1840 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



Newfoundland. With respect to this object, the said ministers are 

 instructed to consider and contend for it, as described in the instruc- 

 tions relative to a treaty of commerce, given to John Adam? on the 

 twenty-ninth of September, 1779, as equally desired and expected by 

 Congress " 



And so on. 

 In the next sentence they say : 



" They are also instructed to observe to his most Christian majesty 

 with respect to this claim, that it does not extend to any parts of the 

 sea lying within three leagues of the shores held by Great Britain or 

 any other nation." 



I might explain I have no doubt the Tribunal is familiar with 

 it that in arranging terms of peace to be put forward by themselves 

 and France, they wanted to let France see that the terms that the 

 Americans were demanding were not extreme and that therefore tho 

 French might very well assent to them. They said : 



" They are also instructed to observe to his most Christian majesty 

 with respect to this claim, that it does not extend to any parts of the 

 sea lying within three leagues of the shores held by Great Britain or 

 any other nation. That under this limitation it is conceived by Con- 

 gress, a common right of taking fish cannot be denied to them without 

 a manifest violation of the freedom of the seas, as established by the 

 law of nations, and the dictates of reason; according to both which 

 the use of the sea, except such parts thereof as lie in the vicinity of 

 the shore, and are deemed appurtenant thereto, is common to all 

 nations," 



There, it is the use of the word " shore " and the words " vicinity of 

 the shore." We are in the year 1782 and there is no such thing then, 

 as I have pointed out before, as a 3-mile limit. They are trying to 

 enlarge the territorial jurisdiction, not for the sake of the fisheries 

 so much as for the sake of keeping Great Britain with its navy out of 

 their territorial waters ; and they put it at 3 leagues 9 miles. They 

 talk of the " vicinity of the shore," and it might very well be asked at 

 this point : " What does ' shore ' mean ? " It does not mean open 

 shore; it means the shore all the way round the coast following the 

 indentations. That is a fair instance of the use of the word " shore " 

 in a way which renders immaterial the distinction between "coast" 

 and " bay." It seems to me one of the strongest instances that I have 

 to deal with. Of course, if it really meant that there was to be no 

 maritime jurisdiction in any nation except that which attaches to its 

 shore line, that would be a very important point against me because it 

 would ignore bays altogether. But did it mean that? It would be 

 curiously inconsistent with the result of the proceedings of Congress 

 in 1779 if it meant that. In 1779 they were wanting the fishery, and 

 so they said : " We must be entitled to go into the bays to get it." In 

 1782 they are trying to get the King of France to co-operate with 



