The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-03-13
Danger From the Fishery Questiea,

peace OF the country from the pfesSn
state of the Fishery Question than from
any cause which can be named. II
our existing relations with England
growing out of the Alabama and she
nandoah cases, it would be the easiss
matter in the world for local colli
sion in one of the bays of Newfouad
land, or along on the Provincial coast
to precipitate a general war between
the two nations. If il was wisdom 70
seek by all honorable means to avoid
such war while we were engaged IN
putting down rebellion, it might be
thought equally wise to keep out q II
until the nation was at least restolt !
to its unity and to the strength Wlkeh
unity brings.
By the third article of the treaty of
peace with Great Britain, in 1888, we
were conceded our claim to a righi 70
fish along the coast and in the bsys Of
the Provinces, and that right was hot
disputed until our fishermen, by their
superior enterprise, excited the envy Of
Great Britain, and rendered it necas-
sary TO enter into distinct treaty On
this special subject, in 1918. An iIle-
fensible concession was made by tf11s
treaty to Great Britain, and its nego-
tiators on our side, Messrs. Rush and
Gailatin, have been held to a personal
account for it by all writers who have
treated the subject since. The mischief
they made was by giving up our IN.
doubted right, which had been sup
ported by custom, of catching and
curing fish anywhere within three miles
OF the coasts, bays, creeks, and harbors
of the Provinces, with the exception
only of Newfoundland, Labrador and
the Magdalen Isles.
Out of that concession grew all our
troubles and disputes with Great Brit
am over the fisheries. These continued
for nearly quarter of a century, until
! IN 1871 such an Interpretation Wss put
upon the treaty of 1918 as removed
many of the causes of complains and
! lessened the chances of serious trouble.
That Interpretation was, in effect; that
by the bays from.which we were ex-
cluded by the treaty was meant the
small bays, into which the fishermen
usually went to obtain shelter and for
repairs. Matters were going along
smoothly, until the Government OF
Nova Scotia put In another inteR greta-
tion, making the "bays" of the treaty
mean all the large bays as well Is Athe
small ones, and The line Of exclU son to
be line drawn from headland t. head
land. The Home Government were
ready to ignore their own interpreta-
ton and accept this, by which Our fish
ermen were TO be thepceforWard shut
out from all the most productive fields
around New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Canada, and Prince Edwards Island,
and especially from that placer in
which they had uniuterruptedly caught
full fares for a whole generation, the
Bay Of Chaleurs. 1t was, IN fact,
driving them Off thes6shing grounds al
together, into mid-ocean.
At that point trouble really began.
Our hardy fishermen were unwilling to
give up rights which for a quarter Of q
century they had enjoyed without mo-
lestation, and the Provincial suthori-
ties on their part began TO take mes-
sUes TO enforce an Interpretation
which was supported by the opinion
and authority of the Home Govern
ment They chased our vessels Off CON
tiscated them and their cargoes when
captured; formed patrol bands to pro
tect what they insisted was exclusively
their own; and made such a general
stir IN those hitherto peaceful waters
as to furnish a pretexJ for Great Bri-
tain's stationing armed vessels in the
neighborhood, to guard the Provincial
fishermen against the alleged encroach-
ments of ours. This step was of course
followed by a similar one on our side,
and United States vessels were at hand,
to see that our fishermen were not de-
frauded of their rights by violence or
threats of violence.
Thus matters stood at the time when
the Reciprocity Treaty was proposed
and successfully negotiated. The train
was all set, which the slightest indis-
cretion or the first display of a hot tenn
per would have lighted, thus bringing
on a general conlagration. Itrequired
the utmost GOODNESS and forbearance,
not only on the part of our naval COM
manders in those waters but of our pub !
lie men, to prevent the very catastrophe |
which was frankly deplored even as a /
possibility on both sides. Our most ex- |
perienced statesmen gave their powers |
to the work of framing the Treaty |
which IS about to expire by notice. |
They may not have done all that might |
now be desired, but it is undeniable |
that they did all they could, and all |
that those times demanded. If I'M |
provements were needed, they could /
have been secured without serving a |
hasty notice on Great Britain that we /
were tired of the existing Treaty and |
would have no more of it. Nor has the |
case been helped by Mr. Morrill's say |
ing to the Provincial Commission that |
came to Washington recently, that Con
gress was in no temper to touch the
subject at all
When the 18th Of the present month |
is reached, we stand where we did be-
fore the Treaty of 1854 All the old |
perils are around US The whole ques- |
tion is thrown back where it gave US |
such serious trouble before. Our fisher !
men have been already notified 10y the |
Canadian Government that they must |
leave the fishing ground where they /
have earned their livelihood for SO /
many years. There will be evasions OF I
the Provincial Interpretation Of the old |
Treaty by our vessels, and there will be |
defiant infrsctions of it. That brings |
over a British squadron. Our own ma
tional vessels Will make their appear |
ance in the neighborhood not long af- |
terwsrds And in the present temper |
of the two Governments and the people !
toward one another, what is to prevent |
a sudden collision2 There are those |
who court just that We do not; and |
we believe that the men who 50 reck- |
lessly advocate war with Great Britain /
know and care little about the true in
terests, the honor, or the future Of the /
United States as the leading power on
this Boston Post