8 FISHERIES ARBITRATION AT THE HAGUE 



treaty, binding; laws that are inconsistent with the treaty, not 

 binding. 



But Mr. Marcy does not undertake to point out, indeed the 

 situation did not call upon him to point out, what laws would be 

 consistent and what laws would be inconsistent with the treaty. 



I now beg to pass to a second instance which proceeded some- 

 what further in drawing the line, and that is the letter of Lord 

 Salisbury, to which attention has so often been drawn, in his 

 correspondence with Mr. Evarts regarding Fortune Bay. 



The President: May I ask you. Senator Root, whether you 

 consider that the following sentences in this circular have no bearing 

 upon the preceding sentences, the sentences: 



"Should they be so framed or executed as to make any discrimination in 

 favor of the British fishermen, or to impair the rights secured to American 

 fishermen by the Reciprocity Treaty, those injuriously affected by them will 

 appeal to this government for redress. In presenting complaints of this kind, 

 should there be cause for doing so, they are requested to furnish the Depart- 

 ment of State with a copy of the law or regulation which is alleged injuriously 

 to affect their rights or to make an unfair discrimination" ? 



Senator Root: I do not consider, Mr. President, that they 

 have any bearing at all upon the precise proposition which I am 

 now presenting; that is to say, upon the existence of the line between 

 what Great Britain can do and what she cannot do. But they do 

 have a bearing upon another closely allied question, to which I 

 shall turn my attention in a moment, and that is the procedure 

 which should follow, and the method of determining, practically, 

 the Hne, as matters stood before this submission, before the making 

 of the treaty of arbitration, or this special agreement. They have 

 a very important bearing upon that. 



Lord Salisbury, the Tribunal will remember, became involved 

 in a correspondence with Mr. Evarts regarding the claim of the 

 United States for compensation for certain acts of violence which 

 had been done to American fishermen in Fortune Bay by the 

 British fishermen there. The claim having been made, the British 

 Government answered it in the manner which is ordinarily used 

 in dealing with mere claims, an answer not indicating special con- 

 sideration, but such as would naturally come from the claims 



