xu INTRODUCTION 



a large scale; that the interests of the inhabitants who came, notwith- 

 standing discouragement, were systematically subordinated to the 

 prosecution of a commercial monopoly, and that the international agree- 

 ments concluded by Great Britain with France and the United States 

 were entered into without a proper consideration of the inhabitants of 

 the islands and the development of its internal resources. An interna- 

 tional agreement was a simple matter. The contracting parties agreed 

 upon the terms of such a treaty as circumstances might suggest and 

 the government of Great Britain enforced its terms without a thought 

 of the inhabitants of Newfoundland to be affected, and who in contem- 

 plation of law and in fact were treated as outcasts or as pawns in the 

 great international game. Nevertheless, the colonization of Newfoimd- 

 land grew apace and the presence of settlers had to be reckoned with. 

 The interests of the colony gradually forced themselves upon the home 

 government, and international agreements detrimental to the legiti- 

 mate rights and interests of a growing, if not thriving, colony embar- 

 rassed the home government in the execution of treaty stipulations. 

 The French treaty rights upon the shores of Newfoundland interfered 

 with the development of the island and became difl&cult of execution. 

 The Convention of 1818 interfered with the growth of the colony and 

 a self-governing community objected to the strict enforcement of terms 

 inconsistent with their interests and about which they were not con- 

 sulted. The controversies which arose between Great Britain and' 

 France regarding French treaty rights strained the foreign relations 

 of both countries and led to the negotiation of the Convention of 

 1904, by which they reached a satisfactory agreement upon the New- 

 foundland fisheries and by which France renounced the exclusive 

 claim to the French shore. The action of the Colonial Govern- 

 ment regarding the exercise of American rights under the Convention 

 of 1818 provoked an acute controversy, to settle which the arbitra- 

 tion of 1910 was agreed upon. For the colony determined to be 

 master of its own house, and while willing to comply with treaty 

 stipulations, insisted upon subordinating the fishing rights of foreigners 

 within Newfoundland waters to the supervision of local authorities, 

 in order that the progress of the colony might not be retarded by 

 restrictions inconsistent with the changed conditions of present or 

 future development. There is much to be said for this point of 

 view, for the Colonies have become, as it were, members of a great 

 household, bound together by common ties of blood and tradition, and 

 no longer subject to exploitation for the benefit of the mother' 

 country. 



