ARGUMENT OF MR. ROOT 



193 



this Order-in-Council to the Governor of Newfoundland. That is 

 in the British Case Appendix, p. 99, dated the 21st June, 1819, and 

 says he encloses a copy of the Act, and that the inhabitants of 

 the United States wiU undoubtedly proceed without delay to exer- 

 cise the privilege granted to them under that Convention, and 

 proceeds: 



"His Royal Highness has commanded me to call your special attention 

 to some points upon which it is probable that in regulating your conduct 

 under the convention you may desire to receive instructions. 



"You wiU in the first place observe that the privilege granted to the citi- 

 zens of the United States is one purely of fishery and of drying and curing 

 fish within the hmits severally specified in the convention. It is the pleasure 

 of His Royal Highness that this privilege as Mmited by the convention should 

 be freely enjoyed by them without any hindrance or interference." 



Then he goes on to say: 



"But you will at the same time remark that all attempts to carry on 

 trade or to introduce articles for sale or barter into His Majesty's possessions 

 under the pretense of exercising the rights conferred by the convention is 

 in every respect at variance with its stipulations. You wiU therefore promul- 

 gate as publicly as possible the nature of the indulgence which you are under 

 the convention instructed to allow to them, and in case any of the inhabitants 

 of the United States should be found attempting to carry on a trade not author- 

 ized by the convention you will in the first instance warn them" 



and then take legal proceedings. 



The Tribunal will see that that indicates no idea on the part of 

 Great Britain at that time that there was to be any Hmitation, 

 modification, supervision, or regulation of our right; but that that 

 was to be frdly and freely enjoyed without any hindrance or inter- 

 ference. 



And so the matter went on, with no act whatever in contraven- 

 tion of this letter of Lord Bathurst transmitting the Order-in- 

 Council, without any attempt at interfering with the exercise of 

 the fishing Uberty by the inhabitants of the United States in their 

 discretion or in the discretion of the United States, at such times 

 and in such manner and by such means as they saw fit, until 1852, 

 when there was a letter from Lord Malmesbury to Mr. Crampton 

 dated the loth August, 1852, and which appears in the United 

 States Case Appendix at p. 519. Lord Malmesbury, the Secretary 



