1584 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



undertook to exclude us from those privileges, they were taken to ac- 

 count at once, and their action was stopped by the British Government. 



We are now brought to the last question, and that is, did we renounce 

 those rights, the right to purchase bait, ice, supplies, and to transship, 

 bv clauses iu the Treaty of 1818 ! For the purpose of this argument, I 

 am perfect! v indifferent which way your honors shall construe these 

 clauses. The Government of the United States does not interpret them 

 as a renunciation of these rights. I do not believe, I cannot believe, 

 that the treaty had any such reference. But it is certain that nothing 

 therein refers to the purchasing of cargoes of frozen herring, which has 

 been often referred to before the Commission. That is a purely mercan- 

 tile enterprise. A Boston vessel comes to this coast with a manifest, 

 and equipped in every respect as a trader, though a fisherman at all 

 other times, and after satisfying the custom-house authorities, she pur- 

 chases a cargo of frozen herring, and proceeds with them to the Boston 

 market. That is a commercial enterprise ; it is not anything that is re- 

 nounced by fishermen, as such, in the exercise of his rights to fish. 

 Suppose a 'merchant at Newfoundland should take a fishing vessel not 

 employed at that time, and load her with frozen herring, and send her 

 to Boston, where, after she had been entered at the custom-house, and 

 satisfied all the fiscal regulations, her cargo would be sold. Would any 

 one pretend that her right to do that was derived from the treaty giving 

 a right to fish within three miles of the American coast, and land and 

 dry their nets ? Certainly not. Therefore we may cut off at once all 

 reference to that. If your honors shall say that by the Treaty of 1818 

 the United States did not renounce those rights, and did not notice them 

 one way or another, that is sufficient for us. If your honors shall decide 

 that so far as fishing within three miles is concerned, the United States 

 renounced the right to purchase anything except wood, then we submit 

 that the right of purchasing anything else has not been granted to us 

 by the Treaty of 1871, and therefore we cannot be called upon to make 

 any compensation. 



We are satisfied that the United States are permitted by the British 

 Government to do those acts, whether it be from comity, from regard 

 to the necessities of fishermen, from policy, or from some other reason, 

 I know not, and so long as we are not disturbed we are content. If we 

 are disturbed, the question will then arise, not before this tribunal, but 

 between the two nations, whether we are properly disturbed by Great 

 Britain ; and if we should come to the conclusion on both sides, that 

 there being a dispute on that subject which should be properly settled, 

 then it is to be hoped that the governments will find no difficulty in 

 settling it; but this tribunal will discharge its entire duty when it de- 

 clares that under Article 18 of the Washington Treaty no such rights 

 or privileges are conceded to the United States. 



Mr. THOMSON. I do not propose to answer Mr. Dana's argument at 



esent, but I will call the attention of the Commission to the fact that 



in original argument and not a reply. In view of the fact that 



i number of witnesses waiting to be examined, and the 



me the Commission has to sit before it takes an adjournment, 1 



>t propose now to offer any observations in reply to the learned 



nnei but no doubt before the case is through, pievious to that time, 



I will take occasion to answer the arguments. 



DANA said the announcement of the learned counsel seemed as if 

 the right to make an indefinite adjournment of the hearing, 

 and at some future day to reply to the arguments. 



*80N said he did not desire to interfere with an immediate 





