15. f jO AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



One would suppose that under ordinary circumstances it would have 

 been sufficient to have stopped with the statement that they should be 

 admitted ''for the purpose of shelter, &c., and of obtaining water," but 

 the Cramers of the Convention of 1818 were particular to add, "and 

 for no other purpose whatever." 



They not only so restricted the Americans by affirmative words, but 

 also bv negative words. The High Contracting Parties having this be- 

 fore them, gave the Americans the liberty of coming upon our shores to 

 fish on equal terms wit hour fishermen, and to take bait, &c. To my mind, 

 the Ili^'li Commissioners considered that the framers of the Convention 

 of 1818 deemed it necessary to insert tha words, " and for no other pur- 

 pose whatever,* 5 to make it absolutely certain that the Americans could 

 only come in for shelter, repairs, wood, and water, and should enjoy no 

 rights as incidental to that privilege, and that they purposely omitted 

 those words in the Treaty of Washington. It may, therefore, be well 

 supposed that if the Americans were to be restric ed to the very letter 

 of the treaty, the same negative words would have been used, and un- 

 doubtedly had those words been used in the tr:-a'y, there would be an 

 end of the argument. It' that had been the intention of the High Com- 

 missioners, they would have gone on in this treaty to state in Article 18 : 



It is agreed by the High Co tracting Parties that, in addition to the liberty secured 

 to the Tinted States fishermen by tbe Convention between Great Britain and the 

 United States, signed at London on th 20 h day of October, 1818, of taking, curing, 

 and drying fish on certain coasts of the Biitish North American Colonies, therein de- 

 fined, the inhabitants of the United States shall have, in common with the subjects of 

 Her Hritanuic Majesty, the liberty, for the term of years mentioned in Article XXXIII of 

 this treaty, to take tish of every kind, except shell-fish, on the sea coasts and shores, and 

 in the bays, harbors, and creeks of the Provinces of Qu> bee, Nova Scotia, and New 

 Brunswick, and the Colony of Prince Edward Island, and of the several islands there- 

 unto adj.H-ent, without being restricted to any distance from the shore, with permis- 

 sion t> land upon the said coasts, and shores, and islands, and also upon the Magdalen. 

 Islands, for the purpose of drying their nets aud curing their fish, and for no other pur- 

 pot ichatccer. 



lint these words were not used. 



Now these are the woids which the learned Agent of the United States, 

 and the learned counsel who are associated with him, seek, in my judg- 

 ment, to interpolate into this treaty. The trainers of the Convention of 

 181S were very cautious as to its wording; the framers of the Treaty 

 of Washington had that convention before them, and it must, therefore, 

 1 think, be fairly assumed that if it had been the intention of either oC 

 the Iligli Contracting Parties, in this instance, that the Americans should 

 KiliipU have the bare rights named in the treaty and nothing else, they 

 would have followed the example set before them by the Convention of 

 8 and used these strong negative words, "and for no other purpose 

 1 say that this argument is a lair and just one; of course 

 * weight is to be determined by this tribunal. I am by no means 

 t forward as a conclusive argument, but still the fact that they 

 t do MI is of great weight in my mind, though to what extent its 

 II effect the decision of this tribunal it is not for me to say, 

 iloes appear to me to be a very strong argument indeed. Had'it 

 "led to restrict the United States fishermen, aud, to use the 

 Mr. Foster, confine them merely to what was mentioned in 

 id, the Uigi, Commissioners would have added, "and for no other 

 whatever"; and therefore their leaving that language out is 

 the construction that the Americans were entitled to all the 

 ^vantages which that treaty would necessarily be under- 

 stood to router. 



IH it not a rather extraordinary argument on the part of the United 



