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CHAPTER XV.

The Fisheries and Retaliation.

"We arraign the present Democrat Administration for its weak and unpatriotic treatment of the fisheries question, and its pusillanimous surrender of the essential privileges to which our fishing-vessels are entitled in Canadian ports under the treaty of 1818, the reciprocal maritime legislation of 1830, and the comity of nations, and which Canadian fishing-vessels receive in the ports of the United States. We condemn the policy of the present Administration and the Democratic majority in Congress toward our fisheries as unfriendly and conspicuously unpatriotic, and as tending to destroy a valuable National industry, and an indispensable source of defence against a foreign enemy."- Republican National Platform, 1888.

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The Treaty of 1818.

England was just then the conqueror of Napoleon. Full of her triumph, she showed more than her usual

and characteristic arrogance and oppression toward

weaker nations, as she deemed the United States, and our statesmen dealing with the question who have managed our controversies with England, and who were of that kind with which we have been afflicted during much of our national life, were simply cowed. The treaty of 1818 was thus bullied out of us, in which it was agreed that "The inhabitants of the

said United States shall have forever, in common with the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, the liberty to take fish of every kind on that part of the southern coast of Newfoundland which extends from Cape Ray to the Rameau Islands; on the western and northern coast of Newfoundland, from the said Cape Ray to the Quirpon Islands, on the shores of the Magdalen Islands, and also on the coasts, bays, harbors and creeks, from through the Straits of Belle Isle, and thence northwardly indefinitely along the coast, without prejudice, however, to any of the exclusive rights of the Hudson Bay Company." "And the United States hereby renounce forever any liberty heretofore enjoyed or claimed by the inhabitants thereof to take, dry, or cure fish on or within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors of His Britannic Ma

Before the Revolution, as, British subjects, we had all the rights and liberties of Englishmen in all the fisheries, from Hudson Bay to Florida, along the At-Mount Joly on the southern coast of Labrador, to and lantic coast, and all its inlets, bays, and indentations. In framing the treaty of peace, the English Commis. sioners proposed that when we gave up Canada we should give up our claims to the fisheries. But John Adams, on our behalf, -to his high honor be it spoken, replied that he would sooner keep on with the war than give up a single right to our fisheries; and so the liberties of the United States in all the fisheries were guaranteed by the treaty of peace in 1783, and we con-jesty's dominions in America not included within the tinued in the enjoyment of all the rights that Canada or anybody else had in fishing down to 1815, unmolested by England, and without claim on her part that we had not the fullest right to fish that any British subject ever had in Canadian waters.

The war of 1812 was fought and a treaty of peace was had, and in that treaty of peace nothing was said about the fisheries whatever. Our boundary on the Pacific coast was treated of therein, which had never been treated of in any treaty before, but nothing was said upon our rights and liberties on the Atlantic Ocean, or its waters, and we went on in the full enjoy. ment of them until about 1817, when, some question arising, it was suggested by England that the law of nations held that when war was declared between two countries having treaty relations, such declaration of war of itself abrogated and set aside all former treaties, and so the war of 1812 annulled all our treaties with England, although nothing was said about it then by either country; and as nothing had been said on the subject of the fisheries in the treaty of peace of 1815, the United States lost all her rights of fisheries.

One would have supposed that, if the law of nations abrogated the treaty of peace of 1783, that the rights of both parties would have stood as if that treaty had not been made, and then we should have the fisheries just

above mentioned limits; provided, however, that the American fishermen shall be admitted to enter such bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood and of obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever."

That, in my judgment, was simply a disgraceful surrender of many of our rights, but we had left the right to take fish anywhere except within the three miles of the coasts, bays and harbors therein named. Now that three-mile limit is treated in international law as being the extent to which a cannon throws a shot, and to be the line to which any nation can claim jurisdiction as against any other nation on the open sea.

