1202 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



of the country. And the grounds thus alleged must have commended 

 themselves to the nations of the world, so as to lead to acquiescence 

 in the claim. 



The British Case and counsel for Great Britain have referred to 

 the capture of the British ship " Grange " by the French frigate 

 " L'Embuscade," in Delaware Bay, in 1793, and to the action of the 

 President of the United States, through the Secretary of State, in 

 1793, in restoring the vessel to its British owners by reason of its 

 having been captured in Delaware Bay. 



The United States considers the assertion of jurisdiction over 

 these waters as an excellent illustration of the method by which 

 jurisdiction may be acquired by a State over waters indenting its 

 coast. The assertion of such jurisdiction, and acquiescence in such 

 assertion by Great Britain, at whose request the assertion was made, 

 and the acquiescence by France, which restored the vessel to its 

 British owners in consequence of the assertion by the President of 

 the United States of jurisdiction over the waters in question, fur- 

 nishes, as I stated, a good illustration of the method by which ex- 

 tended jurisdiction may be acquired by a country beyond its admit- 

 tedly territorial waters. 



The grounds upon which the assertion of jurisdiction in the case 

 of the " Grange " was made, included the geographical situation of 

 the river and the bay. An examination of the region and of the 

 chart now submitted to the Tribunal shows that this body of water 

 is 9.9 miles in width, from Cape May to Cape Henlopen, and that 

 the waters of the so-called bay and the river extend about 85 miles 

 to Philadelphia. It is of course a matter of common knowledge 

 that, beyond, these waters proceeded far into the heart of one of the 

 most populous districts of the United States in 1793, as well as to- 

 day. 



These waters are the entrance for navigation of vessels to the city 

 of Philadelphia, in 1793 the capital of the United States, and then, 

 and at all times since, one of its principal ports. These waters 

 opened into one of the most populous portions of the United States, 

 and were then, and are now, intimately connected with the most 

 vital interests of the United States, forming an entrance into the 

 heart of the country. 



This is peculiarly true of the river, and hardly less true of the 

 portion commonly termed the bay, which is in reality, as already 

 stated, but a prolongation of the river. 



The fact of assertion of jurisdiction and acquiescence therein must 

 be proved like any other fact, for universal use is presumed in the 

 sea beyond the ordinary limits of maritime jurisdiction. 



I refer the Tribunal, without delaying to read them, to two authori- 

 ties Lord Stowell and Sir Robert Phillimore : " Twee Gebroeders," 



