ARGUMENT OF ELJHU ROOT. 2229 



vessels of its own its trading- vessels. The question is: Is a vessel 

 which, for convenience, we may as well call what it is a regis- 

 tered vessel going to the treaty coast purposing to exercise the 

 treaty right, belonging to the general class to which by the postu- 

 late of the question trading privileges are accorded, entitled when 

 it gets there to those trading privileges? If not, it must be be- 

 cause there is something in the treaty which excludes it from those 

 privileges. If not, it must be because there is something in the 

 treaty which authorised the Government of Newfoundland to dis- 

 criminate against that vessel. If there is anything in the treaty 

 which justifies the discrimination against that vessel, which justi- 

 fies taking it out of its class and excluding it from the privileges 

 of its class, why then, the Tribunal will have to say that such a 

 vessel is not entitled. If there is nothing in the treaty which 

 justifies making a discrimination against that vessel, making it an 

 exception to the class to which it belongs, to which has been accorded 

 or may hereafter be accorded trading privileges, the Tribunal will, 

 I submit, have to say that the vessel is entitled. The true answer, I 

 submit, is that the treaty neither entitles nor disentitles an Ameri- 

 can trading-vessel to use the privileges accorded to its class. The 

 treaty does not affect the subject at all. My learned friends say 

 these privileges may be withdrawn. Of course they may be with- 

 drawn; but the postulate of the question is their existence, and their 

 existence is protected by far wider interests than the particular ques- 

 tion Sir Robert Bond was so much interested in : the trade between 

 two great nations, affecting many, many millions of people, the rela- 

 tions of kindly feeling, the enormous benefits received by both nations 

 from their intercourse in commerce those are the considerations 

 which preserve the trading privileges accorded by each nation 

 1348 to the vessels of the other, and we are not concerned about 

 there being a cessation of commercial intercourse between the 

 United States and Great Britain. The only thing we are concerned 

 with here is whether there is anything in this treaty which entitles 

 the Government of Newfoundland to say : " These particular vessels, 

 belonging to the class to which has been accorded trading privileges, 

 certified by their government as belonging to that class, are to be 

 discriminated against and epcepted from the class." 



THE PRESIDENT: What is the basis, Mr. Senator Root, on which 

 we have to decide this Question 7? Where have we to take our 

 answer to Question 7? 



SENATOR ROOT: I think the basis is the consideration of the terms 

 of the treaty. 



THE PRESIDENT : The consideration of the terms of the treaty ? 



SENATOR ROOT: As to whether there is anything in the terms of 

 Uie treaty which affects or changes any commercial privileges ac- 

 corded to the class of trading-vessels. 



