xcvi INTRODUCTION 



the American fishermen employ Newfoxmdlanders on their fishing 

 vessels contrary to the prohibitions of the Newfoundland law? These 

 contentions were based upon the fact that the liberty granted to the 

 United States was a liberty to inhabitants and conveyed no rights to 

 American fishing vessels as such, whereas the American contention was 

 that the fishery, from its very nature, was a vessel fishery, that there- 

 fore the vessels should be permitted to visit the fishing grounds; that 

 the American vessel derived its right to participate in the fisheries from 

 the United States, not from British authorities; that the American 

 character was determined by the United States; that the ship's 

 papers certifying its American nationality were final and conclusive; 

 that the vessel so certified was American and as such had a right to 

 visit Newfoundland waters without obtaining a license from the 

 Newfoundland authorities or complying with the local custom regula- 

 tions of entering and clearing, provided the vessel did not trade as 

 well as fish. 



In the course of the discussion between Sir Edward Grey and Mr. 

 Root it was practically admitted that the fishery was a vessel fishery.' 

 The British Government, however, was imwilling to accept the nation- 

 ality of the vessel as a safe guarantee of the nationality of the venture 

 and insisted upon a right to examine each vessel in order to see whether 

 or not the crew actually engaged in taking fish out of the water were or 

 were not inhabitants of the United States. In other words, the vessel 

 might be American and the members of the crew non-inhabitants of 

 the United States, but only those members of the crew could take part 

 in the manual act of fishing who complied with the terms of the treaty; 

 that is to say, who were bona fide inhabitants of the United States.'' 

 The American contention was that if the vessel was American, owned 

 by Americans and registered as such, the venture was an American ven- 

 ture and the inhabitancy or non-inhabitancy of the crew became 

 immaterial, because the transaction was prosecuted for the benefit of 



' " As the Newfoundland fishery, however, is essentially a ship fishery, they [Great Britain] 

 consider that it is probably quite unimportant which form of expression is used." (Sir Edward 

 Grey's note, dated June 20, 1907, to Mr. Whitelaw Reid, Appendix, pp. 4sg, 460; Appendix, 

 British Case, p. 507; Appendix, U. S. Case, p. 1003.) 



"As this is conceded to be essentially 'a ship fishing,' and as neither in 1818 nor since 

 could there be an American ship, not owned and officered by Americans, it is probably quite 

 unimportant which form of expression is used." (Mr. Root's instruction, dated June 30, 1906, 

 to Mr. Whitelaw Reid, Appendix, p. 453; Appendix, U. S. Case, p. 978; Appendix, British 

 Case, p. 498.) 



2 "His Majesty's Government do not contend that every person on board an American 

 vessel fishing in the Treaty waters must be an inhabitant of the United States, but merely that 

 no such person is entitled to take fish unless he is an inhabitant of the United States." (Sir 

 Edward Grey's letter, dated June 20, 1907, to Mr. Whitelaw Reid, Appendix, p. 4sg, 460; 

 Appendix, British Case, 507; Appendix, U. S. Case, p. 1003.) 



