DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 747 



the restriction that, being without money, they must not obtain it by 

 the exchange either of fish-hooks or wearing apparel? 



If all vessels of the United States, including those engaged in the 

 occupation of catching fish on the high seas, are now, under the ar- 

 rangements of 1830, entitled as of right to trade in British North 

 American ports, this clause of article XI surrenders nearly the whole 

 of such right; but if, under the arrangements of 1830 or otherwise, 

 American vessels engaged in fishing on the high seas have no right 

 of entry into British North American ports and no right to 

 447 trade therein, and their enjoyment of such privileges depends 

 upon the legislative policy of the British Dominion Govern- 

 ment, can the United States, with the least sentiment of self-respect 

 or with the least regard to American honour, accept such a privilege, 

 so limited, without on the other hand limiting the privileges of sim- 

 ilar Dominion vessels in the ports of the United States ? 



The United States is under no treaty obligation whatever in re- 

 spect of Dominion fishing or any other vessels, other than those con- 

 tained in the treaty of 1871 and all those, whatever they may be, are 

 strictly mutual. The committee thinks that such an arrangement as 

 is here proposed, and which necessarily implies that there can be no 

 other or greater rights of American vessels than those here described, 

 is utterly inadmissible unless it be conceded that the business of 

 American citizens carried on on the high seas, hundreds of miles, in 

 many instances, from British North American coasts, is and ought to 

 be subjected in British North American ports to the free will and 

 pleasure of the government of that country and they are to have few 

 of the rights that, by the common intercourse of nations, are ac- 

 corded to the vessels of all countries as acts of hospitality and hu- 

 manity, and which by treaty or legislative arrangements of nearly 

 all nations are accorded to the citizens of each in the ports of the 

 other upon perfectly mutual and equal terms, and never otherwise. 

 If we are to buy hospitality why should we not sell it ? If we are to 

 submit to British regulations of any occupation on the high seas why 

 should not British subjects in like manner submit to a similar control 

 or exclusion of their vessels by the United States ? 



The last paragraph of article XI appears to be thought by the 

 President in his message communicating the treaty to give to our 

 fishing vessels, whether on the homeward voyage or not, the right of 

 purchasing provisions and supplies that ordinarily belongs to trading 

 vessels. In this the committee thinks the President is much mistaken. 

 The first clause of the paragraph provides for licences to purchase 

 supplies for " the homeward voyage." It then says that such vessels, 

 having obtained the required licences, shall also be accorded upon all 

 occasions such facilities for the purchase of casual or needful supplies 

 as are ordinarily accorded to trading vessels. 



If these last-mentioned words have the meaning imputed to them 

 by the President, the words immediately preceding are absolutely 

 useless and can have no meaning whatever; for the privilege, if 

 expressed, is included within those afterwards used, and as the two 

 phrases stand in immediate connection with each other, the absurdity 

 of their insertion in such a case could not possibly have been over- 

 looked by any intelligent person. And if such a really broad provi- 

 sion as is supposed was intended to be inserted in the treaty one 



