ARGUMENT OF MR. ROOT 215 



And then follows a statement of the provisions of the Canadian 

 law of May 1868. That law had been communicated to Mr. Fish 

 and it was the origin of the letter from Mr. Fish requesting Mr. 

 BoutweU to issue the circular. In the British Case Appendix, 

 p. 628, is the law of 1868. That law begins with a provision that: 



"The Gk)vernor may, from time to time, grant to any foreign ship, vessel 

 or boat, or to any ship, vessel or "boat not navigated according to the laws 

 of the United Kingdom, or of Canada, at such rate, and for such period not 

 exceeding one year, as he may deem expedient, a license to fish for or take, 

 dry or cure any fish of any kind whatever, in British waters, within three 

 marine mUes of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors whatever, of Canada, 

 not included within the limits specified and described in the first article of the con- 

 vention between His late Majesty King George the Third and the United- States 

 of America, made and signed at London on the twentieth day of October, 

 1818." 



That is to say, the law which it was the purpose of Mr. Bout- 

 well's circular to call to the attention of American fishermen and 

 merchants, which it was the object of Mr. Fish in writing to Mr. 

 BoutweU, and of Mr. BoutweU in issuing the circular to bring to 

 the attention of Americans, in order that they might guard against 

 incurring its penalties, was a law that by its express terms excluded 

 the treaty coast. It applied to the waters of Canada 



"not included within the limits specified and described in the first article 

 of the Convention between His late Majesty King George the Third and the 

 United States of America made and signed at London on the 20th day of 

 October, 1818." 



So it did not apply to the Magdalen Islands, or to this strip 

 of wilderness coast called Canadian Labrador. Practically those 

 places were negligible in Canadian legislation until the most recent 

 times. They were not thinking about them. There is not much 

 law in Labrador. People get oii by the law of common sense and 

 good nature. As to the Magdalen Islands, I do not know how it 

 is now, but back in the treaty days they were the property of a 

 single individual. At aU events, this law to which this whole 

 transaction related, was a law which specificaUy excluded from its 

 purview the treaty coast — that small portion of the treaty coast 

 which was within the Dominion of Canada. 



But there was an order in council issued, giving effect to the 



