1014 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



Governor MacGregor to Lord Elgin. 



GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ST. JOHN'S, 

 September 2, 1907. (Received September 14, 1907.) 



MY LORD: I have the honour to transmit, for your information, 

 copy of a letter, dated 31st August, which I received from my Prime 

 Minister. 



Your Lordship will not fail to notice that while my Ministers adhere 

 to the principles they have hitherto maintained in regard to the bind- 

 ing force of the laws of this Colony on American fishermen in the terri- 

 torial waters of Newfoundland; and while they continue to think that 

 their representations with regard to the modus vivendi have not re- 

 ceived the attention and consideration to which they were entitled, 

 yet they are at the same time desirous of lending every assistance to 

 His Majesty's Government in this difficult and complicated case, 

 which is declared by your Lordship to involve important imperial 

 interests. It is in this spirit, and in full confidence of a favourable 

 result to this Colony if the whole question is submitted to the Hague 

 Tribunal, that my Ministers now propose w T hat they deem to be a 

 practical working arrangement for next season's fishery, under which 

 operations should be carried on temporarily without friction, and, of 

 course, without prejudice to the merits of the case for this Colony 

 before the International Tribunal. 



2. It may be presumed that neither His Majesty's Government nor 

 that of the United States would desire to withhold any part of the 

 case from consideration, a complete and full representation of which 

 is clearly necessary and desirable in order to arrive at finality, and to 

 save future misunderstanding. Your Lordship is, for example, aware 

 that my Prime Minister has consistently disputed the right of Ameri- 

 can fishermen to fish or trade in the bays, harbours, and creeks of the 

 West Coast, a point of great importance on which special stress is laid 

 in the letter copy of which is enclosed. 



I would, therefore, respectfully express the hope that your Lordship 

 may be able to meet the strong desire of this Government that the 

 reference to the Hague Tribunal shall cover the whole case as far as 

 it affects the interests of this Colony. 



3. I enclose copy of the reply I have addressed to my Prime Min- 

 ister to his communication referred to above. 



I have, &c., 



WM. MACGREGOR. 



Lord Elgin to Governor MacGregor. 



[Telegram.] 



(Sent 3.15 p. m., September 2, 1907.) 



Your telegram, 1st September. It will be necessary to refer to 

 United States Government the question of the terms of arbitration; 

 but provided that your Government now accept proposed modus 

 vivendi, His Majesty's Government would favourably consider the 

 reference to arbitration of question of bays. I do not, however, 

 gather from your telegram whether your Ministers propose to accept 

 modus vivendi, and to permit American vessels to employ Newfound- 



