QUESTION ONE. 77 



Americans who exercise their right of fishing in colonial waters in 

 common with subjects of Her Majesty, are also bound, in common 

 with those subjects, to obey the laws of the country, including such 

 colonial laws as have been passed to insure the peaceable and profit- 

 able enjoyment of the fisheries by all persons entitled thereto.* 



This letter was, it appears, communicated to Mr. Fish, Secretary of 

 State, on June 3, 1870, more than four years after it had been written, 

 and that the latter took no exception to the declaration of Mr. Card- 

 well is alleged and commented on in the British Case. 6 It will be 

 found, however, that Mr. Fish, in his answer to the note of Mr. 

 Thornton communicating the Cardwell letter, called his attention to 

 later instructions of the Lords of the Admiralty, and guarded against 

 acceptance of the views of Mr. Cardwell by saying, "and without 

 entering into any consideration of questions which might be sug- 

 gested by the letter referred to, which I understand to be superceded 

 by later instructions, I think it best to call your attention to the in- 

 consistencies referred to in order to guard against misunderstandings 

 and complications that might arise in the absence of modification of 

 the instructions communicated in your note of the 3d inst." a 



THE FORTUNE BAY CONTROVERSY. 



This controversy arose out of the action of Newfoundland fisher- 

 men at Fortune Bay on Sunday, January 6, 1878, the facts of which 

 are set forth in the Case of the United States. 1 * The incident was 

 brought to the attention of the British Government, and Lord 

 Salisbury, secretary of state for foreign affairs, having caused the 

 facts to be investigated addressed a letter to the American minister 

 (August 23, 1878) enclosing a report of Captain Sulivan on the 

 subject, and dismissed the matter with the statement that the Ameri- 

 can fishermen when interfered with had been guilty of three separate 

 infractions of the laws of Newfoundland regulating the fisheries, 

 namely, taking herring with a seine, fishing between the 20th day of 

 October and the 25th day of April, and fishing on Sunday. 8 



Mr. Evarts, the American Secretary of State, in a letter to Mr. 

 Welch, the American minister, dated Sept. 28, 1878, objected to the 



British Case, Appendix, 221. 



* British Case, 30. 



c TJ. S. Counter Case, 36 ; British Case, Appendix, 237. 



* U. S. Case, 162-176. 



U. S. Case, Appendix, 650-651. 