Our fishermen went on fishing under that treaty, and took shelter from storms in the bays and harbors, and entered them for wood and water, until the year 1820, when some Canadian claimed that the words "within three miles of the bays, coasts and harbors" were to be construed to mean a line extended from a point three miles from one headland of a bay to a point three miles from the other headland of the bay, how. ever wide apart those two headlands might be or deep the bay might be. And as no part of the coasts of those bays were straight lines it was impossible for a fisherman to tell when he was within or without the three-mile line, because there might be another head

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*Includes all amounts collected and disbursed, and the losses thereon. † 3 mills. +1 mills.

1. In cases where the accounts of officers embraced more than one period, the losses, unless known to have occurred in other periods, have been charged to the periods in which the accounts were opened in this Department. In cases of defaulting banks, however, for want of other information, the losses have been charged to the periods in which they are reported on the books, though, doubtless, in several instances, they actually occurred in previous periods.

2. No deductions have been made for amounts which may be collected hereafter, though a large percentage of the recent losses will doubtless be yet recovered.

3. In preparing this statement, the receipts and disbursements since June 30, 1843, have been classified by fiscal years, as in the published official reports; the losses have in all cases been classified by calendar years, it not being practicable to separate the losses occurring in the fractional years of each period; but the periods compared being of the same length, the result is substantially correct.

only with much labor. 4. In making this revision no credits have been allowed for moneys collected on balances due previous to 1869, being small in amount, and the period of credit ascertainable

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CHAPTER XV.

The Fisheries and Retaliation.

"We arraign the present Democrat Administration for its weak and unpatriotic treatment of the fisheries question, and its pusillanimous surrender of the essential privileges to which our fishing-vessels are entitled in Canadian ports under the treaty of 1818, the reciprocal maritime legislation of 1830, and the comity of nations, and which Canadian fishing-vessels receive in the ports of the United States. We condemn the policy of the present Administration and the Democratic majority in Congress toward our fisheries as unfriendly and conspicuously unpatriotic, and as tending to destroy a valuable National industry, and an indispensable source of defence against a foreign enemy." —Republican National Platform, 1888.

PART I.

General Butler's History of the Fisheries
Question from the beginning down to
President Cleveland's Treaty.

The Treaty of 1818.

England was just then the conqueror of Napoleon.

The treaty of 1818 was thus bullied out of us, in

No more lucid statement of the Fisheries Question has been made than that of Benjamin F. Butler, in his speech at Tremont Temple, Boston, Aug. 31, 1888, in which he gave the entire history of the subject-the result, he said, of ten years of observation and study in the following brief and thor-coast of Newfoundland which extends from Cape Ray oughly understandable shape:

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Full of her triumph, she showed more than her usual and characteristic arrogance and oppression toward weaker nations, as she deemed the United States, and our statesmen dealing with the question who have were of that kind with which we have been afflicted managed our controversies with England, and who during much of our national life, were simply cowed. which it was agreed that "The inhabitants of the said United States shall have forever, in common with the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, the liberty to take fish of every kind on that part of the southern to the Rameau Islands; on the western and northern coast of Newfoundland, from the said Cape Ray to the Quirpon Islands, on the shores of the Magdalen Islands, and also on the coasts, bays, harbors 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, without prejudice, however, to any of the exclusive rights of the Hudson Bay Company." ... "And the United States hereby renounce forever any liberty heretofore enjoyed or claimed by the inhabitants thereof to take, dry, or cure fish on or within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors of His Britannic Ma

Before the Revolution, as, British subjects, we had all the rights and liberties of Englishmen in all the fisheries, from Hudson Bay to Florida, along the Atlantic coast, and all its inlets, bays, and indentations. In framing the treaty of peace, the English Commis. sioners proposed that when we gave up Canada we should give up our claims to the fisheries. But John Adams, on our behalf, to his high honor be it spoken, replied that he would sooner keep on with the war than give up a single right to our fisheries; and so the liberties of the United States in all the fisheries were guaranteed by the treaty of peace in 1783, and we con-jesty's dominions in America not included within the tinued in the enjoyment of all the rights that Canada or anybody else had in fishing down to 1815, unholested by England, and without claim on her part that we had not the fullest right to fish that any British subject ever had in Canadian waters.

