ARGUMENT OF ELIHU ROOT. 2101 



I hope the Tribunal will observe the perfectly clear and distinct 

 limitation - 



" putting them on their guard against committing acts which would 

 render them liable to the penalties prescribed by Canadian Laws, 

 respecting inshore fisheries not open to the fishermen of the United 

 States under the 1st Article of the treaty between the United States 

 and Great Britain of 1818." 



That was Mr. Boutwell's warrant for issuing the circular, and that 

 was his sole warrant for expressing any opinion regarding the inter- 

 national relations of the United States. Outside of that he had no 

 more power and authority to express the views of the United States 

 upon this subject than any man in the street. 



But we are not left without definite information as to what led 

 Mr. Fish to request this circular, and the limitations which he put 

 upon the request ; for it appears by the circular that the law to which 

 it referred was a Canadian law of 1868. The circular appears in 

 the British Appendix, p. 235. This is the first circular, I think, 

 issued by Mr. Boutwell. He sends this out, under date of 16th May, 

 1870, and I read from the bottom of the page: 



" In compliance with the request of the Secretary of State, you are 

 hereby authorised and directed to inform all masters of fishing ves- 

 sels, at the time of clearance from your port, that the authorities of 

 the Dominion of Canada have terminated the system of granting 

 fishing licenses to foreign vessels, under which they have heretofore 



been permitted to fish within the maritime jurisdiction of the 

 1271 said Dominion, that is to say, within th^ee marine miles of the 



shores thereof ; and that all fishermen of the United States are 

 prohibited from the use of such in-shore fisheries except so far as 

 stipulated in the first Article of the Treaty of October 20, 1818." 



Then he quotes the article and proceeds: 



"The "Canadian Law of the 22nd of May, 1868, . . . entitled 'An 

 Act respecting Fishing by Foreign Vessels,' among other things, 

 enacts," &c. 



And then follows a statement of the provisions of the Canadian 

 law of May 1868. That law had been communicated to Mr. Fish 

 and it was the origin of the letter from Mr. Fish requesting Mr. Bout- 

 well to issue the circular. In the British Case Appendix, p. 628, is 

 the law of 1868. That law begin* with a provision that: 



" The Governor may, from time to time, grant to any foreign ship, 

 vessel or boat, or to any ship, vessel or boat not navigated according 

 to the laws of the United Kingdom, or of Canada, at such rate, and 

 for such period not exceeding one year, as he may deem expedient, a 

 license to fish for or take, dry or cure any fish of any kind whatever, 

 in British waters, within three marine miles of any of the coasts, 

 bays, creeks or harbours whatever, of Canada, not included ivithin the 

 limits specified and described in the first article of the convention 



