696 APPENDIX TO BRITISH CASE. 



ing those of Canada herself) "which resort to the harbours of the 

 British North American coast. 



I have thought it right, in justice to the Canadian Government, to 

 embody in this note almost in their own terms their refutation of the 

 charges brought against them by Mr. Bayard ; but I would prefer not 

 to dwell on this part of the controversy, but to proceed at once to the 

 consideration of the six Articles of Mr. Bayard's Memorandum in 

 which the proposals of your Government are embodied. 



Mr. Bayard states that he is " encouraged in the expectation that 

 the propositions embodied in the Memorandum will be acceptable to 

 Her Majesty's Government, because in the month of April, 1866, Mr. 

 Seward, then Secretary of State, sent forward to Mr. Adams, at that 

 time United States' Minister in London, the draft of a Protocol 

 which, in substance, coincides with the 1st Article of the proposal 

 now submitted." 



Article 1 of the Memorandum, no doubt to some extent resembles 

 the draft Protocol submitted in 1866. by Mr. Adams to Lord Claren- 

 don (of which I enclose a copy for convenience of reference), but it 

 contains some important departures from its terms. 



Nevertheless, the Article comprises the elements of a possible 

 accord, and if it stood alone I have little doubt that it might be so 

 modelled, with the concurrence of your Government, as to present an 

 acceptable basis of negotiation to both parties. But, unfortunately, 

 it is followed by other Articles, which, in the view of Her Majesty's 

 Government and that of Canada, would give rise to endless and 

 unprofitable discussion, and which if retained, would be fatal to the 

 prospect of any satisfactory arrangement, inasmuch as they appear, 

 as a whole, to be based on the assumption that upon the most impor- 

 tant points in the controversy, the views entertained by Her Majesty's 

 Government and that of Canada are wrong, and those of the United 

 States' Government are right, and to imply an admission by Her 

 Majesty's Government and that of Canada that such assumption is 

 well founded. 



I should extend the present note to an undue length were I to at- 

 tempt to discuss in it each of the Articles of Mr. Bayard's Memoran- 

 dum, and to explain the grounds on which Her Majesty's Govern- 

 ment feel compelled to take exception to them. I have, therefore, 

 thought it more convenient to do so in the form of a counter-Memo- 

 randum which I have the honour to enclose, and in which will be 

 found in parallel columns, the Articles of Mr. Bayard's Memorandum 

 and the observations of Her Majesty's Government thereon. 



Although as you will perceive on a perusal of those observations, 

 the proposal of your Government as it now stands is not one which 

 could be accepted by Her Majesty's Government, still Her Majesty's 

 Government are glad to think that the fact of such a proposal having 

 been made affords an opportunity which, up to the present time, had 

 not been offered for an amicable comparison of the views entertained 

 by the respective Governments. 



The main principle of that proposal is that a Mixed Commission 

 should be appointed for the purpose of determining the limits of 

 those territorial waters within which, subject to the stipulations of 

 the Convention of 1818, the exclusive right of fishing belongs to 

 Great Britain. 



