ABGUMENT OF SIR JAMES WINTER. 991 



time. This very statement itself carries its own refutation on the 

 face of it: 



" By the Convention of 1818 the Americans of the United States 

 are allowed to fish along all our coasts and harbours, within three 

 marine miles of the shore, (an indefinite distance) and of curing fish 

 in such harbours and bays as are uninhabited, or, if inhabited, with 

 the consent of the inhabitants." 



How the mistake was made, whether it was originally made, as 

 appears, from sheer ignorance of the whole facts of the case, or 

 whether some mistake has been made in copying since, I am not pre- 

 pared to say, but the statement is manifestly wrong, and again, under 

 the principle which I have submitted, it is only a statement made 

 afterwards, and such a statement made by anybody should not be 

 accepted unless it is so powerful and strong as to upset, or more than 

 outweigh, the facts which have been already declared and which, I 

 state, are sufficient in this case. The statement of any number of 

 witnesses not witnesses, because I ask to be allowed to make the 

 distinction but if the statement had been made by one of the nego- 

 tiators it might then be open to the observation which the President 

 has just made. 



THE PRESIDENT : I asked only where you applied this. 



SIR JAMES WINTER : In my general observation I include not only 

 this statement, but probably a large number of other statements 

 which have been made by other parties at other times and on other 

 occasions in which it might have been and has been stated that on 

 this very west coast the Americans have the right to go into the bays, 

 creeks, and harbours. These statements may be and probably will be 

 referred to in this argument later on, but I shall not now deal with 

 them because, as I respectfully submit, it is sufficient for us on our 

 side to put before the Tribunal what we call a primd facie case. I 

 have endeavoured to show that at the time of the making of the 

 treaty, the clear intention of the negotiators was expressly set forth 

 that they expressly set forth what they intended, nothing more and 

 nothing less. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: Of course, that statement is far too 

 broad in any case : 



"By the Convention of 1818 the Americans of the United States 

 are allowed to fish along all our coasts and harbours." 



SIR JAMES WINTER: Yes, it certainly bears on the face of it the 

 clearest evidence that whoever wrote or published it did not know 

 what he was writing about. 



THE PRESIDENT : He makes no distinction between the treaty coast 

 and the non treaty coast. 



92909 S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 10 7 



