ARGUMENT OF MR. ROOT 171 



the British negotiators, or from Mr. Robinson for the British nego- 

 tiators, of the loth October, 1818, appears in the British Case 

 Appendix at p. 92. Mr. Robinson writes Viscount Castlereagh, 

 and says: 



"I then proceeded to state to them that upon the fishery article, we were 

 not disposed to insist upon the exclusion of those points, the introduction 

 of which they had at our last conference represented to be a sine qua non; 

 and after some discussion it was also agreed on our part not to insist upon 

 the two provisions contained in our proposed article respecting the fishing 

 in rivers and smuggling, to which they felt very considerable objections, 

 and which did not appear to me to be of such importance as to require to 

 be urged in a way that might prevent an arrangement upon the fisheries 

 taking place." 



Now, the reason why these provisions were unimportant, the 

 reason why, instead of going to work to redraft them and put them 

 in such shape that they would be unobjectionable as joint regula- 

 tions, appears in the correspondence which had taken place during 

 this period of bargaining as to the extent of the new grant. Remem- 

 ber that Lord Bathurst's language, in his letter which I first quoted 

 upon this subject, appeared to contemplate a renewal of the entire 

 liberty of 1783. It appeared to, although not binding him specifi- 

 cally, and it was evidently so understood by Mr. Adams and by 

 Mr. Monroe. But when they came to get down to details, the 

 British negotiators cut down the grant, and if they ever did have 

 such generous intention, as would appear to have been contemplated 

 by Lord Bathurst, they abandoned it; for the first step in that 

 process of bargaining that I have referred to, intermediate the 

 arrangement for joint regulation and the actual making of the 

 treaty, was by Mr. Bagot, in Washington, to Mr. Monroe, on 

 the 27th November, 1816 (in the United States Case Appendix, 

 p. 289). 



He begins the bartering by an offer of the coast of Labrador 

 alone, and he begins by saying to Mr. Monroe : 



"In the conversation which I had with you a few days ago, upon the 

 subject of the negotiation into which the British Government is willing to 

 enter, for the purpose of affording to the citizens of the United States such 

 accommodation for their fishery, within the British jurisdiction, as may be 

 consistent with the proper administration of His Majesty's dominions, you 

 appeared to apprehend that neither of the propositions which I had had the 



