34 CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



LORD GRANVILLE'S STATEMENT, 1880. 



The position of His Majesty's Government is summed up with per- 

 fect clearness by Lord Granville, who succeeded Lord Salisbury as 

 Foreign Secretary, in his despatch of the 27th October, 1880, to Mr. 

 Lowell. Lord Granville said (App., p. 289) : 



In the first place, I desire that there should be no possibility of 

 misconception as to the views entertained by Her Majesty's Govern- 

 ment respecting the conduct of the Newfoundland fishermen in 

 violently interfering with the United States fishermen, and destroy- 

 ing or damaging some of their nets. Her Majesty's Government have 

 no hesitation in admitting that this proceeding was quite indefensi- 

 ble, and is much to be regretted. No sense of injury to their rights, 

 however well founded, could, under the circumstances, justify the 

 British fishermen in taking the law into their own hands, and com- 

 mitting acts of violence ; but I will revert by and by to this feature 

 in the case and will now proceed to the important question 

 38 raised in this controversy, whether, under the Treaty of Wash- 

 ington, the United States fishermen are bound to observe the 

 fishery regulations of Newfoundland in common with British subjects. 



Without entering into any lengthy discussion on this point, I feel 

 bound to state that, in the opinion of Her Majesty's Government, 

 the clause in the Treaty of Washington which provides that the citi- 

 zens of the United States shall be entitled, " in common with British 

 subjects," to fish in Newfoundland waters within the limits of British 

 sovereignty, means that the American and the British fishermen 

 shall fish in these waters upon terms of equality ; and not that there 

 shall be an exemption of American fishermen from any reasonable 

 regulations to which British fishermen are subject. 



Her Majesty's Government entirely concur in Mr. Marcy's circular 

 of the 28th March, 1856. The principle therein laid down appears 

 to them perfectly sound, and as applicable to the fishery provisions 

 of the Treaty of Washington as to those of the treaty which Mr. 

 Marcy had in view. They cannot, therefore, admit the accuracy of 

 the opinion expressed in Mr. Evarts' letter to Mr. Welsh of the 28th 

 September, 1878, " that the fishery rights of the United States con- 

 ceded by the Treaty of Washington are to be exercised wholly free 

 from the restraints and regulations of the statutes of Newfoundland," 

 if by that opinion anything inconsistent with Mr. Marcy's principle is 

 really intended. Her Majesty's Government, however, fully admit 

 that, if any such local statutes could be shown to be inconsistent with 

 the express stipulations, or even with the spirit of the treaty, they 

 would not be within the category of those reasonable regulations by 

 which American (in common with British) fishermen ought to be 

 bound; and they observe, on the other hand, with much satisfaction, 

 that Mr. Evarts, at the close of his letter to Mr. Welsh of the 1st 

 August, 1879, after expressing regret at " the conflict of interests 

 which the exercise of the treaty privileges enjoyed by the United 

 States appears to have developed," expressed himself as follows : 



There is no intention on the part of this [the United States'] Government 

 that these privileges should be abused, and no desire that their full and free 

 enjoyment should harm the colonial fishermen. 



