330 BALCH— THE AMERICAN-BRITISH [April 22, 



of free passage through the Gut of Canso between Nova Scotia and 

 Cape Breton.^^ 



The British authorities based their rights to exclude American 

 vessels from fishing in the Nova Scotia bays, no matter what their 

 area, upon the renunciation by the United States in the first article 

 of the convention of 1818 " to take, dry, or cure fish on, or within 

 three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays creeks, or harbors of 

 his Britannic Majesty's Dominions in America " outside of those of 

 the shores of the Magdalen Islands, the coasts of Canada and Labra- 

 dor east and north of Mount Joly, and a part of the shores of New- 

 foundland. To this preposterous claim of the British authorities, 

 that ran counter to the accepted Law of Nations that had gradually 

 opened the high seas to the vessels of all nations except within three 

 miles of the shore and within those bays and fiords that were less 

 than six miles wide, the American government protested. American 

 fishing vessels were seized within the Bay of Fundy by the British 

 authorities. Conscious that this attempt to apply territorial rights 

 to such a large body of water, which obviously constituted a part 

 of the high seas, was in contravention of the Law of Nations, the 

 British government in 1845 gave up its claim as to the Bay of 

 Fundy, stating, however, that it made this concession as to that one 

 bay only.-** Daniel Webster, Secretary of State for America, and 

 Lord Malmesbury for Britain, stated in 1852 the views of the two 

 countries. In the summer of the same year, Senator Cass, in the 

 United States Senate, spoke on this question. He illuminated the 

 subject by referring to the last part of article one of the convention 

 of 1818 which provided that " American fishermen shall be admitted 

 to enter such bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter and of re- 

 pairing damages therein, of purchasing wood, and of obtaining 

 water," and argued that this language meant the small bays into 

 which vessels were accustomed to seek shelter from storms. Sen- 

 ator Cass said : 



^Lorenzo Sabine, "Report on the Principal Fisheries of the American 

 Seas," House of Representatives, Miscellaneous Documents, No. 31, 42d Con- 

 gress, 2d Session, p. 221. 



'"Documents of the United States Senate, Special Session called March 

 4, 1853, Washington, 1853, Senate Document 3, pp. 4-8, 9-21. 



