116 CASE OF GREAT BEITAIN. 



with regard to the rights of American fishermen on the non- 

 128 treaty coasts are important, and it may be of advantage to 

 refer briefly to some of their leading features. 



The facilities, which have been the subject of dispute hitherto, have 

 related to such traffic as the purchase of bait, ice, seines, and other 

 articles and supplies, the hiring of crews, the landing of fish, and the 

 transfer of them to ships or railways for transportation to the United 

 States or elsewhere facilities which themselves amount to the estab- 

 lishment of a base of operations in British ports for the American 

 fishing industry. 



But the contention now put forward goes even further than this. 

 It is a claim to all the commercial privileges accorded to vessels en- 

 gaged solely in trade ; in other words, it is a claim that vessels plying 

 in British waters for the purpose of fishing under the treaty have the 

 right to carry on trade as well. 



HISTORY OF THE QUESTION. 



1699. From the earliest times the possession of the coasts of New- 

 foundland, for the purpose of procuring bait, has always been re- 

 garded as of very special value. In 1699 a British statute (10 and 

 11 Wm. Ill, c. 25) provided (App., p. 525) : 



that no alien or stranger whatsoever (not residing within the king- 

 dom of England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon 

 Tweed) shall at any time hereafter take any bait, or use any sort of 

 trade or fishing whatsoever in Newfoundland, or in any of the said 

 islands or places above mentioned. 



The foregoing statute was in force at the date of the American 

 revolution, and the ensuing treaty of 1783. 



1786. After the peace the British statute (26 Geo. Ill, c. 26) pro- 

 vided (App., p. 559) : 



That it shall not be lawful for any person or persons residing in, or 

 carrying on fishery in the said island of Newfoundland, or on the 

 banks thereof, there to sell, barter, or exchange any ship, vessel, or 

 boat, of what kind or description soever, or any tackle, apparel, or 

 furniture, used, or which may be used, by any ship, vessel, or boat; 

 or any seines, nets, or other implements or utensils, used, or which 

 may be used, in catching or curing fish, or any kind of bait whatso- 

 ever, used, or which may be used, in the catching of fish ; or any kind 

 of fish, oil, blubber, seal skins, peltry, fuel, wood, or timber, to or with 

 any person or persons whatsoever, other than the subjects of His 



Majesty, his heirs and successors. 



129 This statute (as well as that of 1699) was in force at the date 

 of the 1818 treaty. 



1818. During the negotiations which preceded the treaty of this 

 year, the United States Commissioners proposed that American fish- 

 ermen should have liberty to enter the bays on the non-treaty coasts 



