ARGUMENT OF JOHN S. EWART. 1425 



a suggestion of negotiations as to the treaty shore in the correspond- 

 ence which immediately preceded this reference. 



The first attempt at agreement as to regulations in respect of the 

 non-treaty shore was in 1866. It is to be found in the Seward- Adams- 

 Clarendon correspondence; and the proposal of the United States 

 is to be found in the British Case Appendix, 415. Lord Clarendon's 

 reply, accepting the suggestion, with reservation of rights, is to be 

 found at United States Case Appendix, 575. There was no result. 

 Possibly some agreement might have been reached; but the neces- 

 sity for it was superseded by the system of licenses that was intro- 

 duced shortly afterwards. 



The attempt with reference to the treaty shore, initiated by Mr. 

 Evarts in 1879, is more instructive. Mr. Evarts, in his letter to Lord 

 Salisbury (British Case Appendix, 277), made a suggestion of 

 agreement upon regulations. Lord Granville, in October 1880 (Brit- 

 ish Case Appendix, 290), concurred in the idea, reserving the question 

 of sovereignty. No reply having been made in the ensuing six 

 months, Lord Granville. in April 1881, wrote to Sir Edward Thorn- 

 ton, the British Ambassador at Washington, asking him to further 

 the matter if possible (United States Case Appendix, 733). A 

 861 year afterwards the British Government took another step, and 

 submitted to the United States Government a memorandum 

 of the regulations which were then in force, asking consideration 

 of them by the United States (United States Case Appendix, p. 74'J). 

 A few days afterwards on the 9th May, the United States made reply 

 (United States Case Appendix, p. 743), objecting to regulations of 

 all kinds, saying that the United States must be wholly free from 

 regulations. The reply did not enter into the consideration of the 

 reasonableness of the regulations at all which was, of course, Mr. 

 Evarte's idea in the beginning, and was the idea of the British 

 Government in submitting the memorandum. 



On the 15th July of the same year, 1882, Lord Granville expressed 

 to Sir Lionel West his great regret at the attitude assumed by the 

 United States (United States Case Appendix, p. 746, and following 

 page). 



The United States Case, at p. 184, is my authority for saying that 

 no reply at all was obtained to that letter. That was in July, 1882. 



The matter then rested until October, 1883, when Sir Lionel West 

 wrote again to the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Freling- 

 huysen, asking the views of the United States (United States Case , 

 Appendix, p, 751). We are now three years from the acceptance by 

 Lord Granville of Mr. Evarts' proposal to negotiate. The United 

 States Case says that no reply was sent to this last letter (United 

 States Case, p. 185). The statement, however, is erroneous; a reply 

 was sent, and it is printed in the United States Case Appendix, at p. 



