QUESTION ONE. 29 



i 



the productiveness and prosperity of the fisheries themselves"; and 

 he " recommended to our citizens to direct their proceedings accord- 

 ingly." This circular was accompanied by a statement that " it is 

 believed that the principal regulations referred to above are the fol- 

 lowing: " and three sections from the revised statutes of New Bruns- 

 wick were appended. 



Shortly before this circular was issued, Mr. Crampton, the Brit- 

 ish Minister at Washington, had, at the request of the Lieutenant- 

 Governor of New Brunswick, informed Mr. Marcy of the existence 

 of certain laws and regulations affecting the fisheries in the Prov- 

 ince of New Brunswick, and had suggested "the expediency of 

 adopting some means of making American citizens concerned in the 

 prosecution of the fisheries, acquainted with these laws and regu- 

 lations," and at the same time had arranged to submit to Mr. Marcy 

 copies of the laws and regulations referred to for his approval. 



The recommendation in Mr. Marcy's circular that certain of these 

 regulations should be observed although there was nothing in the 

 treaty requiring their observance apparently did not fully meet the 

 expectations of the British Government, for it now appears from the 

 British Case that on October 11, 1855, the Earl of Clarendon, Secre- 

 tary of State for Foreign Affairs, wrote to Mr. Crampton on the 

 subject, stating, as the view of the British Government, that under 

 the Reciprocity Treaty American fishermen were bound to observe the 

 existing laws and regulations established for the conduct of such 

 fisheries, by which British subjects were bound.* 



Mr. Crampton apparently had an interview with Mr. Marcy, at 

 which, according to Mr. Crampton's report of it (written nearly six 

 months afterwards), he raised some objection to this circular, but 

 he made it clear to Mr. Marcy that Great Britain's contention that 

 American fishermen in the new treaty waters were bound to observe 

 all existing laws, did not apply " if any of those laws were framed or 

 executed so as to make an unfair discrimination in favor of British 

 fishermen, or directly or indirectly to deprive American fishermen of 

 the privileges secured to them by the Reciprocity Treaty," and he 

 " called Mr. Marcy's attention to the danger of allowing to each 

 individual the right to judge for himself whether a regulation was in 



a British Case Appendix, p. 205. 6 British Case Appendix, p. 208. 



