Excerpt from North Atlantic Coast Fisheries Arbitration at the Hague: Argument on Behalf of the United States It was reported in October, 1905, that the Newfoundland Ministry of Marine and Fishery had forbidden all vessels of American register to fish on the Treaty coast where they now are, and where they have fished unmolested since The charge contained in the quotation seems to have been without justification. Several American vessels had been or dered by the Newfoundland authorities not to fish in Bone Bay, situated within that portion of the Newfoundland coast in which the right of Ameri can fishermen to ply their calling was recognized by the convention of 1818, and Mr. Root felt it advisable to take up the question of American rights in what may be called the treaty waters Of British North America, as defined by the convention of 1818, and to reach an agreement, if possible, upon this subject. He believed that the time was propitious, because at that time a very friendly feeling existed between Great Britain and the United States, and Mr. Root's experience in the settlement of the Alaskan boundary question showed how desirable it was to settle even a small question between the two countries when they were well disposed, Without allowing the question, through delay and mismanagement, to assume an importance which it did not and which it should not possess. The views of the two Governments upon the fishing question proved to be divergent, as will be seen from two paragraphs, one from Mr. Root's note of June 30, 1906, and one from Sir Edward Grey, His Majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, dated June 20, 1907, stating the views of their respective Governments. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.