of the United States should have the right to fish inshore under certain limitations therein stated. This last treaty was terminated through the action of the United States on the 1st day of July, 1885, and the 1st article of the treaty of 1818 again came into operation.

Concluding, then, from what has been before stated, that there is no serious difficulty in respect of the question where American fishermen can carry on their operations, it would seem to be easy to know precisely what our fishermen may and may not do in the territorial waters adjacent to the British dominions.

What they may do may be stated as follows:

1. They have the liberty to take fish "on that part of the southern coast of Newfoundland which extends from Cape Ray to the Rameau Islands."

2. They have the right to take fish "on the western and northern coast of Newfoundland from the said Cape Ray to the Quirpon Islands."

3. Also "on the shores of the Magdalen Islands."

4. Also "on the coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks from Mount Joly on the southern coast of Labrador, to and through the Straits of Belle Isle, and thence northwardly indefinitely along the coast," subject to any exclusive rights of the Hudson Bay Company.

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5. The right to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks of the southern part of the coast of Newfoundland," before described, and of the coast of Labrador, without interfering with the rights of settlers, &c.

6. The right of American fishermen in their character as such to enter the bays and harbours of Great Britain in America for the purpose (a) of shelter, (b) of repairing damages, (c) of purchasing wood, (d) of obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever.

But they are to be under such restrictions in respect of their entry into bays and harbours where they are not entitled to fish "as may be necessary to prevent their taking and drying, or curing fish therein, or in any other manner whatever abusing the privileges hereby reserved to them."

The things that by this article American fishermen must not do

are:

1. Fish within 3 miles of any of the shores of the British dominions, excepting those specially above named.

2. Enter within this 3-mile limit except for the purposes last stated. The American fishermen, in their character as such purely, must not enter the prohibited waters other than for the purposes of shelter, repairing damages, purchasing wood, and obtaining water; and in doing this they are subject to such reasonable restrictions as shall be necessary to prevent their fishing or curing fish in prohibited waters or on prohibited shores, and thereby abusing the privilege of entering those waters for the necessary purposes stated.

What, then, are such necessary restrictions?

Following the treaty of 1818, Great Britain passed the Act of the 14th June, 1819 (59 Geo. III, cap. 38), on the subject of American fishing and other vessels within the waters of the British dominions in North America, which provided

1. That the British King might make such orders in council, either directly or through the governor of Newfoundland or others, as should be deemed proper and necessary for carrying into effect the purposes of the fishery article of that treaty.

2. A prohibition and punishment of fishing, &c., within the 3-mile limit, other than the coasts in respect of which the treaty provided that Americans might fish.

3. Forfeiture of vessels, &c., found fishing, &c., within the prohibited limits. This forfeiture was to be enforced in the ordinary course, as in the case of forfeitures under the Revenue laws.

4. That American fishermen might enter any of the bays and harbours of the British dominions in America for the purposes named in the treaty, subject to such restrictions for preventing abuse of that privilege as His Majesty, or the governor, or person exercising the office of governor in any part of the British dominions in America, might make.

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5. That if any person should refuse to depart from such bays, &c., on the requirement of the governor, &c., or neglect to conform to any of the regulations so made, he should be punished by a fine of £200. The next Legislative Act touching American fishermen appears to be the Act of Prince Edward's Island of the 3rd September, 1844, which provided that the officers of Her Majesty's Customs, &c., or any person specially holding a commission for that purpose, should have authority to go on board any ship, vessel, or boat, within any port, bay, creek, or harbour in that island, or "hovering" within 3 marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, &c., thereof; and in either case freely to stay on board such ship, vessel, or boat as long as she shall remain within such port or distance; and if any such ship, vessel, or boat be bound elsewhere, and shall continue so hovering for the space of twenty-four hours after the master shall have been required to depart, it shall be lawful for any of the above enumerated officers, &c., to bring such ship, &c., into port, and to search and examine her cargo, and examine the master upon oath touching the cargo and voyage; and if there be any goods on board prohibited to be imported into this island, such ship, &c., and the cargo laden on board thereof, shall be forfeited; and if said ship, &c., shall be foreign, and not navigated according to the laws of Great Britain and Ireland, and shall have been found fishing, or preparing to fish, or to have been fishing, within such distance of such coasts, bays, creeks, or harbours of this island, such ship, &c., and its cargo shall be forfeited; and if the master or any person in command thereof shall not truly answer the question which shall be demanded of him in such examination, he shall forfeit the sum of £100.

