1584 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



now made; and Great Britain changed its position when it came to 

 its Counter-Case at p. 61. (The Contentions.) 



" The question before the Tribunal is whether the inhabitants of 

 the United States whose vessels resort to the treaty coasts for the 

 purpose of exercising the liberties conceded in article 1 have for their 

 vessels, when duly authorized by the United States in that behalf, 

 the commercial privileges on the treaty coasts accorded by agreement 

 or otherwise to vessels engaged only in trade." 



That is clearly a misstatement, as already pointed out. 



" His Majesty's Government contends that the article confers no 

 right of any kind on American vessels ; " 



That is the article of the treaty confers no right. 



" and that it confers no right on the inhabitants of the United States 

 in regard to trade. If that be so it follows, so far as the treaty of 

 1818 is concerned (and it is the construction of that treaty alone 

 which is submitted to the judgment of this Tribunal), that there is 

 nothing to prevent Great Britain from imposing such restrictions as 

 she pleases on vessels seeking to trade as well as to fish on the treaty 

 coasts." 



And at the bottom of the page : 



"If, then, the question is raised only in relation to article 1, and 

 that article gives no right to trade, it follows that the question must 

 be answered by this Tribunal in the negative." 



The second part of the contention, as stated by the British Case, 

 does not appear in the Counter-Case, and it is contended that our 



rights must be found, if at all, in the treaty of 1818. The British 

 959 Argument does the same thing, and the British Argument goes 



further, and claims that the United States has abandoned its 

 Case. (British Argument, p. 143) : 



"The question, therefore, is agreed to be, Whether by reason of 

 the treaty of 1818, United States fishing vessels are entitled, upon 

 the treaty coasts, to the commercial privileges which by agreement or 

 otherwise are accorded to United States trading vessels? " 



We say that is not the question. We say the question is distinctly 

 the one we have pointed out, namely, whether there is anything in 

 the treaty of 1818, or fairly to be inferred from it, which prohibits 

 fishing-vessels from exercising commercial privileges that have been 

 accorded to the United States when they have been duly authorized 

 by the United States to exercise those privileges. That of course is 

 a question of importance and of moment. 



THE PRESIDENT: Do I understand, Sir, that your contention is 

 that the Tribunal has not to enquire how the United States acquired 

 the right to trade and what is the extent of their commercial 

 privileges ? 



MR. ELDER : That is it. We insist that no burden of inquiry as to 

 either of these things is placed upon the Tribunal. 



