1920 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



heard anybody say: "We must have an arbitration to decide the 

 question of our trading rights." If anybody had said that to me, 

 what would have been my answer ? I would have said : " What is 

 your difficulty about trading rights, because, if you have any diffi- 

 culty, we can easily settle it by Act of Parliament. If we think you 

 are getting too much, Newfoundland can pass an Act by which it 

 will give you less; if we think you are not getting enough, we may 

 endeavour to persuade Sir Kobert Bond to give you a little more.*' 

 That would be my answer. I do not know but that I might carry 

 this over the adjournment for a few moments. It is such an im- 

 portant question, and I would be obliged if the Tribunal would ad- 

 journ now and allow me a few words after the adjournment. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: Question 7 is one submitted by com- 

 mon agreement between the parties. Both parties agreed to submit 

 this question; both parties are responsible for it. 



SIR W. ROBSON: Both parties are responsible for the submission 

 of the question, but then I would very gladly assent to the submission 

 of any question if I thought the answer was bound to be in my favour. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: You are responsible for it as well as 

 the other side. How can we answer that question without having 

 the agreement referred to in the three last lines : 



" the commercial privileges on the treaty coasts acoftrded by agree- 

 ment or otherwise " 



SIR W. EOBSON : Exactly ; you can only answer it by a negative. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: Is there not an obligation on both par- 

 ties to give us the material necessary to answer the question ? 



SIR W. ROBSON : It is the duty of the United States because they 

 want an affirmative answer. We submitted the question because the 

 United States asked for it. It is their question, they submit it to 

 us and they say they want it to be submitted to the Tribunal. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK : We know nothing about that here. 



SIR W. ROBSON : I am saying so. You asked me the question. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: But we know nothing about which 

 party may have proposed it. 



SIR W. ROBSON : In that case I need not trouble with any observa- 

 tions about Question 7. One has no difficulty in inferring who put 

 it there, and whether you infer who put it there or not does not 

 matter. Either party is entitled to agree to the submission of an 

 irrelevant question. If the United States, or if either party, wants 

 a question submitted, we say : " Certainly, submit it if you like. You 

 are submitting a question to which the answer can only be against 

 you, but if you like to submit it do so. You are submitting a 

 1162 question to which you cannot get an intelligible answer, because 

 your question is not intelligible; but if you like to submit it 



