TREATIES 393 



the arrangement of 1885. In the following year they even voted the Bait Act, the 

 object of which was to forbid the sale of bait to foreigners. This law ceased pro- 

 visionally to be enforced from 1893 on, but the Newfoundland Parliament in 1898 

 imposed a tax upon the sale of bait which in default of an express stipulation, it was 

 feared, might be applied along the French shore. 



At the same time, with the question raised by the Bait Act, a new element of 

 conflict arose by reason of an industry of recent origin in Newfoundland — that of 

 the lobster fishery, the exercise of which on our part on the French shore was con- 

 tested because the lobster was a crustacean and the stipulations of the Treaty of 

 Utrecht had in view fish only. In i8go a modus vivendi was arranged on the basis 

 of the state of affairs existing on July i, 1889. This arrangement, essentially tem- 

 porary, and first limited to the season of 1890, was, in default of a better, renewed 

 thereafter, at times under great difficulty. A refusal on the part of the Parliament of 

 Newfoundland would have sufficed to bring about inextricable complications. 



In this situation the urgent necessity was imposed of seeking a definitive solution. 

 Our rights in Newfoundland were composed of two elements; the fishery, that is to 

 say, the use of the territorial waters, and the drying of fish, that is, the use of the 

 shore. By reason of its exclusive character this latter right had become unbearable 

 to the inhabitants. We consent to abandon it. But it must be observed that the 

 circumstances are no longer the same as in the time of the Treaty of Utrecht, the 

 drying being possible and being actually carried on either on board ship or, thaniss 

 to the rapidity of communication, at St. Pierre or Miquelon, or even in France. On 

 the other hand, our right of fishing in territorial waters, which is the essential thing, 

 remains intact. With reference to the fishery on the Grand Banks, which is infinitely 

 more productive and consequently more sought after, this is facilitated by the right 

 which is henceforth guaranteed to us to purchase bait along the entire extent of the 

 French shore. It is precisely this deep sea fishery which the government has always 

 sought to encourage as one of the most useful schools for our seamen and a valuable 

 preparation for naval training. 



The lobster having become increasingly rare by consequence of the intensive 

 fishery of which for some years it has been the object, it was agreed that general regu- 

 lations might be enacted with a view to prohibiting the fishing of this crustacean or 

 even of other fish during a definite time. These regulations will be communicated 

 to us at least three months before coming into force. For the purpose of fostering 

 the propagation of the species it was stipulated that permanent fishing gear could not 

 be used without the permission of the local authorities. But in order to avoid all 

 contest in this respect we have asked the British Government to inform us as to what 

 they understood exactly by permanent gear. It results from an exchange of notes 

 between our Ambassador and the Principal Secretary of State that according to British 

 legislation these words apply only to permanent establishments. Thus our fisher- 

 men will be able to continue to use nets attached to the shore for the duration of a 

 fishery and which constitute only a transitory method. Nothing, likewise, prevents 

 them from installing lobster traps and the right of taking this crustacean which had 

 heretofore been denied to us and had given rise to long debates, is now definitely 

 admitted in law as in practice. 



Besides the fishing properly so called, we also have other interests on the French 

 shore which had to be taken into consideration, that is, those of the owners of drjdng 

 sheds and lobster establishments who find themselves dispossessed by reason of the 

 exploitation of the coast heretofore reserved exclusively to their industry. Article III 



