516 MISCELLANEOUS 



This Convention was approved by the United States Government, 

 but was not ratified by His Majesty's Government. 



In view of the fact that the United States Government had signi- 

 fied its willingness to exchange a free market with us for bait privi- 

 leges, and that our Convention was not held in abeyance by reason of 

 any action or want of action on its part, the Government of New- 

 foundland extended to United States fishermen, for a period of 12 

 years, all the privileges that it was contemplated should be granted 

 under the Convention of 1890. 



Mr. DEAKIN : You say the Convention was approved by the United 

 States Government, but did that include the United States Legis- 

 lature ? 



Sir ROBERT BOND: No; it did not come before the United States 

 Legislature. It was signed by Mr. Blakie on behalf of his Govern- 

 ment. It was then sent over to this country for His Majesty's ap- 

 proval, and a protest was entered against its ratification by the 

 Dominion Government, and His Majesty's Government held it in 

 abeyance for 12 years. 



Sir WILFRID LAURIER: Is it not a fact that the Treaty was sub- 

 mitted by the American Government to the Senate, and they refused 

 to ratify it? 



Sir ROBERT BOND : No, the 1890 Treaty never went before the Sen- 

 ate at all, but the 1902 Treaty did. I am coming to that now. 



During 12 years from 1890 to 1902, the Government of Newfound- 

 land persistently urged His Majesty's Government to fulfil its under- 

 taking as regards the United States Convention, but without avail. 



In 1902 I was in this country in connection with His Majesty's 

 Coronation and the Conference of Colonial Premiers, and I availed 

 myself of the opportunity of pressing upon the then Secretary of 

 State for the Colonies Mr. Chamberlain the unfairness of the 

 treatment that had been meted out to us as a Colony during the 12 

 years previous in relation to our proposed trade arrangement with 

 the United States of America, and begged the privilege of being 

 again permitted to proceed to Washington to re-open negotiations 

 with the United States Government for an arrangement upon the 

 lines of the Convention of 1890. My request was acceded to, and I 

 was furnished with the necessary authority to proceed to Washing- 

 ton. The result of my visit was what is known as the Hay-Bond 

 Treaty of 1902. This Convention was ratified by the Secretary of 

 State of the United States on behalf of his Government, and by the 

 late Sir Michael Herbert on behalf of His Majesty's Government. 

 It provided, as did the former Convention, for the free admission of 

 fishery products of Newfoundland into United States markets in 

 exchange for baiting privileges in the Colony. That Convention was 

 held in abeyance for spine considerable time by the Foreign Relations 

 Committee of the United States of America, but in the year 1904 it 

 was reported by that Committee to the United States Senate, where 

 it was virtually amended out of existence at the instance of the fisher} r 

 interests of Gloucester (Massachusetts). 



Between 1902 and 1904 the privileges that had been freely extended 

 to the United States during the 12 years previous were continued, 

 but after the action of the United States Senate became known to my 

 Government, in the interests of the trade and commerce of the Colony, 

 it was determined that the policy of the Government of 1886 which 



