1844 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



agreed terms ; it is not a mere draft. It was a little difficult for the 

 negotiators for Great Britain quite to know what position they would 

 be in with regard to the French fishing rights in Newfoundland. Of 

 course, I have no doubt that we would have tried to have got rid of 

 them. On the other hand, we would know how insistent France was 

 at that time about having them as a nursery for her fishermen and 

 we would suppose, therefore, that we could scarcely get rid of them. 

 We were not unwilling, I dare say, to let the United States have the 

 same rights as France had, or concurrent rights. with ourselves, or to 

 have some rights upon the coast of Newfoundland, but we could not 

 be quite sure whether ultimately the rights of the French might not 

 make it impossible for us to make good our grant that we were giving 

 to the United States ; so that we were putting it in somewhat cautious 

 form, and you may depend upon it that these words were carefully 

 considered. We say only " coast of Newfoundland " ; we do not say 

 "bays and creeks," and we only say "such parts of the coast as 

 British fishermen shall use." Why do we say only the coast? I 

 think again here the reason is pretty obvious. The British 

 1115 negotiators would say : It is a very serious thing to allow the 

 French and American fishermen to be fighting in our jurisdic- 

 tion. As long as they are merely fishing off the coast they are not 

 quarrelling with each other, there is room for them all, and they will 

 probably have the sense to keep their nets out of each other's way. 

 But, if we let them into the bays, there, there is less space for them, 

 there are particular places in the bays which are better for fishing 

 than other places, and there are shores of the bays where the men 

 get off to dry their nets, and if once you let the fishermen into the 

 bays you cannot keep them off the shores. Therefore, we had better 

 not say anything about the bays of Newfoundland. Of course, this 

 is an argument which would arise better on Question 6. 



DR. DE SAVORNIN LOHMAN: May I ask you a question, Sir. Wil- 

 liam? Your contention is that the word "coast," of which you are 

 now speaking, did not include the bays ? 



SIR W. ROBSON : Yes. 



DR. DE SAVORNIN LOHMAN : They say : 



" but not to dry or cure the same on that island." 



Drying and curing only take place in the bays? 



SIR W. ROBSON : Yes. 



DR. DE SAVORNIN LOHMAN: If drying and curing are confinorl to 

 the bays, would not the use of the word "coast" in that connection 

 also imply bays, because otherwise they would not have to make this 

 exception for drying and curing? 



SIR W. ROBSON: I rather read it the other way. I read it as 

 though they said: We will give you the liberty to take fish on such 