The Act then provides for the methods of investigation, condemnation, &c.

The Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia of 1851, chapter 94 (which may have re-enacted some earlier Act), provided:

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1. That officers of the colonial revenue, sheriffs, magistrates, or any other person duly commissioned for that purpose, may go on board any vessel or boat within any harbour in the province, or hovering within 3 marine miles of any of the coasts or harbours thereof, and stay on board so long as she may remain within such place or distance."

2. That "if such vessel or boat be bound elsewhere, and shall continue within such harbour or so hovering for twenty-four hours after the master shall have been required to depart, any one of the officers

above-mentioned may bring such vessel or boat into port and search her cargo, and also examine the master upon oath touching the cargo and voyage; and if the master or person in command shall not truly answer the questions demanded of him in the examination he shall forfeit £100; and if there be any prohibited goods on board, then such vessel or boat, with the cargo thereof, shall be forfeited."

3. That "if the vessel or boat shall be foreign, and not navigated according to the laws of Great Britain and Ireland, and shall have been found fishing, or preparing to fish, or to have been fishing, within 3 marine miles of such coasts or harbours, such vessel or boat, or cargo shall be forfeited."

It then provides for the method of procedure, &c. This provision was re-enacted in the Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia by the Provincial Act of the 7th May, 1858. This re-enactment contained in its 22nd section or title 25, chapter 94, a provision suspending those parts of it relating to American fishing-vessels during the continuance of the treaty of reciprocity of 1854.

The committee has not been able to discover any orders in council made by the British King, as authorized by the Act (59 Geo. III, cap. 58); and, so far as we have been able to examine, the regulation of the entrance of American fishermen within the limits wherein they were not entitled to fish has been made by colonial statutes such as have been above recited. That of Prince Edward's Island of 1843 (6 Vic., cap. 14) the committee thinks fairly illustrates the nature of legislative regulations on the subject down to the reciprocity treaty of 1854, and so, in effect, until the expiration of that treaty in 1866. This Act provided:

1. Proper officers were authorized to go and remain on board an American fishing vessel during her continuance within the waters where she was not entitled to fish.

2. If the vessel was bound elsewhere, and should continue hovering within the 3 mile limit for twenty-four hours after she had been required to depart, then the officer might take her into port, search her cargo, examine the master, &c.

3. If, on such examination, any goods should be found prohibited to be imported into the island, there should be a forfeiture.

4. If the vessel should have been found fishing, or preparing to fish, or to have been fishing, in prohibited waters, a forfeiture should follow.

It will be seen that this provision carefully excludes the right to seize and proceed against an American fishing vessel that had come within British waters, where fishing was not allowed, for the purposes named in the treaty, and only authorised British officers to require the vessel to depart if, instead of coming into a bay or roadstead and coming to anchor, she was "hovering" on the coast and within the prohibited limits, and provided for her forfeiture when so "hovering" only upon its being discovered, on an examination, that she had contraband goods on board, or had been violating the provisions of the treaty by abusing the privilege of her entrance and shelter by fishing, &c. And in all these cases the ordinary modes of judicial investigation and fair play were provided for, except

(a.) That the burden of proof was thrown on the claimant of the vessel in case of dispute as to whether the seizure had been lawful; 92909-S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 4- -52

(b.) That no suit should be brought for an illegal seizure until one month after notice in writing had been served on the seizing officer of an intention to sue, and the grounds of action;

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(c.) And, further, that a statute of limitations, in respect of all such illegal seizures, of three months only, was provided. The committee does not see any just ground of criticism of those parts of this Act that relate to the conduct of American fishing vessels coming within waters where fishing was prohibited; but when it comes to the matter of just and reasonable judicial determination of any question arising, the committee does think that the methods and limitations of procedure were harsh and unjust, and beyond the right of the British Government to provide, under its authority by the treaty to make only such restrictions as should be necessary to prevent the abuse by the American fishermen of their right to enter non-fishing waters.

