478 MISCELLANEOUS 



the individual or the section, and look towards the general advantage, 

 and that it is the essence of statesmanship that burdens should oe 

 distributed and benefits shared, for the interests of all are interwoven. 

 The policy of this government was in the interests of the whole people 

 of this colony. 



A perusal of the correspondence tabled will reveal the fact that the 

 first intimation the government received respecting the modus vivendi 

 was by a telegraphic despatch of date 8th August, from the Earl of 

 Elgin to the governor of this colony, announcing that His Majesty's 

 Government were then informing the United States Government that 

 they were prepared to negotiate a provisional agreement dealing with 

 the conduct of the approaching fishery, and requesting the governor 

 of this colony to report whether his ministers had any suggestions to 

 offer as to the nature of that arrangement. It will be observed that 

 His Majesty's Government had pledged themselves to a modus vivendi 

 dealing with the fisheries of this colony without first consulting this 

 government; that it was only after this pledge had been given that 

 this government was asked if it had any suggestions to offer. This 

 was regarded by my colleagues and myself as a note of menace, and 

 we, therefore, immediately transmitted a telegram to the Right Hon. 

 the Secretary of State for the Colonies stating that a full reply to his 

 telegraph despatch of the 8th August would be transmitted without 

 unnecessary delay, and in the meantime we relied upon the assurance 

 contained in Mr. Labouchere's despatch of the 26th March, 1857, that 

 " the consent of the community of Newfoundland would be regarded 

 by His Majesty's Government as the essential preliminary to any 

 modification of our territorial or maritime rights ; and they assumed 

 that His Majesty's Government would not submit any proposals to 

 the Government of the United States that would be at variance with 

 that engagement. "What little effect this despatch had with His 

 Majesty s Government I shall presently indicate. 



It has been asserted in some quarters that unnecessary delay 

 occurred between the receipt of Lord Elgin's cablegram of the 8th 

 August and the government's reply thereto. If reference is had to 

 Lord Elgin's cable despatch of that date it will be noticed that His 

 Lordship stated that copies had been forwarded to his excellency the 

 governor by last mail of communications that had passed between 

 His Majesty's and the United States Governments in reference to the 

 matter of the conduct of the fisheries. Before this government could 

 intelligently deal with this important telegraphic despatch they had 

 to await the arrival of the correspondence referred to. This was re- 

 ceived by his excellency the governor on the evening of the 14th of 

 August and was immediately sent by his excellency to me for the 

 consideration of his ministers. 



It proved to be Secretary Root's memorandum to the Foreign Office 

 in which he put forward the conditions : 



1. That there should be no interference on any grounds by officers 

 of the Newfoundland government with American fishermen; 



2. That the Convention of 1818 justifies no interference; 



3. That the fishery laws of the colony are not binding upon United 

 States fishermen ; and 



4. That American fishermen are not obliged to conform to our 

 revenue and customs laws. 



