350 BALCH— THE AMERICAN-BRITISH [April 22, 



And that in the case of bays the hne from headland to headland that 

 should show where the open sea ended should be twelve miles across, 

 except in those cases where immemorial usage had consecrated a 

 greater distance. In view of the modern development of arms and 

 the more rapid means of communication and the vast expansion of 

 commerce, this would seem to be a most admirable change in the 

 universally existing recognition of the extent of territorial waters. 

 But the Institute of International Law is a body of gentlemen 

 learned in the Law of Nations and not a congress of representatives 

 from all the nations of the earth with plenary powers to change the 

 Law of Nations for the best interests of mankind. Consequently, 

 however advisable the recommendation of the institute may be, it 

 cannot change the extent of territorial waters unless the nations 

 of the world agree. And America has not joined in any such 

 agreement. But even if the American government had joined the 

 governments of other nations to double the extent of the territorial 

 belt of water, yet such an agreement would not alter the extent of 

 the rights of American fishermen to catch fish in the Bay of Fundy, 

 the Bale des Chaleurs and other smaller bodies of water as defined 

 in the first Article of the Treaty of 1818. The limit of the area 

 overs which American fishing vessels can take fish along the coasts 

 of the maritime provinces of the Dominion of Canada and New- 

 foundland, is limited only by the recognized three mile limit, except 

 that in the treaty waters American vessels have rights to catch fish 

 that the vessels of other nations do not possess. 



In addition to attempting to offer to America the right for Ameri- 

 can fishing vessels to navigate the Gut of Canso and also to curtail 

 the area over which they possess the right to catch fish in the high 

 seas close to the shores of Canada and Newfoundland, both Canada 

 and Newfoundland have sought by various local legislation to so 

 hamper American fishing vessels in their just rights to take fish as 

 to make their occupation unprofitable. 



The aim of all these various attempts of Canada and Newfound- 

 land to nullify the privileges of American fishing vessels as de- 

 fined by article one of the Treaty of 18 18 has been to force America 

 to grant to Canada and Newfoundland favorable trade reciprocity. 

 But the contracting parties to the Treaty of 1818 were neither Can- 



