ARGUMENT OF ELIHU ROOT. 2225 



" My Ministers, however, still desire to aid His Majesty's Govern- 

 ment as far as possible consistently with their duty to this Colony, 

 and the preservation of its rights ; they will therefore grant permis- 

 sion to the fishermen of the Treaty- Coast to sell to Americans during 

 the coming season on the receipt of an assurance from His Majesty's 

 Government that the terms of reference to the Hague Tribunal shall 

 include the question of the right of American vessels to fish or trade 

 in any of the bays, harbours, or creeks of that portion of Newfound- 

 land Coast between Cape Ray and Quirpon Islands, together with 

 all other questions that may be raised under the Treaty. 



And on p. 1014 again, we find the telegram from Lord Elgin to 

 Governor MacGregor. dated the 2nd September, 1907, saying: 



" Your telegram, 1st September. It will be necessary to refer 

 to United States Government the question of the terms of arbitration; 

 but provided that your Government now accept proposed modus 

 vivendi, His Majesty's Government would favourably consider the 

 reference to arbitration of question of bays." 



And from that grew these two questions, Question 6 and Question 

 7: The question of the right to fish and the question of the right 

 to trade. Of course the question being framed, it becomes our 

 question and Great Britain's question. It was rather a surprise to 

 us, because the diplomatic correspondence between the two countries, 

 the United States and Great Britain, indicated an entire agreement 

 upon this trading matter. 



The American Secretary of State, in his letter to the British 

 Minister at Washintgon, on the 19th October. 1905, which appears 

 in the American Appendix at p. 9G6, had referred to certain 

 despatches which had been received from masters of American vessels 

 in Newfoundland waters, in these words: 



" These despatches agree in the statement that vessels of American 

 registry are forbidden to fish on the Treaty Coast. One captain says 

 that he was informed that he could not fish by the Inspector of the 

 Revenue Protection Service of Newfoundland, and several of them 

 that they had been ordered not to take herring by the Collector of 

 Customs at Bonne Bay, Newfoundland. 



" It would seem that the Newfoundland officials are making a. 

 distinction between two classes of American vessels. We have vessels 

 which are registered, and vessels which are licensed to fish and not 

 registered. The licence carries a narrow and restricted authority; 

 the registry carries the broadest and most unrestricted authority. 

 The vessel with a licence can fish, but cannot trade; the registered 

 vessels can lawfully both fish and trade. The distinction between the 

 two classes in the action of the Newfoundland authorities would seem 

 to have been implied in the despatch from Senator Lodge which I 

 quoted in my letter of the 12th, and the imputation of the pro- 

 hibition of the Minister of Marine and Fisheries may perhaps have 

 come from the port officers, in conversation with the masters of 

 American vessels, giving him as their authority for their prohibi- 

 tions." 



