ARGUMENT OF ELIHU ROOT. 2085 



subject to such Legislative Regulations as may be established for the 

 protection and preservation of Bait. Regulations of this nature 

 would, under such circumstances, be obviously matters of common 

 interest to all." 



It is apparent that the Governor of Newfoundland did not con- 

 sider that the American Government was subject to the right of legis- 

 lative regulations, and he wanted provision to that effect in case a 

 new treaty was made. 



The Tribunal is familiar with the report of 1855, to which refer- 

 ence has just been made, that down to that time there was no regula- 

 tion in practical effect of any kind; so that, of course, the Americans 

 could not have been regulated. Then, in 1862, the first NVvvfoundland 

 act regulating fishing was passed, and in that act was included tin- 

 saving clause that 



" nothing in this Act contained shall in any way affect or interfere 

 with the rights and privileges granted by treaty to the subjects or 

 citizens of any state or power in amity with Her Majesty." 



I shall presently show the Tribunal that that was understood in 

 Newfoundland to except Americans from the purview of the Act. 

 That clause is continued in most of the statutes of Newfoundland 

 which follow. There are a few short statutes in which it does not 

 appear, but I think it may fairly be considered that those were 

 regarded as amendments of acts in which it did appear, so that it 

 would be operative. I do not know when the idea of Newfound- 

 landers changed about the effect of that saving clause. There is 

 evidence which I shall present to the Tribunal that in 1862 they 

 considered that the law they were passing did not apply to Ameri- 

 cans. In 1905 they considered that their law did apply to Americans. 

 Just where the change occurred I do not know. But the saving clause 

 appears in their statutes of 1862, Consolidated Statutes of 1872, in 

 iheir statutes of 1887, 1889. 1892, Consolidated Statutes, their " For- 

 eign Fishing- Vessels Act of 1893." their Act establishing the Depart- 

 ment of Marine and Fisheries in 1898. and " The Foreign Fishing- 

 \ r essels Act of 1905."' The Act establishing the Department of 

 Marine and Fisheries in 1898. provides: 



" Nothing in this Act or any rules and regulations to be made 

 hereunder shall be construed to affect the rights and privileges granted 

 by treaty to the subjects of any state or power in amity with Her 

 Majesty." 



So that it covered all regulations made under that statute by the 

 department which is the department still in operation. 



I say I do not know when the change occurred, but I do know that 



there was a considerable period during which Newfoundland did not 



consider that her fishery regulation statutes applied to Ameri- 



126-2 cans: and the first bit of evidence upon that point is in a letter 



from the Duke of Newcastle to Governor Bannerman of the 



