974 COEBESPONDBNOB, BTO. 



with" whom they exercise it under the Convention. In other words, 

 the American fisnery under the Convention is not a free but a regu- 

 lated fishery, and, in the opinion of His Majesty's Government, Amer- 

 ican fishermen are bound to comply with all Colonial Laws and Regu- 

 lations, including any touching the conduct of the fishery, so long 

 as these are not in their nature unreasonable, and are applicable to 

 all fishermen alike. One of these Regulations prohibits fishing on 

 Sundays. His Majesty's Government have received information that 

 several breaches of this Regulation were committed by American 

 fishermen during the past fishing season. This Regulation has been 

 in force for many years, and looking to the insignificant extent to 

 which American fishermen have exercised their right of fishery on 

 the Treaty Coast in the past, it cannot be regarded as having been 

 made with the object of restricting the enjoyment of that right. 

 Both its reasonableness and its bona fides appear to His Majesty's 

 Government to be beyond question, and they trust that the United 

 States' Government will take steps to secure its observance in the 

 future. 



As regards the treatment of American vessels from which American 

 fishermen exercise the Treaty right of fishery, His Majesty's Govern- 

 ment are prepared to admit that, although the Convention confers 

 no rights on American vessels as such, yet since the American fishery 

 is essentially a ship fishery, no law of Newfoundland should be en- 

 forced on American fishing-vessels which would unreasonably interfere 

 with the exercise by the American fishermen on board of their rights 

 under the Convention. The United States' Government, on their 

 part, admit, in Mr. Root's note, that the Colonial Government are 

 entitled to have an American vessel engaged in the fishery refrain from 

 violating any laws of Newfoundland not inconsistent with the Con- 

 vention, but maintain that if she does not purpose to trade, but only 

 to fish, she is not bound to enter at any Newfoundland custom-house. 



Mr. Root's note refers only to the question of entry inwards, but it 

 is presumed that the United States' Government entertain the same 

 views on the question of clearing outwards. At all events, American 

 vessels have not only passed to the fishing grounds in the inner waters 

 of the Bay of Islands without reporting at a Colonial custom-house, 

 but have also omitted to clear on returning to the United States. 

 In both respects they have committed breaches of the Colonial Cus- 

 toms Law, which, as regards the obligations to enter and to clear, 

 makes no distinction between fishing- and trading-vessels. 



His Majesty's Government regret not to be able to share the view 

 of the United States' Government that the provisions of the Colonial 

 Law which impose those obligations are inconsistent with the Con- 

 vention of 1818, if applied to American vessels which do not purpose 

 to trade, but only to fish. They hold that the only ground on wnich 

 the application of any provisions of the Colonial Law to American 

 vessels engaged in the fishery can be objected to is that it unreason- 

 ably interferes with the exercise of the American right of fishery. 



It is admitted that the majority of the American vessels lately 

 engaged in the fishery on the western coast of the Colony were regis- 

 tered vessels, as opposed to licensed fishing-vessels, and as such were 

 at liberty both to trade and to fish. The production of evidence of 

 the United States' registration is therefore not sufficient to establish 



