2-17 



is citlirr, hccaiiso nil tliosi- iii'miiiu'iits apply lo tlio Treaty. Tlicy are very cfood reasons 

 why the oxfliaiii;c iii ver siuiuld have Ixcn made at ail, wliy Aiueriraii ifsliernini never 

 shoidd iia\e lieen adinitti'd at all, why the Treaty shouid "never have heiii made, hut 

 they are ari;iiments which eanni)l lie employed in tlii,- consideration oi' tiie (picstion 

 submitted to yon — the vahie ot thi> fishery. 



And now, with regard to this (|neslion nt' conserjuences, there is Init one other 

 illustration to wliicli 1 which i will rilrr and 1 will he done. I find at the close of the 

 Mrili.sh testimony an elahorate exhiliil of Kid lights, foj;-whistles, and humane estahlish- 

 nienls used jiy rniliil Slates' (Ishermen on the eoa t of the Donunion, estimat(<l to have 

 cost in erection, from llie Sand)ro Li^ditiiouse, Iniilt in IToS, to ijie present day, S.S2,138 

 dollars, and for annual mainteuancv i;()8,l'J7 dollars. I scarcely know whether to 

 consider this serious, hut there it is, and thrro it has been i)laced, either as the l()unda- 

 tion for a claim, or to jiroduce an elll'ct. Now, if this Dominion has no connnerce ; if no 

 shijis hear precious frcii;hl upon the dan^frons waters of the ^idf, or hazard valuahlc 

 carijoes in the straits sshieli connect ii with the ocean ; if no Iraflic traverses the lmi)erial 

 river which c(fmiccls the .\llantic wiili the ^reat lakes; if this tiihulous iishery, of wiiicli 

 wo have heard so nuich. is carried on only in boats so small that they dare not venture 

 out of .siijht of land, and the lislicrmen need no other '.;'nidin<;- and proteotiin;' liijht tlian 

 the li^ht streaminj;- (i-om tiieir own cal)in windows on shore ; if. in siiort, lliis Dominion, 



as it is proudly 



owes nothing;- to the protection of its connnerce and the safety of 



its se.imcn ; if these Inunane establi.shmenis are not the free institutions of a wi.se and 

 ])rovident (ioveriniunl. but charitable institutions to be supported by the subscriptions 

 of those wlio u.-'i' them, thin ^hc Ciovernment of the Dominicm can collect its 2t)l),t)00 

 dollars l)y le\_\iii^ li^lit dues i.^-on every ve.ssel wliicii seeks shelter in its ]iarl)oui's or 

 brin.i;s wealth iiilo its pons. \\n[ if, in the jiresent a^c of civilization, when a conni.on 

 luunaiiilv is binding the nations of the world t()j;ether every day by mutual iiUerests, 

 mutual cares, and privihu'cs ecpially sliared, the Dominion repeals her li,i;lit dues in 

 obedience to tlu' eonunon fl'ilin;;' of tlie whole wurld. with what justice can that Govern- 

 ment ask you, by a Ibrced construction of this Treaty, to reimi)os(' tliis <hity, in its most 

 exorbitant proportions and its most odiinis form, uiiou ns and ujion us alone? 



Hut that is not, jierhaps, tlie (piestion I should ask you. I slioidd ask, and I do ask, 

 wliere do you iind in Article XV[II of the Treaty, among the advantaji;es wiiicii the 

 Treaty of 1S71 uives us. and av.thorizcs you to value any such " advantage" as the use 

 of ''L^hthouses and fo<j- whistles? .And if you decided, and |)roi)erly d.cdded, that you 

 CO.. d not take into considiration tlie advain.iiics of eoannercial intercourse, piu'chasinj>- 

 hail and supiilies. ai\d tlie i)rivih'i;-e of transshipping', becansi' they wrvv not j^iven l)y 

 tlie Treaty, ideniiiiid as they were with the use of the Iishery, how can you be asked 

 even to take this preposterous ilaim into consiilcralion ? If the prinei[)le laid down 

 by the Britisli Case (pa;;e \'i) is true, "it is submitted that in oriler to estimate tlie 

 advantaucs therehy dci-i\ed respeciively by sulijecis of tlie I'liiied States and of (Jreat 

 Hrilaiii. the Ibllowiiij;- liasis is the onls one which ii is ]iossible to adopt under the terais 

 of the first jiortion of Article XVIll of the Tivafy of ^VasiliIl^ton of 1871, viz., that 

 the value of tlie ]iriviK'L'i's jirauted to eael; coiuilry. respectively, by Articles XVIll, 

 XIX, and XX! ot' tlial Treatv, irhirh irvrc nnl ciijinifd tinder the 1st ArtirJc of llic (!on- 

 irnil'iii (if III!' '20ili Ortohci-, ISIS, is tliat wliicji the Commission is constituted to 

 determine." If this ;)rineiple ol inlerpretalion be Irne, iuiw can s leli a deiiiaiul be 

 made luilil it is sliowii that iinder the lot Article of tlie Convention of 1818 the 

 ])rivileo'(' of usin;.:- the liuiitiionses and t'oi;- whittles — that is, the i>rivil(<i;'e of seeiniy a 

 liLiht or hearing' a sound — was not ( iijoyed ■.' Illiberal, unjust, and narrow as was the 

 policy of that Coiiv'iilion. it has not set been cliar;;('(l with so i;rievous an ofienci' 

 a;.;ainst huinanity. It nii.;hl slciji our lisliiii^, but it did not assume to sto[) our siijlit and 

 hearinu- at the itiree-mile liniit. 



And ill leavilm- this (|nes|ion of " conseciuences." 1 may say, in juslilication of tiie 

 lea^'lh with which I have dwell on it. that this '• consctpiemial " — I ini;;ht almost say 

 " iiiconse(|iieiiii,il " — reasoning ])ervaiU's the whole Uritisli C'x^f.', and infects the w]iol(> 

 cros.-.-e\ai!iiiiati;/ii u\' counsel on tlie otiier side. The eli'ort lias been studiously made to 

 create an atmiviiliere in which tlie nnceriain and dmilitrul advaiilam's of the Treaty 

 would loom out so largely as to deceive tiie inexiierieiiced e\e as to tlie exorbitant valne 

 that was sought t' be attaelied to lliein. 



1 have but one other consideration lo sn;;-^est before I come to the history of this 

 (|ueslioii, and ii is this: If you will r'xaiuine the Treaties you will Iind that everywhere 

 it is the '• rnited States' lis'iermeii,'' '-the inhabitants of the United States" — the 

 citizens of tlie IJiiied Stall's who are jiro'iihited from taking- part in the iishery within 

 the Ihree-mile limit Now, I sav — remember 1 am not talkin;;- about local legislation 

 [1^80] ■ " 2 L •> 



