1616 NOETH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ABBITRATION. 



dealt with orally. I will refer the Tribunal to vol. iv of the Pro- 

 ceedings, p. 2729 [p. 448 supra] : 



"THE PRESIDENT: I should like to ask you, Sir: Were there, in 

 1818, some regulations concerning the exercise of the fishery in force 

 in the British dominions in North America ? 



"Mr. TURNER: I do not think there were, sir. Learned counsel 

 read to the Tribunal, at great length, from very ancient proclamations 

 of the Governor of Newfoundland, and ancient Orders in Council. 

 and very ancient statutes, making provisions with reference to vari- 

 ous matters in Newfoundland and the other waters; but it is exceed- 

 ingly doubtful whether, under any constitutional system, they could 

 be said to have been still in force in Newfoundland waters in 1818." 



It is quite true that my learned friend, Sir Robert Finlay, read 

 some orders and proclamations which were ancient. Well, we can- 

 not help the antiquity of our Empire. Many of our laws Were passed 

 very long ago and have been left untouched, because, although in 

 modern times, and under modern influences, we are always altering 

 our laws I do not say we are always improving them but we are 

 always altering them; in those ancient days they did not alter them 

 so much. There was no exigent and democratic parliament always 

 demanding some fresh law in order to meet some condition that might 

 be met, with a little patience, without that trouble. Therefore, our 

 laws lasted a long time. While they are useful they are ancient 

 very ancient but I do not think that makes them less effective. We 

 have a constitutional habit of treating the antiquity of a law as a 

 tribute to its usefulness and efficiency, from the fact that it has met its 

 purpose and does not seem to need to be altered. But, is it correct to 

 say that they were simply ancient regulations in the sense that they 

 were not then in daily service and operation ? Mr. Turner goes on : 



"They were regulations about throwing ballast in bays and har- 

 bours, regulations about gurry grounds ; I believe there were one or 

 two ancient regulations about that; and regulations about the order 

 of precedence of vessels coming from England, and matters of that 

 kind ; but those are not regulations in the sense that we are talking 

 about regulations here." 



Well, Sir, the regulations covered everything. They covered ques- 

 tions about seines, about taverns a very important question with a 

 very direct bearing upon the conduct of the fishery proceedings 

 about close seasons, about the size of mesh, about how and where to 

 put their nets, about inbarring herrings, about Sunday fishing a 

 most important question, dealt with, then repealed, then reimposed 

 and about local regulations being placed in the hands of the magis- 

 trates. Every conceivable thing was regulated. Let us look at the 

 regulations from 1783, passing over all the regulations antecedent to 

 1783, although they were there. They were in operation. You could 

 not carry on this fishery without regulation, and that is the reason 



