2048 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



particular, and perhaps not very important, mode of fishing is to 

 be continued. 



SENATOR ROOT: May it not be put in this way that this provision 

 No. 7 of the statute of 1663 either is limited to the taking of spawn 

 and the young fry of Poor-John and the words which follow 

 all qualify that that is the taking of spawn or the young fry of 

 Poor- John " for any other Use or Uses, except for the taking of bait 

 only " and in that case we need not concern ourselves with No. 7 

 because it was not a regulation of the industrial enterprise of fishing; 

 or it means to prohibit the taking of spawn or the young fry of Poor- 

 John, the casting or laying of " any seine or other net in or near any 

 harbour in Newfoundland, whereby to take the spawn or young fry 

 of the Poor-John, or for any other Use or Uses, except for the taking 

 of bait only ? " In that case it would be so complete a prohibition of 

 fishing that it would be repealed by this Order-in-Council. I am 

 quite indifferent which construction is adopted. 



But when we come to the Act of 1699 we find that if the Order-in- 

 Council did not supersede this old Poor-John provision, the first 

 article of the Act of 1699, I am quite clear, would have superseded 

 it: 



" That from henceforth it shall and may be lawful for all His 

 Majesty's subjects residing within this realm of England, or the 

 dominions thereunto belonging, trading or that shall trade to New- 

 foundland, and the seas, rivers, lakes, creeks, harbours in or about 

 Newfoundland, or any of the islands adjoining or adjacent thereunto, 

 to have, use, and enjoy the free trade and traffic, and art of merchan- 

 dise and fishery, to and from Newfoundland, and peaceably to have, 

 use, and enjoy, the freedom of taking bait and fishing in any of the 

 rivers, lakes, creeks, harbours, or roads in or about Newfoundland." 



It covers the entire ground and plainly supersedes the provision of 

 the statute of 1663, if it had not been already superseded. That is all 

 I can find here which seems to have any characteristic as limiting or 

 restricting the exercise of the liberty of fishing down to 1783. After 

 1783 there was the Act of 1786 which, as you will remember, was a 

 Bounty Act, providing for the payment of bounty to vessels that went 

 to the grand banks for the purpose of the cod fishery, and it pro- 

 vided in detail for the vessels taking cod going to the south coast of 

 Newfoundland to dry and cure them. It is quite specific in its pro- 

 visions, and in it there is a provision against fishermen " engaged in 

 the said fishery," that is the bounty-fed fishery on the grand banks, 

 taking fish on the coast of Newfoundland, and limited strictly to 

 them, that is all. There were provisions in these statutes which pro- 

 hibited the throwing of ballast over into the harbours; which prohib- 

 ited the throwing of gurry, or the offal of fish, overboard; which 

 prohibited the casting or dropping of anchors, not fishing limitations, 



