AEOUMENT OP SIR WILLIAM KOBSON. 1599 



Newfoundland and the United States. There could not be a better 

 case on which to found observations as to the limits of reasonableness 

 allowed to sovereign or quasi-sovereign powers. Mr. Elder com- 

 plained that Sir Robert Bond had been unreasonable. Well, of 

 course, we have not had the case, yet, for Sir Robert Bond. Mr. 

 Elder said : " You are refusing to sell bait to the fishermen of the 

 United States." Of course he did not dispute what is perfectly clear 

 on the record and the history of the matter, that Newfoundland is 

 entitled, if it thinks fit, to prohibit its citizens from selling bait to 

 the fishermen of the United States. That is one of the circumstances, 

 though it is only in passing that I make the observation, which rather 

 tends to deprive this right of its supposed character of a servitude. 

 It was not a very full right. It was not given as if to a sovereign 

 State. It was a very limited privilege, because w r hen it was being 

 granted, the United States asked, or demanded, the right to purchase 

 bait in Newfoundland waters, or on the Newfoundland coast, and 

 that was refused a significant refusal. Great Britain said : " No. 

 We will give you this very restricted liberty, but we cannot and 

 will not give you any right which approaches the character of a 

 trading right." Why? Because trading rights in those days (and 

 I am sorry to say in these days) were treated as a subject-matter of 

 bargain. An operation of trade, which, if it is a normal operation 

 of trade, benefits both, was treated by each side as an obligation or 

 relation not to be entered into except on terms. States then and 

 still (even those states that Mr. Elder would regard as types of 

 reasonableness) , said : " We will not enter into this beneficial trade 

 relation with you, unless you do this or that or the other thing." 

 And therefore the right to sell bait was withheld. So that it has 

 remained in the hands of Newfoundland an element in any trade bar- 

 gain that it might hereafter choose to make. I say " in the hands of 

 Newfoundland ; " of course in those days it was in the hands of 

 England. And therefore Sir Robert Bond, when he got into fiscal 

 difficulties with the United States, found that to be his weapon. The 

 United States, for excellent reasons, that is, reasons excellent from the 

 point of view of those who adopt such a policy, said : " We want to keep 

 our market for fish for the benefit of our own seamen and fishermen. 

 We do not want Newfoundland fishermen to come and compete in 

 our market with our fishermen." And so they put on a tax it does 

 not matter what its amount was; a very heavy one; they had this tax 

 on and kept it on except during the treaty periods, concerning which 

 Governor Des Voeux says, in one of these letters, that it was in effect 

 a prohibitive tax against the fishery products of Newfoundland. 



What did Sir Robert Bond do ? He said : " You will not let me 

 have my market; and I will not let you have your bait." That 

 was all. " You use against me your fiscal powers for the benefit of 



