688 APPENDIX TO BRITISH CASE. 



rocal privilege of transit, duty free, " of goods, wares and merchan- 

 dise " arriving at certain American ports and destined for Canada, or 

 arriving at any North American British ports and destined for the 

 United States. Its language is this: " It is agreed that for the term 

 of years mentioned in Article XXXIII," which article defines the 

 specification thus : " In force for the period of ten years from the 

 date at which they may come into operation ; and further, until the 

 expiration of two years after either of the high contracting parties 

 shall have given notice to the other of its wish to terminate the 

 same, each of the high contracting parties being at liberty to give 

 such notice to the other at the end of said period, of ten years or at 

 any time afterwards"; which is to say, 10 years plus SB years plus 2 

 years; so being a variable determinable by the wish of either party. 



The term of years thus identically specified in all the Articles 

 XVIII, XIX, XXI, (XXVIII dealing with free British navigation 

 of Lake Michigan), XXIX and XXX; thus defined in Article 

 XXXIII, has been interpreted according to its obvious significance, 

 with respect to all but two of those Articles (XXVIII and XXIX) 

 by the initiative and act of the United States, June 28, 1883. Is 

 this Government to be precluded from any other term of years of the 

 XXIXth Article than that thus specified, defined, and interpreted? 

 Or does the " term of years " mentioned in Article XXIX, as pre- 

 scribing and limiting its life, refer to and include the variable x in 

 Article XXXIII, and contemplate its determination as to Article 



XXIX, specifically, in order to close its existence? 

 410 If the stipulations of Article XXIX are now binding on 



Great Britain, then it is indisputable that our vessels are en- 

 titled by the treaty to enter fish, as merchandise, at the proper 

 custom-house of any Canadian port, for conveyance in bond to the 

 United States. Of necessity, the vessel containing the fish is entitled 

 to enter the port, in order to enter the merchandise at the proper 

 custom-house. 



No. 235. 1887, March 9: Letter from Lord Lansdowne (Governor- 

 General of Canada] to Sir Henry Holland (British Colonial 

 Secretary}. 



[No. 67] OTTAWA, 9th March, 1887. 



SIR, In consequence of the repeated complaints which have been 

 addressed to Her Majesty's Government, by that of the United States, 

 of the manner in which the Canadian authorities have acted in en- 

 forcing against American fishing vessels the provisions of the Con- 

 vention of 1818 and the Acts of Parliament passed for the purpose of 

 giving effect to that Treaty. I have thought it my duty to invite the 

 special attention of my advisers to the action of the Dominion fish- 

 eries police during the last fishing season, and to ask them to con- 

 sider, upon a general review of the events of that season, and of the 

 different cases in which vessels had been either denied privileges or 

 had been seized or detained within Canadian waters for alleged in- 

 fractions of the law. or otherwise interfered with by the officials of 

 the Dominion; whether any amendment was called for in the instruc- 

 tions which had been issued by the Fisheries Department to the 



