514 MISCELLANEOUS 



restrictions. That Treaty terminated in the winter of 1864, by a 

 vote of the Congress of the United States. 



Between 1864 and 1871 the policy of issuing licences to American 

 fishermen to fish in the waters from which they were excluded for 

 fishing purposes by the Treaty of 1818, was adopted by the Canadian 

 Government, and, during the year 1866, 354 licenses were issued by 

 that Government at the rate or 50 cents per ton. The next year the 

 licence fee was increased to $1 per ton, and the number of licences 

 issued amounted to 281. In 1868 and 1869 the license fee was doubled 

 to $2 per ton, and in the years 1868 and 1869, 56 and 25 licenses 

 respectively were taken out. The Canadian Government then 

 changed its policy and enacted exclusive laws against American fish- 

 ermen forcing them to keep without the 3-mile limit. 



In the year 1871, another reciprocal trade Treaty was entered into 

 between His Majesty's Government, and that of the United States, 

 which provided that, for a period of 10 years, fishermen of the United 

 States should have, in addition to their right under the Treaty of 

 1818, the privilege of inshore fishing in the waters of British North 

 America under certain limitations. In return for that privilege, it 

 was provided tiiat the fishery products of Newfoundland and of the 

 neighbouring Dominion were to have free entry into the markets of 

 the United States. On the 1st of July, 1885, that Treaty was termi- 

 nated by the Congress of the United States, and the fishing rights 

 of United States' citizens reverted back to those outlined in the Treaty 

 of 1818. 



One month later, namely, on the 1st of August, 1886, a telegram 

 was received by the Officer Administering the Government of the 

 Colony of Newfoundland from the Secretary of State for the Colo- 

 nies, intimating that His Majesty's Government deemed it " desirable 

 that steps should be taken by the Government of the Colony to decide 

 definitely on the exact nature of the proposals to be made to the 

 Government of the United States in anticipation of the negotiations 

 which were contemplated in view of the termination of the tempo- 

 rary arrangements that were made by His Majesty's Minister at 

 Washington with the United States Government arising out of the 

 termination of the fisheries articles of the Treaty of Washington 

 of 1871, on the 30th June, 1885." The answer which was given by 

 the Government of Newfoundland to this representation was the 

 introduction of the Bait Act in the year 1886. The reasons that 

 prompted the adoption of that measure were set out by the then Gov- 

 ernor of the Colony in a despatch to the Colonial Office, bearing date 

 25th day of May 1886, wherein he stated that : 



" The people of Newfoundland, like those of Canada, desire to use 

 the right to withhold a supply of bait as a means of inducing the 

 American Government to remove the import duties on British fish." 



And again, in another despatch from Sir G. William Des Voeux 

 to the Colonial Office, bearing date 4th of January 1887, in support 

 of the Bait Act, which was held in abeyance by His Majesty's Gov- 

 ernment for 12 months, he stated that : 



"American fishermen are protected in the markets of the United 

 States, which take all their produce by a duty of 56 cents per quintal, 

 which is almost prohibitive to the results of British industry ; " and 



" Though the measure, if allowed, would, to a large extent, place 

 the fisheries in this neighborhood within the control of the people 



