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ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

16 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

No. 23.

(NEWFOUNDLAND.)

LAW OFFICERS to COLONIAL OFFICE.

[Right of United States Fishermen to Buy and Take Fish in Newfoundland

SIR,

Waters.]

Law-Officers' Department,

Royal Courts of Justice,

November 21, 1905.

We were honoured by your commands signified to us by Mr. Bertram Cox in his letter of the 1st instant stating that he was directed by you to acknowledge the receipt of our report of the 24th October* relating to the question of the right of United States citizens to buy and take fish in Newfoundland waters and to lay before us copy of a telegram which you addressed to the Governor of Newfoundland on the following day, in accordance with our report, and the suggestion which accompanied it.

That he was also to lay before us copy of a despatch from His Majesty's Ambassador at Washington, forwarding copy of a correspondence with the United States Government respecting certain acts contemplated by, or imputed to, the Newfoundland Government in connexion with their policy of prohibiting the sale of fish to United States citizens.

That we should notice that in this correspondence the United States Govern- ment in no way questioned the right of the Colonial Government to order such a prohibition, and that it would be seen from the accompanying telegram from the Governor that the Colonial Government had decided definitely to prohibit the sale of herring to United States citizens, and to prohibit British subjects from catch- ing it for them.

That with that part of Mr. Root's note to Sir M. Durand of the 19th October, which dealt with the possibility of interference with the fishery operations of United States citizens by the inhabitants of the Bay of Islands, you did not propose to trouble us, but that Mr. Bertram Cox was to invite out attention to the six pro- positions set forth in Mr. Root's note in connexion with the general question of the relation of United States vessels engaged in the exercise of the United States treaty right of fishery to the laws of the Colony and to the local administration.

That the occurrences which had led to the raising of these six points were not known to His Majesty's Government, but that it would be seen from your telegram of the 25th October and Sir W. MacGregor's reply of the 28th October that the Colonial Government did not require United States vessels to produce United States fishery licences nor to obtain Newfoundland fishery licences. That in view, however, of the fact that Mr. Root had invited the assent of His Majesty's Government to the six propositions in question, you would be glad to receive our observations on each in the order in which they occur.

Proposition 1-That we should notice that Article I. of the Convention of Colonial 1818 nowhere referred to American vessels, but referred throughout to inhabitants Office of the United States and American fishermen. That it would, therefore, appear print, 24th that a United States vessel was not entitled to fish in virtue of the Convention, Nov., 1852 except when used by inhabitants of the United States.

Cabinet

P. 273. That you would be glad if we would advise what would be the position of persons other than inhabitants of the United States, whether British subjects or aliens, on board or employed by United States vessels fishing in Newfoundland waters in virtue of the Convention of 1818. That it would also appear that inasmuch as the fishery had been granted generally to inhabitants of the United States, such inhabitants would be entitled to participate in the fishery on or from vessels of any other nationality. That this point was not raised by the United States Government, but for the sake of precision you would be glad to learn what, in our view, would be the position of citizens of the United States fishing in the waters of Newfoundland but belonging to a foreign vessel not of the United States.

• No. 17.

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