ARGUMENT OF ELIHU ROOT. 2179 



been that as, on the one hand, Great Britain could not permit the 

 vessels of the United States to fish within the creeks amd close upon 

 the shores of the British territories, so, on the other hand, it was by 

 no means her intention to interrupt them in fishing anywhere in the 

 open sea, or without the territorial jurisdiction, a marine league 



from the shore." 



1317 The Tribunal will perceive that Lord Bathurst is there stat- 

 ing the vital feature of the letter to Baker, using the word 

 " shore " as the equivalent of the word *' coast " which occurs in the 

 Baker letter. He instructed Mr. Baker to say to the American Gov- 

 ernment in behalf of the Government of Great Britain, that Great 

 Britain did not propose to interfere with the fishing anywhere with- 

 out the maritime jurisdiction of 3 miles from the coast. And when 

 Mr. Adams asked him what he had written, he said that he had writ- 

 ten that it was by no means the intention of Great Britain to inter- 

 rupt fishing without the territorial jurisdiction a marine league from 

 the shore precisely answering to what he had directed Mr. Baker 

 to say, substituting the word "shore" for the word "coast." Of 

 course if you ignore that line that is drawn in the Baker letter and 

 give the British sense to the word "bays" in the Baker letter, you 

 have a frightful inconsistency here. You have Lord Bathurst, who 

 was conducting the foreign affairs of a great Empire, either wilfully 

 deceiving Mr. Adams or not knowing the meaning or purport of an 

 important letter that he had just written himself, an important in- 

 struction that he had just given himself. As I have shown the true 

 meaning, the consistency is perfect. 



Mr. Adams, to have no misunderstanding about what the position 

 of Great Britain really was. in writing to Lord Bathurst shortly 

 after, a few days after, on the subject, recites to Lord Bathurst what 

 Lord Bathurst had told him on this subject. 



The Tribunal will perceive that Mr. Adams was not at all grateful 

 for liberty to fish outside the maritime jurisdiction of 3 leagues. 

 What he wanted to do was to combat the determination to exclude 

 us within the 3 marine miles from the shore. He had girded his 

 loins, and set to work to combat that, in this long and elaborate argu- 

 ment of the 25th September. 1815. And in laying down the lines for 

 his argument, he states the position which he is combating, and states 

 it to Lord Bathurst. as being the position that Lord Bathurst had 

 stated to him. a matter about which an experienced man, entering 

 upon an argument, would, of course, be careful and distinct. The 

 statement which he made to Lord Bathurst, of his understanding of 

 Lord Bathurst's communication to him, is just above the middle of 

 p. 269 of the American Appendix. It is the second paragraph on 

 that page. Mr. Adams said : 



" But, in disavowing the particular act of the officer who had pre- 

 sumed to forbid American fishing-vessels from approaching within 