The war of 1812 was fought and a treaty of peace was had, and in that treaty of peace nothing was said about the fisheries whatever. Our boundary on the Pacific coast was treated of therein, which had never been treated of in any treaty before, but nothing was said upon our rights and liberties on the Atlantic Ocean, or its waters, and we went on in the full enjoy. ment of them until about 1817, when, some question arising, it was suggested by England that the law of nations held that when war was declared between two countries having treaty relations, such declaration of war of itself abrogated and set aside all former treaties, and so the war of 1812 annulled all our treaties with England, although nothing was said about it then by either country; and as nothing had been said on the subject of the fisheries in the treaty of peace of 1815, the United States lost all her rights of fisheries.

One would have supposed that, if the law of nations abrogated the treaty of peace of 1783, that the rights of both parties would have stood as if that treaty had not been made, and then we should have the fisheries just

above mentioned limits; provided, however, that the American fishermen shall be admitted to enter such bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood and of obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever." That, in my judgment, was simply a disgraceful surrender of many of our rights, but we had left the right to take fish anywhere except within the three miles of the coasts, bays and harbors therein named. Now that three-mile limit is treated in international law as being the extent to which a cannon throws a shot, and to be the line to which any nation can claim jurisdiction as against any other nation on the open sea.

Our fishermen went on fishing under that treaty, and took shelter from storms in the bays and harbors, and entered them for wood and water, until the year 1820, when some Canadian claimed that the words "within three miles of the bays, coasts and harbors" were to be construed to mean a line extended from a point three miles from one headland of a bay to a point three miles from the other headland of the bay, how. ever wide apart those two headlands might be or deep the bay might be. And as no part of the coasts of those bays were straight lines it was impossible for a fisherman to tell when he was within or without the three-mile line, because there might be another head

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* Includes all amounts collected and disbursed, and the losses thereon. † 3 mills. +1 mills.

1. In cases where the accounts of officers embraced more than one period, the losses, unless known to have occurred in other periods, have been charged to the periods in which the accounts were opened in this Department. In cases of defaulting banks, however, for want of other information, the losses have been charged to the periods in which they are reported on the books, though, doubtless, in several instances, they actually occurred in previous periods.

2. No deductions have been made for amounts which may be collected hereafter, though a large percentage of the recent losses will doubtless be yet recovered.

3. In preparing this statement, the receipts and disbursements since June 30, 1843, have been classified by fiscal years, as in the published official reports; the losses have in
all cases been classified by calendar years, it not being practicable to separate the losses occurring in the fractional years of each period; but the periods compared being of the
same length, the result is substantially correct.
redits have been allowed for moneys

4. In making this revision no credits have been allowed for moneys collected on balances due previous to 1869, being small in amount, and the period of credit ascertainable
only with much labor.

[graphic]

CHAPTER XV.

The Fisheries and Retaliation.

"We arraign the present Democrat Administration for its weak and unpatriotic treatment of the fisheries question, and its pusillanimous surrender of the essential privileges to which our fishing-vessels are entitled in Canadian ports under the treaty of 1818, the reciprocal maritime legislation of 1830, and the comity of nations, and which Canadian fishing-vessels receive in the ports of the United States. We condemn the policy of the present Administration and the Democratic majority in Congress toward our fisheries as unfriendly and conspicuously unpatriotic, and as tending to destroy a valuable National industry, and an indispensable source of defence against a foreign enemy."- Republican National Platform, 1888.

PART I.

General Butler's History of the Fisheries
Question from the beginning down to
President Cleveland's Treaty.

The Treaty of 1818.

