On the strength of this assurance, the vessels resumed the following 

 year, but in considerably reduced numbers, and with vessels of smaller ton- 

 nage than those which had been in use before the war. 



*& v 



The outfitters had some reason to mistrust the welcome they would re- 

 ceive on their arrival at their ancient places of fishing. The maintenance of 

 French rights on the French Shore after the English victory had aroused a 

 storm of protest in Newfoundland. During the war, the Newfoundlanders had 

 moved in on the French Shore, especially around Cape Bonavista which mark- 

 ed, on the eastern coast, the limits to the extension of their establishments. 

 They intended to stay there. As the vessels of the French arrived in New- 

 foundland in 1764, they found none of the security announced by the ministry. 

 Incidents arose everywhere in the contested zone. The local authorities did 

 nothing to quell the feelings. Many long-boats pulled up on the shore were 

 seized and broken up by order of the commander of the English frigate Terp - 

 sichore . Many French boats were forced to leave this region and go to bays 

 further north, and even to the western coast. 



After these events, the outfitters of Saint-Malo, Granville, Bayonne and 

 Saint- Jean-de-Luz solicited the government of Louis XV for energetic inter- 

 vention. This was given at their request. The following year, the cod fleet 

 arrived at Newfoundland under the escort of two royal frigates, which cruised 

 the coast of the French Shore the entire fishing season. This was the origin 

 of the Station Navale in Newfoundland, of which functioning was never after 

 interrupted, except in certain periods of maritime war. 



At the same time, negotiations were instigated at London by the Count 

 of Guerchy, French ambassador, assisted by two technical delegates, Magon 

 and Bretel, outfitters, the former from Saint-Malo, the latter from Gran- 

 ville. These negotiations were long and laborious for, for the first time, 

 the British government, under pressure from Newfoundlanders and their rep- 

 resentatives in Commons, officially sustained the thesis of concurrent fish- 

 ery. In spite of the energetic attitude of the French representative, who re- 

 fused all concessions on the basis of the principle of exclusive right to the 

 fishery, in serving notice that this was his last word if they wished to save 

 the peace, the parleys ended without achieving any result. In spite of the 

 presence of the French frigate of the Station Navale, the difficulties contin- 

 ued between the islanders and the French fishermen, whose establishments 

 had undergone many depredations, so many and so effective that as the lat- 

 ter 1 s first object was profit, numbers of them were led, in the following 

 years, to practically abandon the beaches of the bays of the French Shore in 

 the neighborhood of Cape Bonavista. 



41 



