ARGUMENT OF JOHN S. EWART. 1233 



3 miles from any bay. The evidence of that is not very strong, and 

 within that statement I do not include, now, the Bay of Fundy, about 

 which I shall speak afterwards; but, so far as there is any evidence, 

 it would appear that the United States took the same view as Great 

 Britain has always taken. 



In 1839 came a period of doubt and indecision. The mackerel 

 were running, and were of value on the colonial coasts, because they 

 were disappearing from the United States coast. It thus became ad- 

 visable that some method of getting to the fishing in the bays should 

 be discovered. But when the question was distinctly put to the 

 United States Government by its own citizens, as to what the con- 

 struction of this treaty should be, the only reply which was given 

 was to send a copy of the treaty. The question had been accom- 

 panied with the statement that it was very necessary that 

 743 announcement should be made because of possible conflicts in 

 the bays where disputes were going on between the fishermen ; 

 and the reply which the United States Government gave was to send 

 a copy of the treaty. 



Sirs, I think that the United States Government could not have 

 done better. Anyone reading that treaty, as I humbly submit, will 

 not be in doubt, until complicated with suggestions of territoriality, 

 and things of that sort will not be in doubt as to what "within 3 

 miles of a bay " means ; and if he is, he will not be in doubt as to the 

 other word of the treaty, "on" any bay. That word has, perhaps, 

 not been sufficiently brought to the attention of the Tribunal not 

 merely " within " 3 miles of any bay, but " on " any bay. 



Now, supposing these fishermen got that treaty, with a statement 

 from the United States Government : " There is the limit of what 

 you are entitled to." If they read it, they would at once say : " Why, 

 the United States have renounced the right to fish on any bay." 

 What meaning would they give to it ? Well it seems to me one mean- 

 ing not only that they could not fish " on " any bay, but they could 

 not fish "within 3 miles of any bay." What meaning would they 

 give to it? Were the fishermen to whom that intimation was sent 

 familiar with the difficulties of the triangle or the complexities of 

 international law? Does the United States Government really im- 

 agine that the United States fishermen were going to work things out 

 in that way ? No, Sir, they take the language of the treaty that the 

 United States Government sent them, and they would understand it. 



In 1839, the same year in which the United States Government so 

 acted, they sent Lieutenant Paine out to the fishing grounds, in order 

 to investigate what was going on there. It is said in one of the 

 United States documents that Lieutenant Paine was furnished with 

 instructions showing the position of the United States. Those in- 

 structions we have not the benefit of seeing. Evidently, from his 



