1798 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



All we want is simply that a master of a fishing-vessel coming 

 within reasonable distance of a custom-house should say to the cus- 

 tom-house officer : " I am here ; now, you can look at my vessel " 

 and the custom-house officer, having looked at his vessel, has abso- 

 lutely no further concern with him and does not care a penny about 

 him. If any clearance is given it is given for the sake of the vessel 

 itself and for the sake of the port to which it afterwards goes. 



THE PRESIDENT: Clearance is not mentioned at all in Questions 3 

 and 4 specifically. 



SIR W. ROBSON : No, there is just " any other similar requirement." 

 I suppose this question is put in that form, in dealing with the gen- 

 eral question of right, because, supposing that Newfoundland 

 1087 developed some industry of a valuable character where the 

 commodity was easily carried and easily concealed, and they 

 chose to put an export duty on it, it would be desired to have a clear- 

 ance. Export duties are really only economically of value when 

 they do not interfere with the sale of the commodity in foreign coun- 

 tries. For instance, if nobody else had any coal in the world, Eng- 

 land could safely put an export duty on coal because the consumer 

 should have to pay it. If he wanted coal he would have to pay an 

 amount equal to the duty. But if there were a great many other 

 competitors selling coal it would not be so convenient to have this 

 export duty. If Newfoundland discovered some kind of mineral or 

 established some sort of industry the product of which the rest of 

 the world must have and which could only be got from Newfound- 

 land, then it would pay Newfoundland to put on an export duty. 

 At the present time it does not, and that is put in the question in case 

 Newfoundland should have a lucky find. It may be that some day 

 an export duty may become advisable, and under such circumstances 

 a clearance would be necessary. That is a matter as to which an 

 appeal could then be made to this Tribunal. 



That really covers the case as I have ventured to put it, but there 

 are just one or two points that I want to deal with which were dealt 

 with by Senator Turner. 



First of all, he said that in 1818 there was no population, and 

 that the parties could not have contemplated the necessity for cus- 

 tom-house regulations. It is quite true that in 1818 there was no 

 population. There was one custom-house at St. John's because tin- 

 statutes show that vessels were compelled to report at that custom- 

 house when they came from Great Britain, showing that although 

 there was no resident population, the Imperial authorities thought 

 it dangerous that there should be the sniuirirling of liquor, and ><> 

 forth, and the results described by Mr. Sabine. But, it does not 

 matter whether there was a population then or not. The question 

 is not: What was it then? but: What was the condition of things 



