1876 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



men had conducted themselves in our bays, and gave that as his 

 reason for the exclusion. Then came a proposal, which, however, 

 came to nothing, in which Mr. Monroe writes to Mr. Adams that 

 he understood Great Britain was disposed to regulate in concert 

 with the United States the taking of fish on coasts, bays and creeks 

 in Great Britain's dominions in North America; but that came to 

 nothing. On the llth August, 1816, going back to that little booklet 

 again, on p. 16, comes another reference to the renunciation. Mr. 

 Bagot is writing to Lord Castlereagh, on p. 15, and on p. 16 is this 

 sentence. He states the propositions that he had made about fishing 

 on the coast of Newfoundland, from Cape Ray to the Rameau 

 Islands, and then he says, in the second paragraph on p. 16 [p. 1361 

 infra] : 



" From the manner in which Mr. Monroe received the second prop- 

 osition, I entertain hopes that it will be accepted; and that I shall 

 be able to annex to the acceptation an express abandonment of all 

 pretensions to fish or dry on any other of the coasts of British North 

 America at all events, that I shall not be under the necessity of 

 yielding the two propositions." 



and so on. Now, I may remind the Tribunal for a moment what 

 happened at the end of the 1814 negotiations. At the end of the 

 1814 negotiations the American Commissioners said : " We have made 

 no renunciation of our rights. We would not have it. Rather than 

 make even an implied renunciation, we would not take a renunciation 

 from Great Britain of her rights over the Mississippi." They did 

 not want to make this renunciation. Here we have Mr. Bagot say- 

 ing: "I think I can get a renunciation. I think I can annex it 

 as an express abandonment." And then he says, in the very next 

 letter, on p. 17 [p. 1361 infra] , third paragraph : 



" I have as yet only offered the choice of one of the two pro- 

 posed coasts; but I begin to suspect that Mr. Monroe is alarmed 

 at the idea of accepting any proposal by which the pretension of 

 right which has been made must be forever renounced. I shall cer- 

 tainly know the determination of the government in the course of 

 this month." 



" Forever renounced." Now, we see that that passage in the letter 

 about the United States saying that they insist on the renunciation, 

 while one does not want to treat harshly language of that kind, 

 means this : They were negotiators, and they wanted to make out that 

 they yielded as little as possible. 



On the 27th of November, 1816, there is one more reference to 

 this negotiation. This is from Mr. Bagot to Mr. Monroe, United 

 States Case Appendix, p. 291, at the top of the page. In the very 

 first line, this is what Mr. Bagot is telling Mr. Monroe : 



" and that all pretensions to fish or dry within the maritime limits, 

 or on any other of the coasts of British North America, should be 

 abandoned." 



