ARGUMENT OF ELIHU ROOT. 2089 



" are already in existence, and the proviso does not refer to any fur- 

 ther restrictions ; I have now the honor to inclose copies of the laws 

 themselves. It does not appear therefore that these laws need form 

 an obstacle to the admission of Newfoundland to the participation of 

 benefits arising from the action of a Treaty stipulation, the operation 

 of which is still prospective as far as Newfoundland is concerned." 



That is to say, Newfoundland, even then, did not understand that a 

 proviso to her suspension of statutes, during the life of the treaty of 

 1871 



" provided that such laws, rules, and regulations relating to the time 

 and manner of prosecuting the fisheries on the coasts of this island, 

 shall not be in any way affected by such suspension." 



would apply to subsequent legislation. She seeks to get the treaty 

 of 1871 supplemented by a protocol so as to permit this proviso 

 1264 to take effect, upon the ground that it does not apply to sub- 

 sequent legislation, but only applies to past legislation, and 

 that the sole object of it is to bring the Americans on the west coast 

 in under the operations of the provisions of the Act of 1862, which 

 did not then apply to them. 



I hope my references to the Act of 1862 are intelligible to the 

 Tribunal. 



JUDGE GRAY: The Newfoundland Act of 1862? 



SENATOR BOOT: Yes; the Newfoundland Act of 1862. 



The treaty of 1871, which was for its life to supersede the operation 

 of the treaty of 1818, required an Act by Newfoundland to make it 

 applicable. Newfoundland passed the Act, suspending all laws in- 

 consistent with the treaty, with a proviso that the suspension should 

 not operate upon laws or regulations relating to the time and manner 

 of fishing. And she asked for a protocol supplementing the treaty 

 by the acceptance of that proviso, upon the ground that it would not 

 apply to any subsequent legislation, and that its only object was to 

 bring the American fishermen on the west coast in under the opera- 

 tion of the already existing statutes of Newfoundland, which, a for- 

 tiori, did not apply to the American fishermen at all ; that is, statutes 

 relating to the time and manner of fishing. Nothing can be clearer 

 than that this authentic, authoritative position of the Government of 

 Newfoundland, indicated through the British Minister at Washing- 

 ton, was in accordance with the view which I have been pressing 

 upon the Tribunal. 



I shall not detain the Tribunal by going over again the question 

 about the Halifax case, further than to make the single observation 

 that in that case the computation by the British counsel of the profits, 

 the benefits which would be derived by the United States from the 

 exercise of the treaty privileges conferred, were based upon the 

 full exercise of the treaty rights, without any limitation as to time 

 92909 S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 11 33 



