DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 817 



No. 245. 1905, October 19: Letter from Mr. Root to Sir M. Durand. 



DEPARTMENT or STATE, 

 Washington, October 19, 1905. 



EXCELLENCY, Mr. Gardner, the representative in Congress of the 

 Gloucester district, has placed in my hands a number of despatches 

 received by him from masters of American vessels now on the New- 

 foundland coast. These despatches are answers to inquiries sent by 

 him at my request for the purpose of ascertaining definitely, if pos- 

 sible, what is the precise difficulty there. 



These despatches agree in the statement that vessels of American 

 registry are forbidden to fish on the Treaty Coast. One captain says 

 that he was informed that he could not fish by the Inspector of the 

 Revenue Protection Service of Newfoundland, and several of them 

 that they have been ordered not to take herring by the Collector of 

 Customs at Bonne Bay, Newfoundland. 



It would seem that the Newfoundland officials are making a dis- 

 tinction between two classes of American vessels. We have vessels 

 which are registered, and vessels which are licensed to fish and not 

 registered. The licence carries a narrow and restricted authority; 

 the registry carries the broadest and most unrestricted authority. 

 The vessel with a licence can fish, but cannot trade; the registered 

 vessels can lawfully both fish and trade. The distinction between 

 the two classes in the action of the Newfoundland authorities would 

 seem to have been implied in the despatch from Senator Lodge which 

 I quoted in my letter of the 12th, and the imputation of the prohi- 

 bition of the Minister of Marine and Fisheries may perhaps have come 

 from the port officers, in conversation with the masters of American 

 vessels, giving him as their authority for their prohibitions. 



As the buying of herring and bait fish, which until recently has 

 been permitted for a good many years in Newfoundland, is trading, 

 the American fishing fleet have come very generally to take an 

 American registry, instead of confining themselves to the narrower 

 fishing licence, and far the greater part of the fleet now in northern 

 waters consists of registered vessels. The prohibition against fishing 

 under an American register substantially bars the fleet from fishing. 

 American vessels have also apparently been in the habit of entering 

 at the Newfoundland custom-houses and applying for a Newfound- 

 land licence to buy or take bait, and I gather from all the informa- 

 tion I have been able to get that both the American masters and the 

 Customs officials have failed to clearly appreciate the different con- 

 ditions created by the practical withdrawl of all privileges on the 

 part of Newfoundland and the throwing of the American fishermen 

 back upon the bare rights which belong to them under the Treaty of 

 1818. 



I am confident that we can reach a clear understanding regarding 



those rights and the essential conditions of their exercise, and that 



a statement of this understanding to the Newfoundland 



492 Government, for the guidance of its officials on the one hand, 



and to our American fishermen for their guidance on the other, 



will prevent causeless injury and possible disturbances, such as have 



been cause for regret in the past history of the north-eastern fisheries. 



92909 S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 4 62 



