xl INTRODUCTION 



change in situation probably accounted for the liberty granted to dry 

 and cure fish on the southern part of the coast of Newfoundland. In 

 the Treaty of 1783 American fishermen obtained the liberty to dry and 

 cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbors, and creeks of Nova 

 Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador, subject to the condition that 

 they should remain unsettled, and that in the case of settlement a 

 previous agreement with the inhabitants, proprietors, or possessors of 

 the ground for drying and curing was prescribed. The Convention of 

 1818 followed the language of the treaty, but substituted other portions 

 of the British coast. The unsettled bays, harbors, and creeks of the 

 southern part of the coast of Newfoundland replace the unsettled bays, 

 harbors, and creeks of Nova Scotia and the Magdalen Islands. Labrador 

 is retained, although the convention omits the expression "bays, har- 

 bors, and creeks" in this connection and mentions merely the coast of 

 Labrador. 



So far the American negotiators of the convention seemed to have 

 held their own fairly well against the British commissioners, but the 

 recognition of previously existing liberties or their re-grant was to be 

 purchased. Lord Bathurst had stated roundly in his correspondence 

 with Mr. Adams that the concession required what is known in law as 

 a consideration, and the renunciation of any liberty heretofore enjoyed 

 or claimed by the inhabitants of the United States, not specified in the 

 convention, was to be the consideration moving from the United States 

 to Great Britain. The American commissioners were very anxious 

 to balance the liberties secured by the convention — they would say 

 retained from the treaty — by the liberties secured by the treaty but 

 which were renounced by the convention, so that it might appear that 

 the Convention of 1818 was not a new grant but a confirmation of the 

 Treaty of 1783 with certain modifications agreed to by the contracting 

 parties. By so doing the liberty "continued" by the convention would, 

 in the absence of an express stipulation to the contrary, be held upon 

 the same tenure and the fundamental position of the United States 

 admitted; namely, that the Convention of 1818 was a recognition and a, 

 confirmation of the unmodified portions of the Treaty of 1783. There- 

 fore as the liberty secured by the convention was to be perpetual, the 

 renunciation of the treaty liberty sacrificed by the convention was like- 

 wise to be perpetual, so that the recognition and renunciation should 

 counterbalance and offset each other. The British commissioners 

 objected to the expression "renounced forever," not because they were 

 unwilUng to accept the renunciation, but because the form of renuncia- 

 tion would lend color to the American contention. They, however, 



