PERIOD FROM 1905 TO 1909. 1005 



as it is upon the actual words of the Convention that they base their 

 claim to deny any right under the Treaty to American masters to 

 employ other than American fishermen for the taking of fish in New- 

 foundland Treaty waters. 



Mr. Root's language, however, appears to imply that the condition 

 which His Majesty's Government seek to impose on the right of fishing 

 is a condition upon the entry of an American vessel into the Treaty 

 waters for the purpose of fishing. This is not the case. His Majesty's 

 Government do not contend that every person on board an American 

 vessel fishing in the Treaty waters must be an inhabitant of the 

 United States, but merely that no such person is entitled to take fish 

 unless he is an inhabitant of the United States. This appears to meet 

 Mr. Root's argument that the contention of His Majesty's Govern- 

 ment involves as a corollary that no American vessel would be entitled 

 to enter the waters of British North America (in which inhabitants 

 of the United States are debarred from fishing by the Convention of 

 1818) for any of the four specified purposes, unless all the members 

 of the crew are inhabitants of the United States. 



Whatever may be the correct interpretation of the Treaty as to 

 the employment of foreigners generally on board American vessels, 

 His Majesty's Government do not suppose that the United States 

 Government lay claim to withdraw Newfoundlanders from the 

 jurisdiction of their own Government so as to entitle them to fish 

 in the employment of Americans in violation of Newfoundland laws. 

 The United States Government do not, His Majesty's Government 

 understand, put their claim higher than that of a "common" fishery, 

 and such an arrangement cannot override the power of the Colonial 

 Legislature to enact laws binding on the inhabitants of the Colony. 



It can hardly be contended that His Majesty's Government have 

 lost their jurisdiction not only over American fishermen fishing in 

 territorial waters of Newfoundland, but also over the British sub- 

 jects working with them. 



It may be as well to mention incidentally in regard to Mr. Root's 

 contention that no claim to place any such restriction on the French 

 right of fishery was ever put forward by Great Britain; that there 

 was never any occasion to advance it, for the reason that foreigners 

 other than Frenchmen were never employed by French fishing vessels. 



The main question at issue is, however, that of the application of 

 the Newfoundland regulations to American fishermen. In this con- 

 nection the United States Government admit the justice of the view 

 that all regulations and limitations upon the exercise of the right of 

 fishing upon the Newfoundland Coast, which were in existence at 

 the time of the Convention of 1818, would now be binding upon 

 American fishermen. Although Mr. Root considers that to be the 

 extreme view which His Majesty's Government could logically assert, 

 and states that it is the utmost to which the United States Govern- 

 ment could agree, His Majesty's Government feel that thev cannot 

 admit any such contention, as it would involve a complete departure 

 from the position which they have always been advised to adopt as 

 to the real intention and scope of the treaties upon which the 

 American fishing rights depend. On this vital point of principle 

 there does not seem to be any immediate prospect of agreement with 

 United States views, and it would, therefore, seem better to endeavour 