But the foregoing species of legislation has been considerably improved upon, in an unjust direction, by the Dominion Act of the 22nd May, 1868 (31 Vic., cap. 61), which authorised the officials to require any vessel which was not hovering on the coast, but which had come within a harbour, to depart from such harbour on twentyfour hours' notice, and, on failure of such departure, to bring her into port for that mere cause, and without any suspicion or ground of suspicion that she had violated, or intended to violate, either the treaty or the laws of Canada, and without any limitation as to the length of time she might be detained in port, or any security for just and fair treatment of the American fishing vessel, which might have sought shelter in such harbour, or come there for any of the lawful causes named in the treaty.

It also provided for punishing the master if he failed to answer any question put to him touching the cargo or voyage.

It also provided that the consent of the seizing person should be necessary in order to enable the judge of the Admiralty Court to release the vessel on proper security.

It also, as in the case of the former Act, put the burden of proving innocence on the claimant.

It also provided that no suit should be brought for any illegal conduct of those officers until after a month's notice in writing, and that the notice should contain the cause of action.

It also provided that "no evidence of any cause of action shall be produced except such as shall be contained in such notice."

It also provided that every such action should be brought within three months after the cause of action had arisen.

It also provided that if, in any such suit, judgment should be given against the seizing person, and there should be a certificate of probable cause, then the plaintiff should only recover 3 cents damages and no costs, and that no fine beyond 20 cents should be imposed upon the respondent.

On the 12th May, 1870, the Dominion Act of 33 Vic., cap. 15, was passed, repealing the 3rd section of the last-mentioned Act on the subject of bringing vessels into port, &c., and provided, in lieu thereof, that any of the officers or persons before-mentioned might bring any vessel, being within any harbour in Canada, or hovering in British waters within 3 miles of the coast, into port, search her cargo, examine her master on oath, &c., without any previous notice to de

part, which had been required by the former Act. So that an American vessel fishing at sea, being driven by stress of weather, want of wood or water, or need of repairing damages, which should run into a Canadian harbour, under the right reserved to it by the treaty of 1818, the moment her anchor was dropped or she was within the shelter of a headland, was, at the discretion of the Canadian official, to be immediately seized and carried into port which might be, and often would be, many miles from the place where she would have her safe shelter or could obtain her wood and water or repair her damages.

The committee thinks it is not too much to say that such a provision is, in view of the treaty, and of the common principles of comity among nations, grossly in violation of the rights secured by the treaty and of that friendly conduct of good neighborhood that should exist between civilised nations holding relations such as ought to exist between the United States and Her Majesty's dominions.

This last provision was substantially re enacted, with the Royal approval of the Queen, given on the 26th November, 1886, with the addition that if any such vessel had entered such waters for any purpose not permitted by treaty or convention, or by any law of the United Kingdom or Canada for the time being in force, she should be forfeited, &c.

From all this it would seem that it is the deliberate purpose of the British Government to leave it to the individual discretion of each one of the numerous subordinate magistrates, fishery officers, and customs officers of the Dominion of Canada to seize and bring into port any American vessels, whether fishing or other, that he finds within any harbour in Canada or hovering within Canadian waters. The statute does not even except those Canadian waters in which, along a large part of the southern coast and the whole of the western coast of Newfoundland, they are entitled to fish, to say nothing of the vast extent of the continental coast of Canada.

The committee repeats its expression of the firm opinion that this legislation is in violation of the treaty of 1818, as it respects American fishing-vessels, and in violation of the principles of comity and good neighborhood that ought to exist in respect of the commercial intercourse, or the coming of the vessels of either, having any commercial character, within the waters of the other. Had it been intended to harass and embarrass American fishing and other vessels, and to make it impracticable for them to enjoy their treaty and other common rights, such legislation would have been perfectly adapted to that end.

The instances in which this sort of legislation has been applied during the last year, to the great embarrassment and injury of American rights and interests-although in some of them it may doubtless appear that there has been some merely formal or technical violation. of some Canadian Customs statute or regulation-are the following:

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Vessels denied the Right or Privilege of purchasing Coal or Ice or of transhipping Fish at Ports of the Dominion, or refused other Rights or Privileges therein.

"Novelty" (steamship) denied the right to take in coal, or pur. chase ice, or tranship fish in bond to the United States, at Pictou,