ARGUMENT OF JOHN S. EWART. 1377 



wards use it in the draft which finally became the treaty, and that 

 he, so far from agreeing to the word " liberty," as applied to the 

 ocean fisheries, as being more pleasing to the British, in fact stoutly 

 contended against it. I say he contended against it so far as the 

 ocean fishery is concerned. So far as the coast fishery is concerned, 

 he was agreeable to it. 



As I said on a former day, there were several drafts of this 

 treaty: The first two drafts were prepared by the Americans, the 

 first by Mr. Jay, the next by Mr. Adams. In both of them they use 

 the word " right " as applying to the fishery which they asked for. 

 Then the British draft (to be found in the British Counter-Case 

 Appendix, at p. 96, article 3, in the middle of the page) was as 

 follows : 



" The citizens of the United States shall have the liberty of taking 

 fish of every kind on the banks of Newfoundland, and also in the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence," 



and so on. 



Mr. Adams prepared the next draft, and it was the one that went 

 into the treaty. In it the word " right " is applied to the ocean 

 fisheries and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the word " liberty " is 

 applied to the coast fisheries. 



Having that in view, I should like to refer to Mr. Adams' diary, 

 at the place so strongly relied upon by Senator Turner, commencing 

 at p. 103 in the British Counter-Case Appendix, at the foot of the 

 page, under date of the 29th November : 



" Met Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Oswald, Mr. Franklin, Mr. Jay, Mr. 

 Laurens, and Mr. Strachey, at Mr. Jay's Hotel d'Orleans, and spent 

 the whole day in discussions about the fishery and the Tories. I pro- 

 posed a new article concerning the fishery; it was discussed and 

 turned in every light, and multitudes of amendments proposed on 

 each side, and, at last, the article drawn as it was finally agreed to." 



So that the discussion which took place and is related on the next 

 page was in connection with the draft of the treaty, in the form in 

 which it afterwards went into the treaty the word "right" being 

 applied to the general fisheries, and the word " liberty " being applied 

 to the coast fisheries. 



Going on at the top of the next page : 



" The other English gentlemen being withdrawn upon some occa- 

 sion, I asked Mr. Oswald if he could not consent to leave out the 

 limitation of three leagues from all their shores, and the fifteen 

 leagues from those of Louisbourg." 



Then, skipping one paragraph, I read : 



to 



" Upon the return of the other gentleman, Mr. Strachey proposed 

 leave out the word right of fishing and make it liberty" 



