XIV INTRODUCTION 



terms of peace. Article XIII of the Treaty of Utrecht, between Great 

 Britain and France, concluded' in the year 1713, provided that ' the 

 Island called Newfoundland, with the adjacent Islands, shall, from this 

 time forward, belong of right wholly to Britain; and to that end the Town 

 and Fortress of Placentia and whatever other places in the said Island are 

 in the Possession of the French, shall be yielded and given up. . . . 

 Nor shall the most Christian King, his Heirs and Successors, or any of 

 their Subjects, at any time hereafter lay claim to any right to the said 

 Island and Islands, or to any part of it or them." 



The purpose and meaning of this clause are reasonably clear. The 

 treaty was a renunciation to Great Britain of any and all rights which 

 France claimed to the Island, and Newfoundland was henceforth lost 

 to France. France was, however, allowed to participate in the fisheries, 

 and the desire of France to enlarge its participation and the determina- 

 tion of Great Britain either to restrict the participation or to confine it 

 within the terms of the grant, engendered controversies which were only 

 adjusted by the Convention of 1904 between the two countries. The 

 article which recognized British sovereignty "allowed" French subjects 

 to prosecute the fishery within Newfoundland waters and to use certain 

 specified portions of the island for the drying and curing of the fish. 

 Thus, while the subjects of France were forbidden to fortify any place 

 in Newfoundland or to erect any buildings there, the article permitted 

 them to erect "stages made of boards and huts necessary and usual for 

 drying of fish," and while French subjects were forbidden to resort to the 

 land they were, nevertheless, permitted to spend there " the time neces- 

 sary for fishing and drying of fish." These clauses are of a general 

 nature. They do not constitute a grant in the strict sense, but rather 

 a license to visit the island and use certain parts thereof for certain 

 specified purposes. The treaty, however, leaves generahties, and broadly 

 specifies the rights which French fishermen are to possess within New- 

 foundland waters and upon the shores of the island. That is to say, to 

 quote the exact language of the treaty, "it shall be allowed to the Sub- 

 jects of France, to catch fish and to dry them on land, in that part only, 

 and in no other besides that, of the said Island of Newfoundland, which 

 stretches from the place called Cape Bonavista, to the northern point of 

 the said Island, and from thence running down by the western side, 

 reaches as far as the place called Point Riche." 



As the Treaty of Utrecht is, at least the measure, if not the origin, 

 of French rights within Newfoundland and its territorial waters, it is 

 therefore necessary to analyze each of the clauses in order to determine 

 clearly the nature and extent of the right. 



