ARGUMENT OF SAMUEL J. ELDER. 1515 



it would seem to me entirely clear that the United States must give 

 a sufficient passport for its ships; and that is pointed out by Mr. 

 Root's communication with reference to it. 



JUDGE GRAY : I suppose the territorially of the deck of an Ameri- 

 can vessel would not help the situation ? I do not think it would. 



MR. ELDER : No, I do not suppose it would. 



916 SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: Under your laws as you now 



have them, without any change, what is the minimum tonnage 

 required for registration purposes? 



MR. ELDER : I am sorry to say, Sir Charles, I cannot tell you. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: Somewhere about 50 or 60 I suppose? 



MR. ELDER : I will ascertain that fact. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: Assuming you have a vessel which is 

 not large enough to be registered, and which is not registered, and 

 that two or three or four of these hardy fishermen from the United 

 States of whom you spoke, should come up in such a vessel to the Can- 

 adian waters and fish in a vessel that under your law does not require 

 to be registered, what position then would the Canadian authority 

 be in? 



MR. ELDER: Why, if she had no fishing license, and had no 

 register - 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK : But she has no registry. In what posi- 

 tion would the man be who casts the line into the water ? 



MR. ELDER : He would be in the position of a man who might have 

 got authority to fish, but who had not. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK : Then your argument must come back to 

 this, that no inhabitant of the United States can go and fish in these 

 waters unless he is on board an American registered vessel, or has 

 express permission from the United States which he can exhibit 

 when called for? 



MR. ELDER: A fishing license, precisely; it gets back to that and 

 stops with that. And, with reference to the question of the possi- 

 bility of change, as I have said before ; we are dealing with facts and 

 realities, and these regulations have been in force one hundred years 

 or more, and are not likely to change, especially in a matter with 

 reference to the authorization to exercise the right of American 

 fishermen. 



Mr. Root calls my attention to the fact that as to fishing licenses 

 there is no limit to the size of the vessel. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK : As a matter of fact, do you issue fishing 

 licenses to individuals? 



MR. ELDER : No, they are issued to a vessel. 



SIR CHARLES FIT/PATRICK : There is no fishing license issued to an 

 individual ? 



MR. ELDER : I do not understand that there is. 



