88 CASE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



General to grant to foreign vessels a license for a period not exceed- 

 ing one year ' ' to fish for or take, dry or cure any fish of any kind 

 whatever, in British waters, within three marine miles of any of the 

 coasts, bays, creeks or harbors wiiatever, of Canada, not included 

 within the limits specified and described in the first article" of the 

 treaty of 1818. This provision for licenses will be considered in 

 reviewing the period following the date of this act. 



The act was further amended by the acts of May 12 and April 

 14, 1870, but no material change was made in the original act so far 

 as it relates to the questions presented in this Case until 1886 when 

 an amendment was adopted on November 26th of that year author- 

 izing, for the first time, the search and seizure of vessels "being 

 within any harbor of Canada," in case such vessel "has entered such 

 waters for any purpose not permitted by treaty or convention, or by 

 any law of the United Kingdom or of Canada for the time being in 

 force." 



All the Newfoundland legislation with respect to the fisheries 

 which was in force at this time or adopted later contained a proviso 

 that nothing therein should affect the rights and privileges granted 

 by treaty, and so far as the rights of American fishermen under the 

 treaty of 1818 are concerned no attempt was made to apply such 

 legislation to them until a very recent period. Such legislation will 

 be reviewed in its appropriate place. 



United States Treasury Circular of January 21, 1836. 



A note was written by the British Charge at Washington to Mr. 

 Forsyth, the Secretary of State, on January 6, 1836, calhng his 

 attention to complaints which had been preferred by the officers of 

 customs at Quebec and Gaspe against fishermen of the United States 

 "for encroaching on the hmits of the British fisheries carried on in 

 the river and gulf of St. Lawrence."'^ An examination of the com- 

 plaints referred to, wdiich were enclosed with this note, will show 

 that the only actual encroachments specified in such complaints are 

 those set forth as follows : 



On a recent voyage in the custom-house boat, down the bay of 

 Gaspe, I met three large schooners fishing for mackerel betw^een 

 the shores and the fisliing barges, not two miles from land, and 

 remonstrated with the master of one (the Bethel, of Provincetown.) 

 They were all in the act of fishing, and although I advised the said 



o Appendix, p. 407. 



