ARGUMENT OF MR. ROOT 209 



But what he said was that all laws not inconsistent with the 

 treaty were binding. Of course there was no admission of any- 

 kind there. It was what we all agree to on both sides. It was the 

 fair statement, in the most general terms, of an incontrovertible 

 proposition, without the expression of any opinion, and without 

 any study or consideration as to what would be inconsistent with 

 the treaty, or where the line was to be drawn. 



Judge Gray: Was there or not an impHcation in that circular, 

 and in the correspondence that preceded and followed it, that the 

 only regulations that were necessary to be considered and that would 

 be appUcable were those that existed at the date of the new treaty 

 of 187 1? 



Senator Root: That was the clear implication, and that was 

 the fact which Lord Salisbury mentioned when he quoted that cir- 

 cular in his letter to Mr. Evarts to which I have already referred. 

 He quoted that circular in support of his proposition that laws in 

 existence at the time the treaty was made were binding, although 

 subsequent laws would not be. He quoted that circular sa3ang 

 such was the view taken by Mr. Marcy, and that is clearly the only 

 subject that Mr. Marcy had under consideration. 



The next transaction to which is ascribed some element of 

 injurious admission on the part of the United States is the 

 Cardwell letter. On the 12th April, 1866, Mr. Cardwell wrote 

 a letter — Mr. Cardwell being the Colonial Secretary of Great 

 Britain — and the letter being to the Lords of the Admiralty, 

 with reference to the conduct of British naval vessels. In that 

 letter, which is quite long and contains a great variety of obser- 

 vations calculated to govern the conduct of naval vessels of 

 Great Britain, he states the Umits of the treaty grant, that Amer- 

 icans are entitled to take fish in such and such Hmits, cure them 

 within such and such Hmits on the shore, and he includes a state- 

 ment of what he apparently assumes as a matter of course, that 

 naval ofl&cers should be aware that Americans who exercise their 

 light of fishing in colonial waters — 



Dr. Savornin Lohman: From what page are you reading? 



Senator Root: Page 601 of the United States Case Appendix. 



