ABGUMENT OF SIR WILLIAM ROBSON. 1915 



United States to take up, but Mr. Elder opened the case as if Sir 

 Robert Bond were a monster of unreason. 



Sir Robert Bond's speeches, show that the motives upon which he 

 appears to have been acting were those that animate most human 

 beings I have met in my short pilgrimage through this world. No 

 State likes to have an attack made upon it, such as was made by the 

 fishermen of the United States upon Newfoundland, and not make 

 some resistance to it. Sir Robert Bond made the only resistance he 

 could. He said : " If you will not give us a fair chance, such as this 

 treaty offers to us in your markets, we will not give you these trad- 

 ing privileges which we are entitled to withhold." 



Now, the United States come and say : " Who has brought all this 

 trouble about?" Says Mr. Elder, "one man Sir Robert Bond." 

 Well, you harve one man on one side of the question and about 

 85,000,000 on the other side of the question, and yet Mr. Elder would 

 have us think that really the 85,000,000 are in serious apprehension of 

 Sir Robert Bond. There will be no peace with Sir Robert Bond 

 there, or with Newfoundland there no peace until we get our trad- 

 ing rights. Well, the population of the United States is, as I have 

 just indicated, about 85,000,000. I forget the population of New- 

 foundland. I dare say that Sir Robert Bond himself would not be 

 unwilling to admit that it is smaller than the population of the 

 United States, but could any one suppose that the United States are 

 in the slightest degree apprehensive of what may be done by this 

 little, self-governing colony in the northern seas, knowing that they 

 have got, as a: barrier between them and Sir Robert, the Imperial 

 authority if it is required to be exercised? Apparently they have 

 also got the people of Newfoundland who, when they were called 

 upon to give a judgment upon this matter, turned out Sir Robert 

 Bond. 



But, that is not enough for Mr. Elder : " I have got the security of 

 the Imperial Government, I have got with me the good-will of the 

 people of Newfoundland, I have got behind me a population of 

 85,000,000, but with Sir Robert Bond in front of me, there is no 

 peace." 



I say that is not treating this question in a practical spirit at all. 

 Sir Robert Bond has made his fight with such poor little weapons 

 as he has, and he has been fighting a fight perhaps more distinguished 

 for its courage than its success. But, it is not for this Tribunal to 

 take away from him any little weapon that he has. The only weapon 

 that he has is his bait. That is what he is fighting the United States 

 with. " You shall not buy your bait unless you do this, that, or the 

 other thing for me." And Mr. Elder comes and says : " In the name 

 of peace, in the sarcred name of law and order, under Question 7, we 

 demand the right to buy bait whether Sir Robert Bond and New- 



