2102 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



between His late Majesty King George the Third and the United 

 States of America, made and signed at London on the twentieth day 

 of October, 1818." 



That is to say, the law which it was the purpose of Mr. Boutwell's 

 circular to call to the attention of American fishermen and merchants, 

 which it was the object of Mr. Fish in writing to Mr. Boutwell in 

 issuing the circular to bring to the attention of Americans, in order 

 that they might guard against incurring its penalties, was a law that 

 by its express terms excluded the treaty coast. It applied to the 

 waters of Canada 



" not included within the limits specified and described in the first 

 article of the Convention between His late Majesty King George 

 the Third and the United States of America made and signed at 

 London on the 20th day of October, 1818." 



So it did not apply to the Magdalen Islands, or to this strip of 

 wilderness coast called Canadian Labrador. Practically those places 

 were negligible in Canadian legislation until the most recent times. 

 They were not thinking about them. There is not much law in 

 Labrador. People get on by the law of common sense and good 

 nature. As to the Magdalen Islands, I do not know how it is now, 

 but back in the treaty days, they were the property of a single indi- 

 vidual. At all events, this law to which this whole transaction 

 related, was a law which specifically excluded from its purview the 

 treaty coast that small portion of the treaty coast which was within 

 the Dominion of Canada. 



But there was an order in council issued, giving effect to the law, 

 and that order in council appears at pp. 230 and 231 of the British 

 Appendix. Perhaps I should not have described it as an order in 

 council. It was in the fonn of a report of a committee of the Privy 

 Council, approved by the Governor-General. I do not know whether 

 that should properly be en lied an order in council or not. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: When it is once approved, it becomes 

 an order in council. 



SENATOR ROOT : Very well, then ; I will revert to my description. 



At the end of p. 230 of the British Case Appendix, I read : 



"The Committee having had under consideration the reports of 

 the Minister of Marine and Fisheries, dated respectively the 15th 

 and 20th ult., in connection with certain despatches from Lord Gran- 

 ville, on the subject of protecting the fisheries of Canada, beg to 

 recommend : 



" That the system of granting fishing licences to foreign vessels, 

 under the Act 31 Vic., c. 61, be discontinued, and that, henceforth, 

 foreign fishermen be not permitted to fish in the waters of Canada." 



The Tribunal will perceive that in that order in council they 

 omitted the limitation which the statute contained; and when thin 

 statute was sent to the Government of the United States, it was sent 



