362 MISCELLANEOUS 



* 



There is a fairly good show of herring in all three arras, but they 

 have not definitely settled yet. 



3. I had an interview with Inspector O'Reilly, of the Fiona, on 

 her arrival. He did not inform me of any untoward occurrences, and 

 gave it as his opinion that as long as a British man-of-war was here 

 there would be no trouble. 



4. Three schooners have sailed with full fares: one American, one 

 Canadian, and one locally owned, or, rather, chartered. 



5. On the 31st ultimo the Potom-ac sailed for Sydney to coal. She 

 is expected back in three or four days. 



6. On 3rd November the Magistrate came on board and showed me 

 ,'i Public Notice (enclosed) quoting sections of an Act " Of exporta- 

 tion and sale of bait fishes," which had just been promulgated. He 

 said that after the issue of the Notice the Newfoundland Government 

 intended to take legal proceedings against Newfoundland fishermen 

 who shipped on board American schooners, so as to test the validity 

 of that portion of the Modus Vivendi, which says that " The ship- 

 ment of Newfoundlanders by American fishermen outside the three- 

 mile limit is not to be made the basis of interference or to be penal- 

 ized." He also gave me to understand that the view of the New- 

 foundland Government is that the Imperial Government had trenched 

 upon the rights of Newfoundland by agreeing, in the Modus Vivendi, 

 that certain portions of the Act of 1905 "will not be regarded as 

 applying to American fishing vessels," and that this Public Notice 

 is specially designed to bring matters to an issue. It was further 

 hoped that its publication might prevent any more Newfoundland 

 men from shipping in the American schooners and thus cripple the 

 American fishing almost entirely, or that even if the men did ship 

 they could be harassed and hampered under the Act quoted, and that 

 this might hinder the American fishermen to some extent. 



He showed me a newspaper in which it was frankly avowed that 

 the intention and hope was to embarrass the British Government in 

 their relations with the United States. 



The date of the passing of the Act being omitted in the Public 

 Notice, it will be difficult for the ordinary fisherman to read it in its 

 entirety, if they wish to perhaps some of the older men may know 

 that the extracts are from the Bait Act of 1889. I hear that the 

 Newfoundland fishermen have been told locally that they will render 

 themselves liable to a penalty of $1,000 or 12 months in the Peni- 

 tentiary if they ship on board American schooners. As 40 or 50 more 

 American schooners are said to be coming here, whose skippers will 

 probably expect to fill up their fishing crews with Newfoundland 

 fishermen either from Bonne Bay or Bay of Islands, it is very im- 

 portant to both Newfoundlanders and Americans to know exactly 

 how they stand. 



This forenoon (5th November) two American skippers and three 

 Newfoundland fishermen came on board to ask me to tell them how 

 matters stood, as the Newfoundland men were afraid to fulfil their 

 engagement to ship. 



I read to them the Modus Vivendi, giving them in writing that 

 portion which deals with the shipment of Newfoundland fishermen by 

 American schooners. I also read to them certain other portions of 

 the Bait. Act of 1889. including paragraph 22, which says, "Nothing 

 in this Act shall affect the rights and privileges granted by Treaty 



