414 MISCELLANEOUS 



treaty of 1818 have the right to buy or take these herring in the 

 creeks and harbors on the southern coast of Newfoundland, between 

 Cape Ray and Rameau Islands, and on the northern and western 

 coast of Newfoundland between Cape Ray and Quirpon Islands, is 

 incorrect and misleading; and I desire to emphasize the statement 

 that, in my opinion, the fishermen of the United States of America 

 have no right, under the treaty of 1818, either to take for themselves 

 or to purchase bait fishes in the harbors, creeks, or coves between Cape 

 Ray and Rameau Islands on the southern coast of Newfoundland, 

 or in the harbors, creeks, or coves between Cape Ray and Quirpon 

 Islands on the northern and western coast; and that the liberty ex- 

 tended to them under the treaty of 1818 to take fish in the harbors, 

 bays, and creeks of this colony is limited to that portion of our de- 

 pendency from Mount Joly, on the southern coast of Labrador, to 

 and through the Straits of Belle Isle, and thence northwardly in- 

 definitely. This is a point of vast importance to the people of this 

 country. I believe I am correct in saying that it is the first time that 

 this position has been taken, and, if I am correct in my interpreta- 

 tion of the treaty of 1818, the whole winter herring fishery of the 

 west coast has been carried on for years by the Americans, simply at 

 the sufferance of the government of this colony. 



It is surprising that the Senate did not see the fallaciousness of the 

 statement made by the Messrs. Pew in regard to the rights of Ameri- 

 can fishermen on the portion of the coast of this colony to which I 

 have just referred, for the Hon. Dwight Foster, that eminent Ameri- 

 can lawyer who represented the United States or America at the Hali- 

 fax Fishery Commission in 1877, declared, in his closing argument on 

 behalf of the United States before that Commission, that " no rights 

 to do anything upon the land are conferred upon citizens of the 

 United States under the treaty of 1818. So far as the herring trade 

 goes, we could not, if we were disposed to, carry it on successfully 

 under the provisions of the treaty, for this herring trade is substan- 

 tially a seining from the shore a strand fishery, as it is called and 

 we have no right anywhere conferred by treaty to go ashore and seine 

 herring. We have no right to go ashore for any purpose anywhere on 

 the British territories, except to dry nets and cure fish." 



I venture to go further than the learned counsel for the United 

 States in his admission, and to express the opinion, after very careful 

 consideration, that American fishermen not only have no right to 

 land and seine herrings, but they have no right to enter into the har- 

 bors, creeks, or coves from Cape Ray to Rameau Islands, and from 

 Cape Ray to Quirpon Islands, for the purpose of buying herrings or 

 fishing for them. 



Messrs. Pew & Son, hi their paper, proceeded to state further that 

 "in this stretch of coast (that is to say, between Cape Ray and Quir- 

 pon Islands) are situated Bay of Islands and Bonne Bay, where fifty 

 or more of our New England fishing vessels go to engage in the winter 

 herring fishery. Having herring come into the United States free of 

 duty, as contemplated by the Bond-Hay Treaty, simply transfers this 

 winter fishery over to the British flag." If the position that I have 

 taken up in regard to this section of the coast of this colony is correct, 

 the exclusive rights to the winter herring fishery are under the British 

 flag to-day, and always have been so ever since the dominion of the 

 British flag was first established in North America. 



