DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 837 



may have made a mistake. Nevertheless I feel It my duty to advise either to 

 pursue the herring fisheries for the year 1906 with purse seines or to continue 

 with the nets only with crews shipped in American ports or waters. 

 Very respectfully, 



(Signed) A. P. GAKDNEB. 



No. 249. 1906, September 3: Letter from Sir Edward Grey to Mr. 



Whitelaw Reid. 



FOREIGN OFFICE, September #, 1906. 



YOUR EXCELLENCY, In my note of the 14th August I stated that 

 His Majesty's Government hoped shortly to be able to submit to the 

 Government of the United States proposals for a provisional Ar- 

 rangement, which would secure the peaceable and orderly conduct 

 of the forthcoming herring fishery on the coast of Newfoundland. 

 I have now the honour, on the understanding mentioned in my 

 note, viz., that the Arrangement would be in the nature of a modus 

 vivendi to be applicable only to the ensuing season, and not in any 

 way to affect the rights and claims of either party to the Convention 

 of 1818, to submit the following proposals, viz. : 



(1.) His Majesty's Government will not bring into force "The 

 Newfoundland Foreign Fishing Vessels Act, 1906, which imposes on 

 United States' fishing-vessels certain restrictions in addition to those 

 imposed by the Act of 1905. 



(2.) The provisions of the first part of section 1 of the Act of 1905 

 as to boarding and bringing into port, and the whole of section 3 of 

 the same Act will not be regarded as applying to the United States' 

 fishing-vessels. 



(3.) The United States' Government will in return direct their 

 fishermen to comply with the Colonial Fishery Regulations, as was in 

 fact done last year, with the exception of certain breaches of the 

 prohibition of Sunday fishing. 



(4.) The demand for payment of light dues will be waived by His 

 Majesty's Government. 



(5.) The United States' Government will direct the masters of 

 United States' fish ing- vessels to comply with the provisions of the 

 Colonial Customs Law as to reporting at a customs-house, on arrival 

 in and departure from colonial waters. 



2. As regards head (3) of this Arrangement, I would point out 

 that of the three restrictions which the Colonial Fishery- Regulations 

 impose on the herring fishery in the waters open to United States' 

 fishermen, the first, viz., the prohibition of " purse " seines, is in force 

 in all the waters of the Colony. It is also in force in all the waters 

 of Canada. The second, the prohibition of herring traps, is also in 

 force in Placentia. St. Mary's and Fortunes Bavs, and in the district 

 of Twillingate. The third, the prohibition of " herring " seines, is 

 in force also subject to some reservations as to baiting purposes in 

 the inner waters of Placentia Bay, and in certain waters on the north- 

 east coast. The application of these three restrictions to the herring 

 bays of the west coast is, of course, prior to and not in any way con- 

 nected with the present policy of the Colonial Government, and His 

 Majesty's Government have the testimony of the naval officers who 

 have been employed on the Treaty Coast as to the destructive results 



