442 MISCELLANEOUS 



States may be engaged, either on the Grand Bank of Newfoundland, 

 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or other places in the sea. At the same 

 time you will prevent them, except under the circumstances herein- 

 after mentioned, from using the British territory for purposes con- 

 nected with the fishery, and will exclude their fishing vessels from the 

 bays, harbors, rivers, creeks, and inlets of all His Majesty's posses- 

 sions. In case, however, it should have happened that the fishermen 

 of the United States, through ignorance of the circumstances which 

 affects this question, should, previous to your arrival, have already 

 commenced a fishery similar to that carried on by them previous to 

 the late war, and should have occupied the British harbors, and 

 formed establishments on the British territory, which could not be 

 suddenly abandoned without very considerable loss, His Royal High- 

 ness the Prince Regent, willing to give every indulgence to the citizens 

 of the United States which is compatible with His Majesty's rights, 

 has commanded me to instruct you to abstain from molesting such 

 fishermen, or impeding the progress of their fishing during the 

 present year, unless they should, by attempts to carry on a contraband 

 trade, render themselves unworthy of protection or indulgence; you 

 will, however, not fail to communicate to them the tenor of the in- 

 structions which you have received, and the view which His Majesty's 

 Government take of the question of the fishery, and you will, above 

 all, be careful to explain to them that they are not, in any future 

 season, to expect a continuance of the same indulgence. 

 " I have, etc., 



(Signed) " BATHURST. 



" Vice- Admiral Sir RICHARD G. KEATS." 



The enforcement of these stringent instructions led to the negotia- 

 tions that terminated in the treaty of 1818. This dispatch disposes 

 of those " ancient privileges or customs " to which the leader of the 

 opposition referred, and the only privileges or customs that we have 

 to consider are those set forth in the treaty of 1818, or arising out of it. 



The treaty stipulations seem perfectly clear, and we have only to 

 consider whether any customs have grown up under it. So far as I 

 have been able to discover from the public records this colony, with 

 the approval of His Majesty's Government, has, saving only during 

 the periods of reciprocity and during the past fifteen years, most 

 vigorously maintained its fishery rights against the encroachments of 

 American fishermen, and that it has not been the custom at any time 

 for American fishermen to fish within the bays, creeks, coves, or 

 harbors of the colony. When they have visited our harbors, bays, 

 and coves for fish it has been with the permission of the government 

 of this colony, granted under license. The contention of the leader 

 of the opposition in respect to rights by custom therefore falls to the 

 ground. 



Now, then, as to the honorable gentleman's views as to the effect of 

 the bill before the House upon our own fishermen. He said residents 

 of Bay of Islands, Bay St. George, and Bonne Bay would go to 

 Sydney, ship on American vessels, and become " hewers of wood and 

 drawers of water " for men from another country ; either this or the 

 expatriation of our people would result, for they would be driven 

 away from their homes to seek employment which would be denied 



