BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 477 



United States naval tug Potomac was sent to Bay of Islands and 

 remained there during the whole fishing season. 



In the light of subsequent events it is not unreasonable to conclude 

 that these two articles were intended to pave the way for what fol- 

 lowed a month later, namely, the modus vive?idi, which contained a 

 complete surrender of the rights of this colony to regulate the con- 

 duct of its inshore fishery and abrogated the law of the colony in 

 the interests of American fishermen. 



The subjects of His Majesty have rarely had forced upon them 

 greater humiliation. The process of humiliation could scarcely have 

 been forced to a greater extreme than when the law respecting people 

 of this colony, men who looked up to the flag that floats over them as 

 the symbol of greatness, majesty, power, and justice, were compelled 

 to witness foreign agents entering the coves, creeks, and harbours of 

 this colony, collecting together the lawless ones to bid defiance to the 

 laws of this colony, under the protection of H. M. S. Brilliant. 



The question of the use of seines by Americans in the prosecution 

 of the herring fishery had arisen the year previous, and under date 

 26th of October, 1905, the attention of His Majesty's Government was 

 drawn to this matter. His Majesty's Government was then advised 

 that this government proposed to prevent the use of seines by United 

 States vessels as being contrary to the law enacted for the preserva- 

 tion of the fishery, and calculated to entail serious loss to the people 

 of this colony by the barring of herring to the exclusion of our peo- 

 ple. It was submitted that it could not successfully be contended that 

 the Newfoundland law against seining is in any sense antagonistic 

 to the treaty obligations of His Majesty's Government to the United 

 States, which stipulates that the inhabitants of the United States have 

 forever, " in common " with the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, 

 the liberty to take fish of any kind on that part of the southern and 

 western coasts of Newfoundland, as defined in the treaty; that as 

 the prohibition of the use of seines applies equally to British sub- 

 jects, who are obliged to conform thereto, it could hardly be success- 

 fully contended that United States subjects, who have the right to 

 fish " in common " with British subjects, are exempt from such regu- 

 lations as have been deemed necessary by the legislature of this colony 

 for the preservation of the fisheries in the treaty waters. In reply 

 to this representation this government was informed that the United 

 States Government did not concur in their view as respects the use 

 of seines. 



An attempt has been made to justify what has been done on the 

 ground that a majority of the fishermen of Bay of Islands were not in 

 sympathy with the policy of this government. I deny this upon the 

 authority of Fishery Inspector O'Reilly, who has informed the gov- 

 ernment that the great majority of the people of Bay of Islands and 

 the west coast are in full sympathy with the government's policy. I 

 deny it upon the authority of statistics, which show that out of more 

 than 2,000 local fishermen that were engaged in the herring fishery 

 during the past season only 640 shipped to American masters, and 

 that number was obtained trom various parts of the colony. 



But suppose that the whole population of Bay of Islands were op- 

 posed to the policy of this government could that form a justifica- 

 tion for the modus vivendi and its accompaniments? Unless I am 

 mistaken, the duty of the state in all circumstances is to look beyond 



