ARGUMENT OF MR. ROOT 199 



imposed upon the Newfoundland Fishermen with regard to that fishery might 

 also be observed by American Fishermen." 



The Tribunal will see the force of that. The treaty of 1871 

 would, during its operation, supersede, take the place of the treaty 

 of 1818. It applied to all the coasts of Newfoundland, and in so 

 far as it varied or enlarged or changed in any way the rights under 

 the treaty of 1818 it would, during the period of its operation, take 

 the place of the treaty of 1818, as the law for the parties engaged in 

 fishing on that coast. Newfoundland had this law of 1862 and her 

 Consolidated Statutes of 1872, although I do not know whether 

 they should be regarded as included; at all events, she had this 

 law of 1862, and she wanted to have its provisions extended over 

 American fishermen. She knew they did not apply to American 

 fishermen. She knew that the provision in that Act that it should 

 not extend to or affect the rights of other powers under treaty pre- 

 vented its appljnng to American fishermen; that under the treaty 

 there was no right on the part of Newfoundland to make that 

 statute apply to American fishermen. And she proposed to put 

 this proviso into her Act of 1873, in accordance with this statement, 

 excepting from suspension laws relating to the time and manner 

 of fishing, in order that when the treaty of 187 1 came in, that statute 

 should be extended over American fishermen on the west coast. 

 Well, that was met by Mr. Fish's refusal. 



There was one further representation made by Mr. Thornton, 

 based upon information that he received from Newfoundland, I 

 suppose. He says in his letter of the 30th July, 1873, to Mr. Davis, 

 the Assistant Secretary of State: 



"These laws" — 



that is, the laws to which this correspondence referred; the laws 

 referred to in the proviso, relating to the time and manner of 

 fishing — 



"are already in existence, and the proviso does not refer to any further restric- 

 tions; I have now the honor to inclose copies of the laws themselves. It 

 does not appear therefore that these laws need form an obstacle to the admis- 

 sion of Newfoundland to the participation of benefits arising from the action 

 of a Treaty stipulation, the operation of which is still prospective as far as 

 Newfoundland is concerned." 



