PEEIOD FROM 1905 TO 1909. 1023 



accordance with the addendum to the modus vivendi, have great 

 pleasure in inviting the adherence of the United States Government 

 to the arrangement. 



4. I do not think it necessary to comment in detail on the view 

 expressed in your Ministers' Minute since the position of His Maj- 

 esty's Government in the matter has been so fully set out in my 

 despatch No. 70, of the 19th of September; but as your Premier has 

 referred to my letter to him of the 18th of June, I would remind 

 him that while I consented to omit from the draft note to the Foreign 

 Office any reference to the question of service of process on American 

 vessels, I distinctly intimated that the omission would in no way 

 interfere with the giving of full consideration to any proposal put 

 forward by the United States Government. In view of this fact, 

 and of the distinct intimation given in my telegram of the 10th of 

 August, of the intention of His Majesty's Government to take any 

 necessary action to make good their pledges to the United States 

 Government, I cannot quite understand the surprise expressed by 

 Sir E. Bond at the action now taken. 



5. I cannot enter into a discussion as to the validity of His Majesty's 

 Order in Council of the 9th of September, which was issued on the 

 advice of the Law Officers of the Crown, but I cannot for a moment 

 admit that the issue of an Order in Council shows that the law of 

 Newfoundland is not applicable to Americans. On the contrary, 

 the issue of an Order in Council is a formal and deliberate expression 

 of the view of His Majesty's Government that the law of New- 

 foundland is binding on American vessels, and that no other means 

 exist of preventing the application of such provisions as interfc re 

 with the modus vivendi than a formal alteration of the Colonial Law 

 by a competent authority, in this case His Majesty in Council under 

 Section 1 of the Imperial Act 59 G. III., ch. 38. 



I have, &c., ELGIN. 



