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INTRODUCTION xxv 



French grant and the interpretation in point of law should be c).sge and 

 the same in each instance. If French fishermen were not subjed^Kt to 

 local regulation in the exercise of their fishery rights, American fishermen- ^^ 

 should hkewise be exempt from British control and regulation, and if, 

 as is the fact, French fishermen were not subjected to local regulation, 

 American fishermen should not have been subjected to local control 

 or regulation in the exercise of their rights upon the treaty coast. In 

 the matter of legal interpretation the fact that France was very powerful 

 and that the United States was not so powerful is unimportant, for we 

 are dealing with law, not with political expediency. 



It is not maintained that it is wise to grant to foreigners the right to 

 fish within territorial waters without reserving the right of local regula- 

 tion; it is insisted, however, that if such a grant has been made, good 

 faith in the execution of treaties requires that it be observed until it is 

 modified by the mutual consent of the parties to its enjoyment. The 

 new treaty should endeavor to obviate the inconvenience of the old 

 situation and safeguard the right acknowledged in such a way as to 

 meet the legitimate desire of the foreigner and the necessities of the 

 local situation. 



This is precisely what Great Britain and France did by the Conven- 

 tion of 1904.^ By Article I of this Treaty France renounced the privi- 

 leges secured by Article XIII of the Treaty of Utrecht and confirmed or 

 modified by subsequent provisions. However, by Article II, France 

 retained for her citizens, "on a footing of equality with British subjects, 

 the right of fishing in the territorial waters on that portion of the coast 

 of Newfoundland comprised between Cape St. John and Cape Ray, 

 passing by the north. . . . 



"They shall not make use of stake-nets or fixed engines without per- 

 mission of the local authorities," but in the exercise of this right "British 

 subjects and French citizens shall be subject alike to the laws and Regu- 

 lations now in force, or which may hereafter be passed for the establish- 

 ment of a close time in regard to any particular kind of fish, or for the 

 improvement of the fisheries." That is to say, the treaty formally and 

 in express words renounced any claim to exclusive fishing rights, and 

 subjected by express treaty stipulations the fishery to local regulations. 

 But the interest of France in any and all future legislation was recog- 

 nized, for it was expressly stated, in the same article, that "notice of 

 any fresh laws or Regulations shall be given to the Government of the 

 French Republic three months before they come into operation." This 



' Appendix, pp. 390-391 ; Appendix, U. S. Case, Vol. I, pp. 83-91. Appendix, British 

 Case, p. 48. 



