are entitled on various parts of 

 our coast, has been brought about partly by a widespread belief 

 that the boundary under international law is three miles, 

 partly also by what must be characterised as a want of 

 knowledge and care on the part of those dealing with the 

 question. Mr T. H. Farrer, the permanent Secretary of the 

 Board of Trade, told a Committee of the House of Commons 

 in 1876 that the convention and regulations with France were 

 " hastily and recklessly " made, 1 and the record of the proceed- 



1 Report from the Select Committee on Oyster Fisheries, p. 1. 1876. 



