988 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



forthcoming fishery, and they hope vci , shortly to be able to submit 

 proposals with this object. I may add that such an arrangement- 

 would be merely in the nature of a modus Vivendi, applicable only to 

 the ensuing season, and would not in any way affect any of the rights 

 and claims of either party. 



I have, &c. (Signed) EDWARD GREY. 



Mr. Reid to Sir Edward Grey. 



AMERICAN EMBASSY, LONDON, 

 August 16, 1906. (Received August 18.} 



SIR: I have the honour to acknowledge your letter of the 14th 

 instant regretting that, owing to the wide divergence from your views 

 disclosed in Mr. Root's letter respecting the rights of American vessels 

 on the Newfoundland coast, it is hopeless to expect an immediate 

 settlement. 



I am glad to note that under these circumstances vou expect soon 

 to submit proposals for a modus vivendi for the ensuing season, and 

 shall hasten to advise my Government of this purpose. 

 I have, &c. 



(Signed) WHITELAW REID. 



Lord Elgin to Governor MacGregor. 



[Telegraphic.] 



DOWNING STREET, September 8, 1906. 



His Majesty's Government have received with much disappoint- 

 ment your telegram of the 19th August. They cannot but feel that 

 your Ministers have failed to appreciate serious difficulty in which 

 their policy has placed both them and His Majesty's Government. 

 I will return a full reply to your Ministers' statement by mail in due 

 course. In the meantime, please remind them of Lord Kimberley's 

 speech in the House of Lords in 1891, in which, when discussing the 

 course taken by Lord Salisbury's Government, he said, "While the 

 negotiations are proceeding with France, it is plainly necessary that 

 there should be a truce until the respective rights are specifically 

 ascertained. The modus vivendi does not in any way infringe the 

 assurance given by Mr. Labouchere to the Colony, for the modus 

 vivendi is not for the purpose of making new Treaty arrangements, 

 but for the purpose of ascertaining what the existing Treaty engage- 

 ments are." 



His Majesty's Government have decided to act on the principles 

 indicated in those remarks, which not only had been adopted by the 

 then British Government, but also represented the consensus of 

 opinion of both political parties at the time, and are accordingly pro- 

 posing to United States' Government modus vivendi under which, 

 on the one part, Foreign Fishing Vessels Act, 1906, will remain in 

 abeyance, first part of section 1 of Act of 1905 and whole of section 

 3 will be held not to apply to United States' fishing- vessels, and light 



