484 APPENDIX TO BRITISH CASE. 



to the ancient footing of the Treaty of 1783, as most grateful in 

 sentiment and as a most valuable guarantee against any renewal of 

 strife." In the British " Case " before the Halifax Commission Her 

 Majesty's Government definitely insisted upon this assured position 

 of our public relations in this regard as an element of consideration 

 in the Award they asked from the Commission. Her Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment drew the attention of the Commissioners " to the great im- 

 portance attaching to the beneficial consequences to the United States 

 of honourably acquiring for their fishermen full freedom to pursue 

 their adventurous calling without incurring constant risks and expos- 

 ing themselves and their fellow-countrymen to the inevitable reproach 

 of wilfully trespassing on the rightful domain of friendly neigh- 

 bours. Paramount, however, to this consideration is the avoidance 

 of irritating disputes, calculated to disquiet the public mind of a 

 spirited and enterprising people, and liable always to become a cause 

 of mutual anxiety and embarrassment. It was repeatedly stated by 

 the American members of the Joint High Commission at Washing- 

 ton, in discussing proposals regarding the Canadian fisheries, " that 

 the United States desired to secure their enjoyment, not for their 

 commercial or intrinsic value, but for the purpose of removing a 

 source of irritation." 



The experience of our Fortune Bay fishermen in their first attempt, 

 in the sixth year of the running of the Treaty, to exercise on the 

 coast of Newfoundland the " full freedom to pursue their adventur- 

 ous calling," which Her Majesty's Government said had been hon- 

 ourably acquired for them by their own Government, is exhibited in 

 the papers now submitted, as is also the treatment of their grievance 

 and this Government's presentation of it accorded by Her Majesty's 

 Government. 



The British Government claimed before the Halifax Commission 

 the sum of $120,000 per annum during the twelve years of the Treaty 

 period, or the gross sum of $1,440,000 for the advantage to the United 

 States of the fishing privilege proper on the Newfoundland coast 

 alone, conceded by the Treaty, over and above the counter concessions 

 of our inshore fishery and the remission of duty on their fish products. 



The Halifax Award of $5,500.000 for the Dominion of Canada and 

 Newfoundland together has been divided between them by the British 

 Government, and the sum of $1,000,000 has been received by New- 

 foundland as its share of the money payment made by the United 

 States under the Treaty. It will be observed that under the British 

 view of the exposure of our fishermen at Fortune Bay to the penalties 

 of infractions of the provincial laws, while they were enjoying in 

 their own opinion and that of this Government the full freedom of 

 the fishery accorded by the Treaty, there is no pretense that the vio- 

 lence offered them, and the wanton destruction of their fishing prop- 

 erty, and spoliation of their draught of fishes, find any warrant in 

 the supremacy of violated law under colour of which the British 

 Government has refused them any indemnity. In this attitude of 

 the British Government, as taken in the correspondence, the violent 

 expulsion of our fishermen from their fishery on the 6th of January, 

 1878, by the coast fishermen of Newfoundland seems to be justified, 

 if not espoused. This position, too, of that Government neces- 

 sarily carries a warning that any future attempt by our fishermen 

 to exercise their Treaty privileges, except in conformity to the local 



