452 MISCELLANEOUS 



the two nations of England and France, consents to renounce the 

 right of fishing, which belongs to him in virtue of the aforesaid 

 article of the Treaty of Utrecht from Cape Bonavista to Cape St. 

 John, situated on the eastern coast of Newfoundland in fifty degrees 

 north latitude, and His Majesty the King of Great Britain consents, 

 on his part, that the fishery assigned to the subjects of His Most 

 Christian Majesty, beginning at said Cape St. John, passing to 

 the north and descending by the western coast of the island of 

 Newfoundland shall extend to the place called Cape Ray situated 

 in forty seven degrees, fifty minutes latitude. The French fishermen 

 shall enjoy the fishery which is assigned to them by the present 

 article, as they had the right to enjoy that which was assigned to 

 them by the Treaty of Utrecht." They could not put one meaning 

 on it in 1783 and another in 1818. If the Premier would take the 

 trouble to look at the Instructions or Letters Patent of the Gov- 

 ernor he would find the word coast used also, "and further know 



ye there shall be a Governor and Commander-in- 



Chief (hereinafter called our said Governor) in and over our Island 

 of Newfoundland and islands adjacent, and all the coast of Labrador 

 from the entrance of Hudson's Straits to a line to be drawn due 

 north and south from Anse Sablon," etc. According to the Premier 

 that did not include bays, harbours and creeks and we had a Gov- 

 ernor over the coast of Labrador, but not over the bays, harbours 

 and creeks. Now there happened to be a lot of learning on this 

 subject in the report of the Halifax Fishery Commission, and he 

 begged to draw the attention of the Premier to that document. On 

 page 147, in the Brief of the British Government in reply to the 

 Brief of the American Government we find this : " assuming that we 

 should be justified in applying to the language of the Treaty, the 

 decision of the Admiralty Court of the United States, where any 

 words have received a judicial interpretation the Treaty being a 

 contract according to the law of nations, and the Admiralty Courts 

 in the United States being tribunals which administer that law, we 

 find that the term "coast" has received a judicial interpretation 

 expressly with reference to territorial jurisdiction; and that ac- 

 cording to that interpretation the word " coasts " signifies the parts 

 of the land bordering on the sea and extending to low water mark," 

 in other words " the shores at low water," that was the British case 

 that the shore extended to low water mark, and that " coast " and 

 "shore" were interchangeable words. Further in the report we 

 find "assuming therefore as established beyond reasonable doubt, 

 that the word "bay" signifies an arm or elbow of the sea inclosed 

 within headlands or peaks and not an indent of the coast," we may 

 consider what is the true intention of the expression "within three 

 marine miles of a bay." Are such miles to be measured from the 

 outer edge or chord of the bay, or from the inner edge or arc of the 

 bay. In the first place it may be observed that the inner edge or 

 arc of a bay touches the coast, and if the distance is to be measured 

 from the shore of the bay, the word "bay" itself has virtually no 

 significance from "coast" and has no supplementary force. The 

 inner edge or arc of the bay is the coast. So said the British case. 

 Now at page 138 of the same report they found that argument put 

 forward for the Colony by Sir W. V. Whiteway. When speaking 

 of the rights enjoyed by the Americans under the Treaty of 1818 he 



