PERIOD FROM 1905 TO 1909. 997 



suspend for this season prohibition to engage crews in territorial 

 waters, in return for which United States' vessels would stop using 

 purse seines after 1st November, by which time they would have 

 engaged enough men to work with nets only. Would your Ministers 

 be prepared to entertain such an arrangement? 



Sir Edward Grey to Sir M. Durand. 



FOREIGN OFFICE, October 1, 1906. 



SIR: I told Mr. Carter to-day that the suggestion contained in 

 Mr. Whitelaw Reid's private letter, to suspend the clause in Section 1 

 of the Act of 1905 which prevented American vessels from recruiting 

 fishermen in Newfoundland waters, if the Americans in return would 

 stop using purse seines after the 1st November, had been telegraphed 

 to the Colony by the Colonial Office. If the Colonial Government 

 accepted the suggestion at once, there would be no difficulty about 

 including it in the modus vivendi, but in view of the fact that the 

 legislation of 1906 in the Colony had been suspended, and that this 

 had been done with very great reluctance, I assumed that the point 

 now raised would have to depend entirely on the opinion or the 

 Colony with regard to it. 



Mr. Carter asked me whether he was to understand that we wished 

 the modus vivendi to be absolutely concluded and put in force at once, 

 without waiting for the new point to be settled. 



I said I should like not to answer this question until I had con- 

 sulted the Colonial Office as to whether they desired to wait for the 

 reply of the Colony on the new point now raised or not, but I would 

 send a reply in a day or two. 



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



Governor MacGregor to Lord Elgin. 



[Telegraphic.] 



[Received October 4, 1906.] 



I have been asked by my responsible advisers to transmit follow- 

 ing Minute : 



"Referring to your telegram of 1st October, my responsible advisers 

 anxiously await a reply to their Minute of the 28th ultimo, in which 

 they desired to be advised promptly as to the exact position of 

 affairs, and whether they are free to enforce the Customs and Fisheries 

 Laws of this Colony against American fishermen. They would 

 most strongly deprecate any arrangement consenting to tne use of 

 purse-seines by American fishermen and to shipping of Newfoundland 

 fishermen, and they are not prepared to consent to local fishermen 

 being engaged to work for Americans in the conduct of fisheries of 

 this Colony. By such a concession the policy of this Government 

 in respect to herring fishery, which received such marked indorse- 

 ment at the polls in 1904, and is rightly considered by mercantile 

 body as of vital interest to the trade of the Colony, would be com- 

 pletely thwarted. A telegram received from the Sub-Collector 



