DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 843 



No. 257. 1906, October 8: Letter from Sir Edward Grey to Mr. 



Whitelaw Reid. 



FOREIGN OFFICE, October 5, 1006. 



YOUR EXCELLENCY, I have received with satisfaction the note of 

 the 6th instant, in which your Excellency states that you have been 

 authorised by your Government to ratify a modus vivendi in regard 

 to the Newfoundland fishery question, on the basis of the Memoran- 

 dum which I had the honour to communicate to you on the 25th 

 ultimo, and I am glad to assure your Excellency that the note in 

 question will be considered by His Majesty's Government as a suf- 

 ficient ratification of that arrangement on the part of the United 

 States' Government. 



His Majesty's Government fully share the desire of your Govern- 

 ment that the provisions of the modus vivendi should be made 

 effective at the earliest moment possible, and the necessary instruc- 

 tions for its observance were accordingly sent to the Government of 

 Newfoundland immediately on receipt of your Excellency's com- 

 munication. 



I have, &c. (Signed) EDWARD GREY. 



507 No. 2581907, June W: Letter from Sir Edward Grey to 



Mr. Whitelaw Reid. 



FOREIGN OFFICE, June 00, 1907. 



SIR, On the 20th of July last, Your Excellency communicated to 

 me a letter addressed to you by Mr. Root in which he gave reasons 

 which prevented his agreement with the views of His Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment as to the rights of American fishing vessels in the waters of 

 Newfoundland under the Convention of 1818. 



No reply was returned at the time to the arguments contained in 

 this letter, as the divergence of views between the two Governments 

 made it hopeless to expect an immediate and definitive settlement of 

 the various questions at issue and it was essential to arrive at some 

 arrangement immediately which would secure the peaceable and 

 orderly conduct of the impending fishery season. 



Upon the conclusion of the Modus Vivendi, His Majesty's Govern- 

 ment further deferred any additional observations on the questions 

 at issue until the arrival in this country of the Premier of Newfound- 

 land to attend the Imperial Conference. 



They have now had the advantage of a full discussion with Sir R. 

 Bond, and although His Majesty's Government are unable to modify 

 the views to which they have on various occasions given expression, 

 of the proper interpretation of the Convention of 1818 in its bearing 

 on the rights of American fishermen, they are not without hope, hav- 

 ing regard to the willingness of the United States Government from 

 a practical point of view to discuss reasonable and suitable regula- 

 tions for the due control of the fishermen of both countries, that an 

 arrangement may be arrived at which will be satisfactory to both 

 countries. 



