ARGUMENT OF SIR WILLIAM ROBSON. 1741 



THE PRESIDENT : One of the parties to the treaty. 



SIR W. ROBSON: Although it is a privilege given to the United 

 States as a community, it is, of course, a privilege which is conferred 

 in effect upon a section of that community only; that is, those who 

 follow the pursuit or trade of fishing there I may admit the word 

 " trade " quite freely ; those who follow the trade of fishing are to 

 benefit by the right, and if they live in the United States, that is 

 accepted as a sufficient qualification for the enjoyment of the right, 

 no matter where they were born, and no matter what their nation- 

 ality; because at that time the United States was a very homo- 

 geneous community. Everyone here knows this, perhaps, better than 

 I do the extent to which foreigners had then settled in the United 

 States. I think there were just the two great European communities 

 represented, the Anglo-Saxon of course comprising the Scotch, Eng- 

 lish and Irish, and the French ; I do not think the Germans had gone 

 out there very much. So not much account was made, not much 

 trouble or thought was taken with regard to other kinds of aliens. 

 So that although these questions might arise, they were not of 

 sufficient importance to require any special mention in the treaty. 

 It is a right given with an easy and a simple test that of inhabi- 

 tancy "Where do you live?" That is the question asked of the 

 man. Of course if the question had been asked in those days " What 

 is your citizenship ? " I dare say a great many would have said : u I 

 really don't know whether I am English or American, or what I 

 am perhaps French." But although a man might not be able 

 to say what his citizenship was, at all events he was supposed to 

 know where he lived; and it was taken as adequate if he lived in 

 the United States. Of course it would in truth cover only those 

 who were actually citizens of the United States. As a rule there is 

 no doubt that a great many of the men on the American boats were 

 Newfoundlanders. I believe at a later stage the Newfoundlanders 

 numbered thousands on the American boats a very good thing, too. 

 England did not object to Newfoundlanders being on the American 

 boats, as long as they were fishing and kept their allegiance, and 

 were available for our fleets. Of course they were not on the Ameri- 

 can boats in 1818, but at a later stage they were, in the thirties and 

 forties, and it was very serviceable to both countries, and England 

 had no reason to object to such a thing as that. All we wanted was 

 the allegiance of the men in case of national difficulties; and the 

 men being required for our fleet, we did not care where they served ; 

 but we were most anxious, although it was unimportant to us where 

 the Newfoundlander learned his seamanship, as long as he remained 

 a citizen of Great Britain, that his place should not be filled by a 

 Frenchman, or a member of any other community which might after- 



