92 THE ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



way or manner that such a fishery might be enjoyed. It was well 

 known that the fishery on the part of the United States was to be 

 a vessel fishery and that the enjoyment of the fishery involved the 

 fitting out of seagoing vessels, the engaging of crews many of whom 

 might never have occasion to drop a line in the water, and long and 

 perilous voyages across a stormy sea, each voyage lasting several 

 weeks. Who the crews of such vessels might be and of what nation- 

 ality was wholly irrelevant. To assume that Great Britain had in 

 view some purpose of regulating the crews of the American fishing 

 vessels, or, to descend to the exact British contention, that she had 

 the purpose of regulating the mere act of taking the fishes from the 

 water, and intended to require that such act should be performed by 

 none other than American inhabitants, would be, with all due respect, 

 to convict her of a purpose absolutely without reason, a purpose 

 puerile and absurd and contrary to the strong common sense which 

 has ever governed her conduct. 



5. A reference to analogous provisions in other -treaties between 

 the 'two nations will illustrate how strained and unsubstantial is the 

 view which Great Britain is advancing with reference to the nrean- 

 ing of this provision. 



For example, the treaty of 1794 (the Jay Treaty) provided, " that 

 the citizens of the said United States may freely carry on a trade be- 

 tween the said territories [the East Indies] and the said United States 

 in all articles of which the importation or exportation respectively to 

 or from the said territories, shall not be entirely prohibited," etc. 



Nobody has ever suggested, with reference to this provision, that 

 the right which it secured of carrying on trade, in all the manifold 

 shapes and forms which it might assume, was to be confined to 

 citizens of the United States alone, and that they were debarred the 

 right to employ persons of any nationality to assist them in carrying 

 it on. 



In the commercial treaty of 1815 between the two countries, it 

 was provided that " the inhabitants of the two countries, respec- 

 tively, shall have liberty freely and securely to come with their ships 

 and cargoes to all such places, ports, and rivers in the territories 

 aforesaid, to which other foreigners are permitted to come," etc. 6 



British Case, Appendix, 20. 

 6 British Case, Appendix, 29. 



