10 



full notice havin<i; been pioviously given them, a serious 

 feeling might have arisen between the countries innnediately 

 inter(>steil. After consitlerabh^ correK^xnich^nce bc'tween the 

 respective Governments of London, Ottawa and A\'ashing- 

 ton, it was agreed that steps should be taken at the earliest 

 date possible for the appomtiaent of a joint Coinndssioii 

 " e]i<(r(jed irith t/ic eoiusideratioii and sefllenic/d, uj)on a just, 

 equd<d)lc and honorable basis, of the entire <piesiion of the fish- 

 ing rights of the two Governments and their respective eitisens 

 on the coasts of the Uiiited States and of British North Amer- 

 ica." Accordingly, dunng the past season American tislier- 

 meu freely frequented the Avaters of the Dominion. How- 

 ever, Canada had no other course open to her in this per- 

 plexing dilemma, involving such important international 

 considerations, than to agree to the tcmjiorar}^ arrangement 

 in question, Avith the hope that the ditHcult}^ would be satis- 

 factorily settled in the way proposed. It is pleasant to tind 

 that President Cleveland is evidentl}^ desirous of arriving at 

 a just and honorable solution of the cjuestion as soon as 

 possible. In his message to Congress in December last, he 

 expresses his opinion that " in the interest of good neigh- 

 borhood and of the commercial intercourse of adjacent com- 

 munities, the question of the North American fisheries is one 

 of Lirge importance." After recommending that Congress 

 provide for the appointment of a Commission, he proceeds 

 to say : " The fishing interests being intimately related to 

 other general (juestions dependent upon contiguity, consid- 

 eration thereof, ill all their ecpiities, might also projx^-ly 

 come within the province of such a Commission, and the 

 fullest latitude of expression on both sides should be per- 

 mitted," 



It is obviously injurious to all sides that these interna- 

 tional issues should be of constant t)ccurrence, when it has 

 always been possible to si^ttle them for a long term of years, 

 if not for all time. The Canadians have always felt — and 

 President Cleveland a])parentl3' felt tin; same way — that the 

 fishery question is intimately connected with the connnercial 

 relatiijus of the two countries, and that it should be ar- 

 rangiul in the shape of a new Reciprocity Treaty like that 

 of 1854. 



It would therefore appear that the claim made by Canada 

 that the United States are now entitled to such riijhts as 

 were given them under the treaty of 1818, and to no others, 

 is not without sonie foundation. It appears that every 

 treaty subs(H|uent to that of 181S, has l)een rescinded bg the 

 United tStdtcs. These (hfl'ertmt trinities were but lemporarg 

 relaxations or m<jdificatit)us of the treaty of 1818 and in- 

 tended so to be when agreed to, and with all of them annulled 

 there must be a recurrence; to that of 1818 where it is 



