1038 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



French the undisputed possession of the Island of Newfoundland, 

 subject to the French fishing right. 



In the beginning of 1776, Great Britain possessed in America sev- 

 enteen colonies. Thirteen of these colonies were, for the purpose of 

 description, to the south. Four were to the north. 



The people of the thirteen colonies to the south thought that the 

 time had arrived when they must determine upon a permanent form 

 of government. They elected to be independent, and on the 4th 

 July, 1776, they published their Declaration of Independence. Their 

 independence was recognised by Great Britain in 1783, after having 

 been recognised by other nations in Europe. 



The four colonies to the north Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, St. 

 John's Island, and Quebec preferred to remain a part of the British 

 Empire. 



So the empire on the American continent was divided, and it was 

 divided as between the United States and Great Britain by the terms 

 of the treaty of 1783 ; and one of the articles of this treaty of 1783 

 was this fishery article, which acknowledged the right of the people 

 of the United States to enjoy the right of fishing wherever enjoyed 

 by British subjects. 



John Adams, who subsequently, as is within the knowledge of the 

 Tribunal, became President of the United States, was one of the Com- 

 missioners for the United States, and he declared, in a passage that 

 has been read to the Tribunal, that he would not put his hand to any 

 treaty which contained any limitations upon the enjoyment by the 

 people of the United States of these fisheries. 



In a letter under date August, 1822, Mr. Adams stated, as appears 

 in the Appendix to the Case of the United States on p. 318 : 



" That New England, and especially Massachusetts, had done more 

 in defence of them (the fisheries) than all the rest of the British em- 

 pire. That the various projected expeditions to Canada, in which 

 they were defeated by British negligence, the conquest of Louisburg, 

 in 1745, and the subsequent conquest of Nova Scotia, in which New 

 England had expended more blood and treasure than all the rest of 

 the British empire, were principally effected with a special view to 

 the security and protection of the fisheries." 



So, as I said, the empire in America was divided by this treaty, 

 and the fisheries became the joint possession of the two nations. The 

 terms and conditions upon which this division was made constituted 

 an essential part of the acknowledgment of the independence of the 

 United States ; and the preservation of the fishing rights so long en- 

 joyed as British subjects was amongst the most important of the 

 stipulations demanded and received by the people of the United 

 States. This was as much a right, and was as urgently insisted upon, 

 as independence itself. 



