2088 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



On the next day, Mr. Thornton wrote to Mr. Fish a letter which 

 appears on p. 196, dated the 20th June, 1873, and I ask the particular 

 attention of the Tribunal to this letter. It says: 



" With reference to my note of yesterday's date and to our conver- 

 sation upon the subject of the Act passed by the Legislature of New- 

 foundland for carrying into effect Articles 18 to 25 of the Treaty of 

 May 8, 1871, I have the honour to state that from a report made by 

 the Attorney General of Newfoundland to the Governour it would 

 appear that the Proviso at the end of Section 1 of that Act has refer- 

 ence to the time for the prosecution of the Herring -fishery on the 

 Western Coast of the Island " 



That is, the treaty coast under the Act of 1818. 



"and was merely intended to place citizens of the United States on 

 the same footing with Her Majesty^ subjects in that particular 

 so that the rules and regulations imposed upon the Newfoundland 

 Fishermen with regard to that fishery might also be observed by 

 American Fishermen.' 1 '' 



The Tribunal will see the force of that. The treaty of 1871 would, 

 during its operation, supersede, take the place of the treaty of 1818. 

 It applied to all the coasts of Newfoundland, and in so far as it 

 varied or enlarged, or changed in any way the rights under the 

 treaty of 1818, it would, during the period of its operation, take the 

 place of the treaty of 1818, as the law for the parties engaged in fish- 

 ing on that coast. Newfoundland had this law of 1862, and her 

 Consolidated Statutes of 1872, although I do not know whether they 

 should be regarded as included; at all events, she had this law of 

 1862, and she wanted to have its provisions extended over American 

 fishermen. She knew they did not apply to American fishermen. 

 She knew that the provision in that Act that it should not extend to or 

 affect the rights of other powers under treaty prevented its applying 

 to American fishermen ; that under the treaty there was no right on 

 the part of Newfoundland to make that statute apply to American 

 fishermen. And she proposed to put this proviso in to her Act of 

 1873, in accordance with this statement, excepting from suspension 

 laws relating to the time and manner of fishing, in order that when 

 the treaty of 1871 came in, that statute should be extended over 

 American fishermen on the west coast. Well, that was met by Mr. 

 Fish's refusal. 



There was one further representation made by Mr. Thornton, 

 based upon information that he received from Newfoundland. I 

 suppose. He says in his letter of the 30th July, 1873, to Mr. Davi-. 

 the Assistant Secretary of State : 



" These laws " 



That is, the law? to which this correspondence referred: the laws 

 referred to in the proviso, relatinjr to tho time and manner of fishing. 



