DESPATCHES, REPORTS, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 321 



3. She had, in addition to this, violated sections 25 and 29 of the 

 Customs Act of 1883 (46 Viet., cap. 12) , having been for fully twenty- 

 four hours in port without reporting to the Collector of Customs. 



4. In consequence of the above occurrences, Captain P. A. Scott, 

 R. N., in command of the fisheries police steamer " Lansdowne," took 

 possession of the schooner and towed her to St. John, New Brunswick. 

 Instructions had in the meanwhile been sent to him by telegraph, as 

 soon as the Fisheries Department had been advised of the seizure, to 

 detain the " David J. Adams " at Digby, it being thought best that 

 the vessel should be libelled and the case tried in the Vice-Admiralty 

 Court of the province in which the offence had been committed. In 

 compliance with these instructions, Captain Scott took the " David 

 J. Adams " back to Digby, where she now remains in charge of the 

 Collector of Customs. 



5. Proceedings will be taken against her: (1) for violation of the 

 Customs Act above referred to: (2) for violation of the Dominion 

 Fishery Act, 1868 (31 Viet., cap. 61) ; (3) for contravention of the 

 provisions of the Convention of 1818 as enacted in the Imperial Act 

 of 1819 (59 Geo. Ill, cap. 38). 



6. No question has in this case arisen with regard to the limits of 

 the territorial waters of the Dominion. 



7. As your Lordship is no doubt aware, American fishing-vessels 

 frequenting the coast of Canada have been in the habit of depending 

 to a great extent upon Canadian fishermen for their supplies of bait. 

 It has been usual for such vessels hailing from New England ports, 

 as soon as the supply with which they had provided themselves on 

 starting for their trip had become exhausted, to renew it in Canadian 

 waters. Such vessels, if compelled as soon as they ran short of bait 

 to return from the Canadian Banks to an American port, would lose 

 a great part of their fishing season, and be put to considerable expense 

 and inconvenience. Some idea of the importance of this point may 

 be formed from the fact that Mr. Joucas, Commissioner to the Lon- 

 don Fisheries Exhibition, and a high authority on all matters con- 

 nected with the fisheries of the Dominion, in a paper read before the 

 British Association at Montreal in 1884, estimates the cost of the bait 

 used by each vessel engaged in the cod fishery at one-fourth of the 

 value of her catch of cod. 



8. There can, however, be no doubt that, under the terms of the 

 Convention of 1818, foreign fishing-vessels are absolutely precluded 

 from resorting to Canadian waters for the purpose of obtaining 

 supplies of bait, and in view of the injury which would result to 

 the fishing interests of the Dominion which the Convention of 1818 

 was manifestly intended to protect, if any facilities not expressly 

 authorized by that Convention were conceded to foreign fishermen, 

 my Government will, so long as the relations of the Dominion with 

 the United States are regulated by the Convention, be disposed to 

 insist upon a strict observance of its provisions in this respect. 



9. I will keep your Lordship informed of any further occurrences 

 which may take place in -connection with this question. 



I have, &c. 



(Signed) LANSDOWNE. 