Full of her triumph, she showed more than her usual England was just then the conqueror of Napoleon. and characteristic arrogance and oppression toward weaker nations, as she deemed the United States, and our statesmen dealing with the question who have were of that kind with which we have been afflicted managed our controversies with England, and who during much of our national life, were simply cowed. which it was agreed that "The inhabitants of the The treaty of 1818 was thus bullied out of us, in said United States shall have forever, in common with the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, the liberty to take fish of every kind on that part of the southern to the Rameau Islands; on the western and northern coast of Newfoundland, from the said Cape Ray to the Before the Revolution, as, British subjects, we had Quirpon Islands, on the shores of the Magdalen Islands, all the rights and liberties of Englishmen in all the and also on the coasts, bays, harbors and creeks, from fisheries, from Hudson Bay to Florida, along the At- Mount Joly on the southern coast of Labrador, to and lantic coast, and all its inlets, bays, and indentations. through the Straits of Belle Isle, and thence northIn framing the treaty of peace, the English Commis. wardly indefinitely along the coast, without prejudice, sioners proposed that when we gave up Canada we should however, to any of the exclusive rights of the Hudson give up our claims to the fisheries. But John Adams, Bay Company." "And the United States hereby on our behalf, to his high honor be it spoken, - renounce forever any liberty heretofore enjoyed or replied that he would sooner keep on with the war claimed by the inhabitants thereof to take, dry, or cure than give up a single right to our fisheries; and so the fish on or within three marine miles of any of the liberties of the United States in all the fisheries were coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors of His Britannic Maguaranteed by the treaty of peace in 1783, and we con-jesty's dominions in America not included within the tinued in the enjoyment of all the rights that Canada above mentioned limits; provided, however, that the or anybody else had in fishing down to 1815, unmo-American fishermen shall be admitted to enter such lested by England, and without claim on her part that we had not the fullest right to fish that any British subject ever had in Canadian waters.

No more lucid statement of the Fisheries Question has been made than that of Benjamin F. Butler, in his speech at Tremont Temple, Boston, Aug. 31, 1888, in which he gave the entire history of the subject-the result, he said, of ten years of observation and study in the following brief and thor-coast of Newfoundland which extends from Cape Ray oughly understandable shape:

bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood and of obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever." The war of 1812 was fought and a treaty of peace That, in my judgment, was simply a disgraceful was had, and in that treaty of peace nothing was said surrender of many of our rights, but we had left the about the fisheries whatever. Our boundary on the right to take fish anywhere except within the three Pacific coast was treated of therein, which had never miles of the coasts, bays and harbors therein named. been treated of in any treaty before, but nothing was Now that three-mile limit is treated in international said upon our rights and liberties on the Atlantic law as being the extent to which a cannon throws a Ocean, or its waters, and we went on in the full enjoy-shot, and to be the line to which any nation can claim ment of them until about 1817, when, some question arising, it was suggested by England that the law of nations held that when war was declared between two countries having treaty relations, such declaration of war of itself abrogated and set aside all former treaties, and so the war of 1812 annulled all our treaties with England, although nothing was said about it then by either country; and as nothing had been said on the subject of the fisheries in the treaty of peace of 1815, the United States lost all her rights of fisheries.

One would have supposed that, if the law of nations abrogated the treaty of peace of 1783, that the rights of both parties would have stood as if that treaty had not been made, and then we should have the fisheries just

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jurisdiction as against any other nation on the open sea. Our fishermen went on fishing under that treaty, and took shelter from storms in the bays and harbors, and entered them for wood and water, until the year 1820, when some Canadian claimed that the words "within three miles of the bays, coasts and harbors were to be construed to mean a line extended from a point three miles from one headland of a bay to a point three miles from the other headland of the bay, however wide apart those two headlands might be or deep the bay might be. And as no part of the coasts of those bays were straight lines it was impossible for a fisherman to tell when he was within or without the three-mile line, because there might be another head

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