C.O.885
13 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
(No. 19.)
No.
LORD KNUTSFORD to SIR T. O'BRIEN,
يلتيليشيا
C.O. 8
-885
13 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
SIR,
Downing Street,
March 12th, 1891.
I HAVE the honour to acquaint you that it has been brought to the notice of Her Majesty's Government that since the publication of the temporary arrange- ment entered into with the Government of France last year with respect to lobster factories on that part of the coast of Newfoundland on which the French have certain rights of fishing, several new lobster factories are being erected or are in contemplation.
2. As you are aware, the French Government have always maintained that such factories, being buildings of a more or less permanent character, come within the definition of "fixed settlements," and that they are entitled to call upon Her Majesty's Government to remove them, under the Declaration attached to the Treaty of Versailles, 1783.
3. Whether this construction is well founded or not is one of the questions which will shortly have to be decided; and in the meantime Her Majesty's Government are undoubtedly bound to prevent British subjects from interrupting the prosecution of the legitimate fishery of the French, and consequently in all Crown grants on that part of the coast a reservation is required of the rights guaranteed to the French by the various treaties and engagements entered into by the Government of Great Britain.
4. These circumstances are well known in Newfoundland, and Her Majesty's Government cannot admit that they are under any legal liability to pay compensation to the owners of factories which, in pursuance of engagements with the Government of France, they may be called upon to close as interfering with the rights guaranteed to French subjects. Prior, however, to March last, when the temporary arrangement with France was published, there had been, in spite of the frequent complaints of the French Government, practically but little interference with the working of the numerous factories erected and worked by British subjects; and, encouraged by this immunity, many new factories were constructed in 1889 and the earlier part of 1890, the operations of some of which were interfered with under that arrangement, although a large number were allowed to pursue the fishery.
5. The question of the legal right of Her Majesty's Government to give effect to- that arrangement is now before the courts, but some time must necessarily elapse before a final decision can be given.
Her Majesty's Government therefore, in view of the circumstances mentioned above, though they cannot admit any legal claim to compensation on the part of persons whose factories had to be closed, or who had expended money and entered into contracts, subsequently to the 1st of July 1889, and before the publication of the modus vivendi, which that arrangement prevented them from executing, think it desirable that you should appoint a Commission to inquire into all such cases, with the exception of those which form the subject of the legal proceedings referred to, and report for the consideration of Her Majesty's Government what was the actual loss (if any) sustained in each case through the enforcement of the provisions of the modus vivendi.
While, however, they are willing to examine into the cases mentioned, it being possible that in some instances persons proposing to erect factories may not have had sufficient notice that such factories were liable to be closed, no such consideration occurs in the case of persons who have erected factories since the 12th of March 1890, and I request that you will give public notice that all persons erecting or having erected lobster factories since that date, will do so, and have done so, at their own risk, and that Her Majesty's Government will not entertain any claims for compen- sation in respect of such factories if it should be found necessary to close them pending a permanent settlement of the fishery question.
i 66294, 50 & 3.-3/91. Wt.
E. & S.
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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