14 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION, 



reversed its former attitude toward the American fishing interests and 

 proceeded, as shown by the case of the United States in this arbitra- 

 tion, by legislative and executive action to terminate all commercial 

 privileges, which for many years prior to that time had been extended 

 to American fishing vessels both on the treaty coasts and on the other 

 coasts of Newfoundland. This new policy of the Newfoundland 

 Government, as was frankly admitted by leading officials of that 

 Government, was intended to force the Government of the United 

 States to open the American markets to Newfoundland fish and 

 fishery products free of duty, in exchange for more extensive fishing 

 and commercial privileges on the Newfoundland coasts. 



Such, briefly, was the situation when Mr. Root became Secretary 

 of State in 1905, and, as it soon became evident that the Newfound- 

 land Government in carrying out its new policy would undertake to 

 impose upon American fishermen in the exercise of their treaty liber- 

 ties certain limitations and restraints which were regarded by the 

 United States as in conflict with such liberties, the Secretary of State 

 at once proceeded to take up with Great Britain the question of 

 defining the rights of American fishermen under the treaty of 1818 

 and restraining the colonial governments from interfering with such 

 rights. 



In the diplomatic correspondence which ensued, the views of both 

 Governments on these questions were fully and ably presented. It 

 appeared, however, as stated b}^ the British secretary of state for 

 foreign affairs in his note of August 14, 1906, " that the wide diver- 

 gence of view between the two Governments, which is disclosed by the 

 correspondence, makes it hopeless to expect an immediate settlement 

 of the various questions at issue." A modus vivendi for that year 

 accordingly was entered into, but upon a renewal of the discussion the 

 following year it became evident, on account of the conflict of views 

 between the two Governments, that it would be impossible to find a 

 basis for an agreement for the permanent adjustment of the question 

 in dispute. It was accordingly recognized on both sides that recourse 

 must be had to arbitration, and after the general arbitration treaty 

 of April 4, 1908, was entered into, negotiations were undertaken for 

 the arbitration of the questions at issue in this controversy with the 

 result that the special agreement of January 27, 1909, was concluded, 

 submitting seven questions to arbitration. 



These questions covered all the unsettled matter of difference 

 growing out of the fisheries provisions of the treaty of 1818, many of 

 which had been under discussion almost continuously for more than 

 half a century. 



On one of the issues under discussion, which was ultimately pre- 

 sented as the first question submitted for decision, several points of 

 agreement had been reached by the parties in the negotiations which 



