BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 461 



imperialist as he was, he was nevertheless compelled to point out that 

 the Imperial Government had not always enforced the rights of this 

 colony, or the rights of Canada as against the United States. Take 

 for example the backboneless policy pursued by H. M. Government 

 in connection with the Behring Sea and Alaska question. If by this 

 Act Newfoundland drove the Americans to make St. Pierre a base 

 for their fishing operations, did the Premier base a hope on what the 

 Imperial Government would do against the Government of the 

 United States to prevent that ? The day was gone by when England 

 was the mistress of the sea in Northern waters. It was a hard fact 

 to face, but it was a fact, that in very many cases the interests of 

 British North America had been sacrificed rather than friction with 

 the United States should be caused. And it was certain that the 

 rights of Newfoundland would be sacrificed. It was right that New- 

 foundland should be sacrificed for the Empire on the principle that 

 the few should be sacrificed for the benefit of the many, just as the 

 Premier was, in this case, sacrificing the few for the many. Then the 

 Premier said he was going to move a suspending clause. That threw 

 a totally new light on the matter. Since his, Mr. M.'s, last speech 

 in the house some new ideas must have entered the brains of the Gov- 

 ernment. He would tell them that there was another suspending 

 clause that they would need before the bill was sanctioned and be- 

 came law, and that was that the bill should not come into operation 

 until sanctioned by the King, because the bill itself strikes at the 

 Treaty rights of the United States. He had tried to point out and 

 failed that the bill, while copied from the Statutes of some of the 

 Canadian Provinces, differed in its application to this country. This 

 bill provided that any vessel in any harbor of the Island could be 

 boarded by a constable, and the master brought before a Magistrate. 

 In Canada that was within their power; an American vessel had no 

 rights in Canadian waters at all, but in Newfoundland waters 

 American vessels have rights, and for a constable to board a vessel 

 and bring her captain before a magistrate, in accordance with the 

 provisions of this bill, was in itself a breach of treaty rights. Even 

 if the question was determined in favor of the captain, it was a 

 breach of treaty rights, for the vessel had suffered because of the 

 operation of this bill. It was possible for Canada to put a bill of this 

 sort in operation, but it was impossible for Newfoundland to do so, 

 so far as the treaty coast was concerned. If there was no suspending 

 clause holding over the operation of the bill until sanctioned by the 

 King, then the Governor would hold the bill for Royal sanction. In 

 fact, if he did not do so he would be putting himself in a dangerous 

 position. But if, as was suggested by the Premier, the house give 

 the Governor in Council the right to suspend the operation of the 

 bill, then it means that the Governor in Council is given the right to 

 deal with the herring fishery in accordance with its own will and 

 pleasure, without the knowledge or consent of the house. What that 

 meant was that the bill was simply being used against the United 

 States for the purpose of securing the Bond-Hay treaty. Then when 

 that treaty was secured the bill would be done away with, without 

 the sanction of the house, and in that way the Bond-Hay treaty 

 would be put through without the sanction of the house, because the 

 government would be in a position to say that because of the power 

 vested in the Governor in Council to suspend the act, and because of 



