PERIOD FROM 1871 TO 1905. 901 



It has been pointed out in my note to Lord Iddesleigh, above men- 

 tioned, that the 3-mile limit referred to in this act is claimed by the 

 Canadian Government to include considerable portions of the high 

 seas, such as the Bay of Fundy, the Bay of Chaleur, and similar 

 waters, by drawing the line from headland to headland, and that 

 American fishermen had been excluded from those waters accordingly. 



It has been seen also that the term " any purpose not permitted by 

 treaty " is held by that Government to comprehend every possible 

 act of human intercourse, except only the four purposes named in 

 the treaty shelter, repairs, wood, and water. 



Under the provisions of the recent act, therefore, and the Canadian 

 interpretation of the treaty, any American fishing vessel that may 

 venture into a Canadian harbor, or may have occasion to pass through 

 the very extensive waters thus comprehended, may be seized at the 

 discretion of any one of numerous subordinate officers, carried into 

 port, subjected to search and the examination of her master upon 

 oath, her voyage broken up, and the vessel and cargo confiscated, if it 

 shall be determined by the local authorities that she has ever even 

 posted or received a letter or landed a passenger in any part of Her 

 Majesty's dominions in America. 



And it is publicly announced in Canada that a larger fleet of 

 cruisers is being prepared by the authorities, and that greater vigi- 

 lance will be exerted on their part in the next fishing season than in 

 the last. 



It is in the act to which the one above referred to is an amendment 

 that is found the provision to which I drew attention in a note to 

 Lord Iddesleigh of December 2, 1886, by which it is enacted that in 

 case a dispute arises as to whether any seizure has or has not been 

 legally made, the burden of proving the illegality of the seizure shall 

 be upon the owner or claimant. 



In his reply to that note of January 11, 1887, his lordship intimates 

 that this provision is intended only to impose upon a person claiming 

 a license the burden of proving it. But a reference to the act shows 

 that such is by no means the restriction of the enactment. It refers 

 in the broadest and clearest terms to any seizure that is made under 

 the provisions of the act, which covers the whole subject of protection 

 against illegal fishing; and it applies not only to the proof of a 

 license to fish, but to all questions of fact whatever, necessary to a 

 determination as to the legality of a seizure or the authority of the 

 person making it. 



It is quite unnecessary to point out what grave embarrassments 

 may arise in the relations between the United States and Great 

 Britain under such administration as is reasonably to be expected 

 of the extraordinary provisions of this act and its amendment, upon 

 which it is not important at this time further to comment. 



It will be for Her Majesty's Government to determine how far its 

 sanction and support will be given to further proceedings, such as the 

 United States Government have now repeatedly complained of and 

 have just ground to apprehend may be continued by the Canadian 

 authorities. 



It was with the earnest desire of obviating the impending difficulty, 

 and of preventing collisions and dispute until such time as a perma- 

 nent understanding between the two Governments could be reached, 



