1908 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



attached a most important meaning to it in 1818, and they said : 



"Although you are refusing us your bays in the rest of your 



1154 dominions, though you are not giving us your bays on the 



coast of Newfoundland, we want them in Labrador," and so 



they expressed that desire in this proposal. 



Well, then, we had our project (p. 312), and there we dropped out 

 the bays of Labrador. Broadly stated, our projet was this: " Coast of 

 Newfoundland, coast of Labrador, and no bays at all anywhere." It 

 will be seen there that the inhabitants were to have liberty to take fish 

 on the west coast of Newfoundland, and on that part of the southern 

 and eastern coasts of Labrador extending from Mount Joli to Hunt- 

 ingdon Island. So we dropped out " bays and creeks of Labrador," 

 and we limit the space within which they may have their fishing right 

 to Huntingdon Island. So that was the difference between us, ami 

 of course, under our plan, all bays everywhere would be renounced. 

 They were not content with that proposition. There were various 

 other objections that they took to it, not, I think, very important, but 

 I may mention one of them, for instance, that about the rivers, of 

 which so much was made. We said they were not to take fish within 

 the rivers, and some observation was made upon that. I do not think 

 that is very important. There is no doubt that it became a little 

 more important that we should specify rivers when they were begin- 

 ning to talk of getting particular bays like the bays of Labrador, be- 

 cause in that case, if they had got into a bay such as existed on the 

 coast of Labrador, they might there exercise their right of fishing in a 

 way which would have enabled them to interfere with the fishery of 

 the river, and so a special provision was made for that, as they were 

 beginning to ask for bays; but I do not need to dwell upon that. 



Then the United States were not satisfied with this limitation we 

 introduced. We were not giving them the bays of Labrador, and we 

 were not giving them the full length of the coast beyond Huntingdon 

 Island in Labrador. Those were the main points in which we were 

 cutting down their proposal for fishery rights; and also, of course, 

 we made one very big difference, which I must notice in passing. 

 We would not let them have the privilege of obtaining bait. That 

 was in what I call our renunciation clause. We cut out the privilege 

 of bait, and we also said we would not allow them the privilege of 

 carrying on trade. 



Now, the Americans were not satisfied with that. On p. 313 they 

 handed in their memorandum : 



" The American plenipotentiaries are not authorized by their in- 

 structions to assent to any article on that subject which shall not 

 secure to the inhabitants of the United States the liberty of taking 

 fish of every kind on the southern coast of Newfoundland, from Cape 

 Ray to the Ramea Islands, and on the coasts, bays, harbors and creeks, 



