No. 180.
Sir Edward
Thornton to Mr. Fish,
Sir: With reference to your note of the 24th of November last to Mr. Pakenkam, stating that the United States Government were hot prepared to take steps with a view to the refunding of duties collected on fish-oil and fish imported from Prince Edward Island, I am desired by Earl Granville to inform you that the attention of Her Majesty’s government has again been called to this subject, and to the difficulty which may arise in consequence of this decision of the United States in obtaining the consent of the colonial legislatures to the treaty of Washington.
The proposal of the United States Government, as made in your note of the 8th of May last, was to the effect that, pending the legislation necessary to carry out the provisions of the treaty, Her Majesty’s government should make on their own behalf, and should urge the governments of Canada, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland to make arrangements for admitting American fishermen to the liberty which they would enjoy under the treaty, and that on their part the United States Government would be prepared to admit British subjects to fishing rights in the United States waters specified in the treaty, and would recommend Congress to authorize the refunding of duties collected after the 1st of July on fish and fish-oil the produce of Canada and Prince Edward Island, if a similar arrangement was made with respect to the admission into the British possessions of fish-oil and fish being the produce of the United States.
Her Majesty’s government agreed to this proposal, and, at their urgent request, the government of Prince Edward Island issued, on the 24th of July, an order in accordance with it. From that date American fishermen have had free use of the inshore-fisheries of the island, and have [Page 220] landed fish and fish-oil without duty, and the merchants of Prince Edward Island, believing that the United States Government would, in pursuance of their part of the agreement, propose to Congress to make provision for refunding the duties levied on fish and fish-oil imported into the United States from Prince Edward Island, have freely exported those products, and the government of the colony were quite unprepared for the course now taken by the United States Government.
It appears from your note to Mr. Pakenham, of the 24th of November, that the ground taken by the President for declining to bring forward a bill for the refund of the duties is, that “the proposal made through you contemplated the united action of all the British colonies, and that it would not be practicable to separate them or carry into effect for one what the President was willing to recommend for all those colonies.”
Her Majesty’s government considers that the treaty of Washington itself recognizes the power of each colonial government or legislature to act for itself independently of the other, nor can any legislation on the part of one of those governments interfere with or bind the territory within the jurisdiction of another colonial government. The government of Prince Edward Island have issued an order giving effect to the provisions of the treaty, and admitting American fishermen to the free use of their fisheries during the season of 187.1. The American fishermen have availed themselves of the privilege, and the United States consul was duly notified of the relaxations made in their favor, while Mr. Bancroft Davis was informed by Mr. Pakenham’s note of the 26th of July last of the acceptance by the government of Prince Edward Island of your proposals.
The United States Government accepted all the advantages thus conferred upon their fishermen during the whole season of 1871, and the government of Prince Edward Island fully expected that their colony would receive an equivalent for those advantages.
No intimation was given by the United States Government that they did not intend to fulfill their part of the arrangement unless united action was taken by all the colonies, and the government of the island could not therefore have anticipated that such a course would be pursued, nor did your original proposal make the refunding of the duties contingent on such united action.
Under these circumstances, and taking into consideration the serious pecuniary losses which will fall upon the merchants of Prince Edward Island if these duties are not refunded, Her Majesty’s government trust that the United States Government will reconsider their decision, and will not persist in refusing to carry out their part of an arrangement which they themselves originated, and which was proposed to the government of Prince Edward Island by Her Majesty’s government, in the full confidence that that colony would receive from the United States an equivalent for the concessions which it was recommended to make.
I have, &c,