1990 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



nothing unreasonable in a country's asserting its rights. There is 

 but one way in which the grant of 1818 can be protected against the 

 sovereign power of Great Britain, with all the scope of that sovereign 

 power, and that is by drawing the line of the grant as against the 

 sovereign power; and the moment that you assert that the grant is 

 subject to the sovereign power, it is completely under the control of 

 the sovereign power. No obligation of reasonableness, which is to 

 be in the judgment of the sovereign, is any protection to any extent 

 whatever. 



THE PRESIDENT: Do I understand you, Mr. Senator Root, that you 

 now base the claim of the American right being not subject to British 

 regulations, not as you did before on the unilateral or the perpetual 

 character of this treaty, but that you base this claim now upon a 

 more general ground upon general ideas of international law, and 

 general ideas concerning the binding effect of treaties ? 



SENATOR ROOT: No; if you will permit me to explain 



THE PRESIDENT: That is the object of my question. I want to 

 understand you exactly. 



SENATOR ROOT: I am now addressing my remarks to the character 

 of the right as claimed by Great Britain. I am not now arguing 

 on the character of our right. I shall address myself to that pres- 

 ently. I am endeavouring to describe and exhibit the true char- 

 acter of the British claim, and the effect which that claim will have 

 upon the treaty right, if you accord it the approval of your Award. 



THE PRESIDENT: That was a description of the consequences the 

 British contestation would have? 



SENATOR ROOT: Precisely, yes; and I shall presently take up the 

 other view, and present what seems to be our right the nature of 

 the right granted and the legal effects of that nature. 



My present proposition is that the British right, as stated and 

 argued by them, involving and based upon the assertion in the fullest 

 possible form that the treaty grant is subject to British sovereignty, 

 is necessarily in its effect destructive; that is to say, it is at their 



will to make it destructive. 



1205 Take a practical situation: What is the United States 

 to do? A law is passed which American fishermen think 

 seriously interferes with the profitable prosecution of their indus- 

 try. The law, in the ordinary course of events, will become effective 

 before the fishermen ever hear of it. They know of it only when 

 some local officer tells them they cannot do thus and so. What are 

 we to do? Appeal to the Government of Newfoundland? Well, 

 the Government of Newfoundland is possessed of this spirit and 

 purpose which I have been describing to the Tribunal. We get 

 nothing. Appeal to the Government of Great Britain? Xo one 

 can have a higher respect or a warmer regard for any body politic 



