APPENDICES TO OEAL ARGUMENTS. 



2339 



Br. App. 518. 1670. 

 Order in Council for regulat- 

 ing fishing trade in Newfound- 

 land. 



1. Subjects of His Majesty's 

 Kingdom of England for ever to 

 have freedom of taking bait and 

 fishing in any of the .... har- 

 bours or roads in or near New- 

 foundland, with liberty to land 

 for curing, salting and drying of 

 fish and for cutting of wood for 

 stages, rooms, etc., provided they 

 submit to any present and future 

 regulations. 



2. No alien to take bait or fish 

 between Cape Race and Cape 

 Bona Vista. 



4. No planter to occupy stages, 

 beach, etc., before English fisher- 

 men are provided for. 



9. No fishing vessel to leave 

 England before the 1st March. 



11. No captain to use any stage 

 in any port, harbour or bay be- 

 tween Cape Race and Cape Bona 

 Vista with less than 25 men all of 

 one company. 



13. Admirals to see to preser- 

 vation of peace and good order 

 and the execution of His Maj- 

 esty's rules for regulation of the 

 fishery. 



15. No fishermen to remain 

 after end of October. 



"Order in Council of Charles 

 II approving the Report of the 

 Council of Plantations. March 10* 

 1670." 



1. The right is to be enjoyed 

 "as fully and freely as at any 

 t^me here to fore hath been used 

 and enjoyed there by any of the 

 subjects of his Majesty's royal 

 predecessors." 



These provisions relate to the 

 preservation of public order, and 

 the preservation of the liberty of 

 taking fish. They are also in- 

 tended to preserve the monopoly 

 of fishing to English fishermen 

 by preventing inhabitants (or 

 planters) of Newfoundland from 

 preempting the beaches used for 

 drying. 



There is no attempt to restrict 

 the manner or time of fishing. 

 Clause 15 is intended to prevent 

 fishermen from becoming inhab- 

 itants in accordance with the 

 British policy of that period of 

 discouraging settlements in New- 

 foundland. The fishing season 

 was over by the last day of Octo- 

 ber, so that this provision was not 

 a limitation upon the liberty of 

 fishing. 



The purpose of the Order in 

 Council approving the Report of 

 the Council of Plantations is 

 shown in the following extract 

 from Sabine's Report of 1852 

 (p. 52) : 



"Three years later [1663], the 

 Newfoundland fishery was spe- 

 cially protected by an entire ex- 

 emption from levies and duties; 

 and the home and colonial fish- 

 eries were at the same time as- 

 sisted by duties imposed on prod- 

 ucts of the sea imported by for- 

 eigners or aliens. 



Yet the number of ships em- 

 ployed at Newfoundland declined 

 annually. In 1670, the merchants 

 sent out barely eighty. The de- 

 cline was attributed to the boat 



