952 



CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



the United States shall be 

 seized for violating the pro- 

 visions of the aforesaid Con- 

 vention by fishing or prepar- 

 ing to fish within 3 marine 

 miles of any of the coasts, 

 bays, creeks, and harbours of 

 Her Britannic Majesty's do- 

 minions included within the 

 limits within which fishing 

 Is by the terms of the said 

 Convention renounced, such 

 vessels shall forthwith be 

 reported to the officer in 

 command of one of the said 

 national vessels, who, In 

 conjunction with the officer 

 In command of another of 

 said vessels of different na- 

 tionality, shall hear and ex- 

 amine into the facts of the 

 case. Should the said com- 

 manding officers be of opin- 

 ion that the charge is not 

 sustained, the vessel shall be 

 released. But if they should 

 be of opinion that the ves- 

 sel should be subjected to a 

 judicial examination, she 

 shall forthwith be sent for 

 trial before the Vice-Admi- 

 ralty Court at Halifax. If, 

 however, the said command- 

 Ing officers should differ in 

 opinion, they shall name 

 some third person to act as 

 Umpire between them, and 

 should they be unable to 

 agree upon the name of such 

 third person, they shall each 

 name a person, and it shall 

 be determined by lot which 

 of the two persons so named 

 shall be the Umpire. 



them belonging to a foreign 

 country, who, if they should 

 disagree and be unable to 

 choose an Umpire must refer 

 the final decision of the 

 great interests which might 

 be at stake to some person 

 chosen by lot. 



If a vessel charged with 

 infraction of Canadian fish- 

 ing rights should be thought 

 worthy of being subjected to 

 a " Judicial examination," 

 she would be sent to the 

 Vice-Admiralty Court at 

 Halifax, but there would be 

 no redress, no appeal, and 

 no reference to any Tribunal 

 if the naval officers should 

 think proper to release her. 



It should, however, be ob- 

 served that the limitation la 

 the second sentence of this 

 Article of the violations of 

 the Convention which are to 

 render a vessel liable to seiz- 

 ure could not be accepted by 

 Her Majesty's Government. 



For these reasons, the Ar- 

 ticle in the form proposed la 

 inadmissible, but Her Maj- 

 esty's Government are not 

 indisposed to agree to the 

 principle of a joint inquiry 

 by the naval officers of the 

 two countries In the first In- 

 stance, the vessel to be sent 

 for trial at Halifax if the 

 naval officers do not agree 

 that she should be released. 



They fear, however, that 

 there would be serious prac- 

 tical difficulties in giving 

 effect to this arrangement, 

 owing to the great length of 

 coast, and the delays, which 

 must in consequence be fre- 

 quent, in securing the pres- 

 ence at the same time and 

 place of the naval officers of 

 both Powers. 



regulations which may be 

 established by the Commis- 

 sion. And the treatment to 

 be awarded to such infrac- 

 tions should also be consid- 

 ered by the same body. 



Ad interim Arrangement pro- 

 posed by the United 

 States' Government. 



Observations on Mr. Bay- Reply to "Observations " on 

 ard's Memorandum. Proposal. 



ABTICLB IV. 



AETICLH IV. 



The fishing vessels of the 

 United States shall have in 

 the established ports of 

 entry of Her Britannic Maj- 

 esty's dominions in America 

 the same commercial privi- 

 leges as other vessels of the 

 United States, including the 

 purchase of bait and other 

 supplies ; and such privi- 

 leges shall be exercised sub- 

 ject to the same Rules and 

 Regulations and payment of 

 the same port charges as 

 are prescribed for other ves- 

 sels of the United States. 



This Article Is also open 

 to grave objection. It pro- 

 poses to give the United 

 States fishing vessels the 

 same commercial privileges 

 as those to which other ves- 

 sels of the United States are 

 entitled, although such privi- 

 leges are expressly re- 

 nounced by the Convention 

 of 1818 on behalf of fishing 

 vessels, which were there- 

 after to be denied the right 

 of access to Canadian waters 

 for any purpose whatever, 

 except those of shelter, re- 

 pairs, and the purchase of 

 wood and water. It has 

 frequently been pointed out 

 that an attempt was made, 

 during the negotiations 

 which preceded the Conven- 

 tion of 1818, to obtain for 

 the fishermen of the United 

 States the right of obtain- 

 ing bait in Canadian waters, 

 arfB that this attempt was 

 successfully resisted. In 

 aplte of this fact, It Is pro- 



The Treaty of 1818 re- 

 lated solely to Fisheries. 

 It was not a commercial 

 Convention, and no commer- 

 cial privileges were re- 

 nounced by It. It contains 

 no reference to " ports," of 

 which, it is believed, the 

 only ones then existing were 

 Halifax, in Nova Scotia, 

 and possibly one or two 

 more In the other provinces ; 

 and these ports were not 

 until long afterwards opened, 

 by reciprocal commercial 

 regulations, to vessels of the 

 United States engaged In 

 trading. 



The right to " obtain " 

 (t. e., take, or fish for) bait, 

 was not insisted upon by the 

 American negotiators, and 

 was doubtless omitted from 

 the Treaty, because, as It 

 would have permitted fish- 

 Ing for that purpose, It was 

 a partial reassertlon of the 

 right to fish within the lim- 

 its as to which the right to 



