78 FISHERIES ARBITRATION AT THE HAGUE 



exclusive right to fish upon the north coast, from Quirpon Island 

 to Cape Norman, and at five separate points down on the west 

 coast, all on the treaty coast — Port au Port and a variety of other 

 places that I do not recall at this moment. If the American treaty 

 grant was subject to the legislative power of Great Britain, there 

 would be nothing unreasonable in their exercising their right to 

 impose that same Hmitation upon us which they imposed then in 

 favor of France. There is nothing unreasonable in a country's 

 asserting its rights. There is but one way in which the grant of 

 1818 can be protected against the sovereign power of Great Britain, 

 with all the scope of that sovereign power, and that is by drawing 

 the line of the grant as against the sovereign power; and the 

 moment that you assert that the grant is subject to the sovereign 

 power, it is completely under the control of the sovereign power. 

 No obligation of reasonableness, which is to be in the judgment 

 of the sovereign, is any protection to any extent whatever. 



The Peesident: Do I understand you, Mr. Senator Root, 

 that you now base the claim of the American right being not subject 

 to British regulations, not as you did before on the unilateral or 

 the perpetual character of this treaty, but that you base this claim 

 now upon a more general ground — upon general ideas of inter- 

 national law and general ideas concerning the binding effect of 

 treaties ? 



Senator Root: No; if you will permit me to explain — 



The President: That is the object of my question. I want 

 to understand you exactly. 



Senator Root: I am now addressing my remarks to the charac- 

 ter of the right as claimed by Great Britain. I am not now arguing 

 on the character of our right. I shall address myself to that 

 presently. I am endeavoring to describe and exhibit the true 

 character of the British claim, and the effect which that claim will 

 have upon the treaty right, if you accord it the approval of your 

 award. 



The PRESmENT: That was a description of the consequences 

 the British contestation would have? 



