1806 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



tion does exist. If it were not for the law of nations, the very moment 

 that you got beyond the realm, that is to say, on the coast just below 

 low-water mark," the nation would have no jurisdiction over you, and 

 parliament could not touch you at all, as you would then be on the high 

 seas; but by the law of nations, all civilized countries have this juris- 

 dictiou within the three-mile line, and hence, the parliament or other 

 legislative body existing within the country can pass laws governing 

 this territory ; and it was only the absence of these laws that induced 

 the Lord Chief Justice and the other judges to arrive at the decision to 

 which they came. I therefore think, may it please your excellency and 

 your honors, that I have refuted this proposition of Mr. Dana's, and re- 

 i'uted it by the authorities of his own country, as well as by British au- 

 thorities. 



Mr. DANA. Which proposition do you mean, the one that I put or the 

 one which you put? 



Mr. THOMSON. I refer to the one which you put, viz, that there is no 

 exclusive jurisdiction enjoyed by any nation over its territorial waters. 



There is now another thing to be mentioned. What is the practice 

 of the United States herself! Why, the United States has never per- 

 mitted any vessel of any foreign country to approach her coasts within 

 the three-mile limit to fish there. They have uniformly excluded such 

 vessels; and not only have they uniformly excluded them from withiu 

 the three-mile limit, but further, they have also rigidly excluded them 

 from the large bays, such as the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, and 

 bays of a similar description not bays which are merely six miles in 

 width at the mouth, but many miles beyond. The whole practice of the 

 United States is entirely against Mr. Dana's theory; and what is the 

 practice as recognized by this very treaty, under which your excellency 

 and your honors are now sitting, this Treaty of 1871 ? What do you 

 find is here given by Great Britain to and accepted by the United 

 States ! It is the right to enter our territorial waters ; and the United 

 States gives to Great Britain, and Great Britain accepts from the United 

 States the right to enter her territorial waters ; and she absolutely not 

 only gives that right, which England accepts and England admits her 

 right, or otherwise she would not accept the grant but the United 

 States also go a step further, and say that " although we give you the 

 right to come on our coasts and fish in our waters within this privileged 

 and territorial distance; yet we warn you that we only give you that 

 right for the portion of our coasts lying to the northward of the 39th 

 parallel of north latitude." Can anything be clearer than that ! It is 

 in the face of that declaration of the United States herself, that one of her 

 counsel, in arguing this case, advances this most extraordinary doctrine, 

 f Mr. Dana be right about that matter, then the 39th parallel of north 

 latitude is no barrier at all to our fishermen ; and we have the right to 

 go down and fish where we please along the whole length of the coast 

 of the United States. But do you think that this would be tolerated 

 for a moment ? What would be said of us if we attempted it f Would 

 it not be this: " You have admitted our rights, and we have admitted 

 your rights; then how dare you come to the southward of that line!" 

 What could be said to that ! Why, clearly nothing, save that we were 

 infringing our agreement. 



And then, although I do not know that this, in itself, would have 

 very much strength as an argument, it might be mentioned that iu 1818 

 the Americans agreed, not, on any account whatever, to come withiu 

 three miles of our coasts; but we never made any agreement not to 

 come withiu three miles of their coasts. At all events, we are not ham- 



