New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-09-14
FRENCH SHORE QUESTION
UNITED STATES Il FACTOR.
Protest against american Company
WGy Cause Trouble.

~
time in the history Of the famous fishery dispute
the French authorities have formally protested
against the operations OF an American mining
company the west coast of Newfoundland This
company is developing a large copper deposit at
York HarbOr, In OF the outer arms OF Bay
OF Islands part Of the seaboard which France
claims jurisdiction. and in order to snip the prod
Of the mine the construction of a loading pier
Is necessary. This the company has started to do
but the French commodore in these waters has
formally protested it and TO the Newtound-
land Government, the ground that the structure
is violation Of the treaty rights OF France. lie
demands the cessation Of the work and the re-
moval Of what has already been built, and threat
ems forciby 10 remove il unless his demand is
1 complied with. The American owners of the prop
erty appealing to the British and Newfound-
land governments for protection, and may appeal
| 20 Washington for the dispatch of United States
warship to the scene prevent their operations
Leng nterfered with.
1t is nothing unusual for such treatment TO be
melted out to British subjects. though hitherto
American investors have escaped In 1897 Captain
Cunningham, of England. undertook to develop
a gold area at Ming's Blight, and spent Sl2oco In
/ tho purchase of the property and the providing
Of machinery. Suddenly the French flagship ap-
peared and ordered him to cease working. and
when he resisted she summoned her British con-
sort. which reiterated the demand. and he had
quit and has never received any recOmpense
since In 1899 some Observation-Disclosures established
a sawm in White Bay, and had everything In
readiness for active work. when the French cruis-
ers forbade it. and the venture had TO be aban-
doned More absurd still is the fact that last year
| the British commodore had TO land a party or
jackes and move. by means of rollers. shec bult
the strand Bonnie Bay, in order TO provee
to hi. French confrere that IL was not "seden-
/ tary' building.
The contention which underles all these vexa-
tious proceedings is that the mining or numbering
operations interfere with the French fishing. where
as the fact is that in almost every instance there
IS not French fisherman within miles Of the place
The disputed line is eight hundred miles long,
and on it this year there only sixteen French
stations. with crews aggregating S2 men, while
the resident Newfoundland population is 1880 Yet
every form Of industrial effort the part OF that
large community is subordinated TO the prepos-
| ferrous demands of this handful OF Frenchmen- In
the case of York Harbor. where the Americans are
| operating the mine. the nearest French station
and that occupied by only five ishermen-is twelve
| miles away. At Ming's Blight, where the gold
mine was stopped. the French were twenty miles
| distant At White Bay they were twenty-seven
miles from the sawmill and at Euragee, four years
| ago. they tore down wharf thirty-three miles
| from their outpost.
In the face Of this recital then # will occasion
surprise that 1895 the French protested against
| the Colonial Railway terminating this treaty
coast gravely assigning a reason for their pro-
that the whistle Of the locomotives would scare
| away the fish. More incredible still is the fact
that the British Government bowed this protest.
and compelled the Colonial administration TO divert
| the course Of the proposed railway and carry II
40 miles in another direction, at cost OF $5oo""'
that it might emerge at part OF the coast
1 where the French rights did not run. The British
policv I'm the past successive cabinets being unwill
| ing risk rupture with France, has been one
| Of acquiescence in all the French demands. until
to-day the latter. drunk with the sense of auto
cratic power following such uninterrupted sway,
are taking IL on themselves to Obstruct American
subjects also In this they may find that they are
| making a great mistake. which may cost them
much of the ground they have gained by long
| process of diplomatic "bluning.'
EQUAL FISHING RIGHTS.
The cardinal fact in the whole difficulty is that
! the American and British subjects have equal fish
! ing rights with the French. The status Of the
| three powers there may be briefly epitomzed thus:
England the whole island in full sovereignty.
| BY the treaty of Utrecht in 1713 to France were
granted fishery privileges there with the British
subjects. BY the treaty Of Washington. in 1915 the
/ United States placed equality with the
| other two France contends that her rights are
/ superior to those of her competitors. but IL is
idle to suppose that the American statesmen of a
century ago. with the fun knowledge Of the actual
conditions existing there would have consented TO
accept for their people any rights less extensive
| than those enjoyed by French British fishermen.
Indeed there is abundant proof that in those olden
/ davs the Yankee" fishermen did assert and eXer-
else the fullest rights there but the fisheries be-
coming depleted. they abandoned the region almost
wholly so that the generation of to-day is unaware
Of fsherfolk then lorded il in these North
/ ern waters.
| The French right on the treaty coast is merely
one to catch FISH during the summer without inter-
! ference from the British The American right is
to hsh on equal terms with the British. Therefore,
| the Frenchmen argued. the Americans can no
| more interfere with than the British The
deduction is forcble enough until the question is
raised as to what constitutes such interference
| II can hardly be oontended that anything but act
/ ual competition fishing in the same waters
would constitute an Interference with the French
| fishing operations. Certainly mining mining OF
other industrial pursued on land and call
ing for only an outlet the sea for the shipment
| Of uroducts would not be held 10 be Obstruc-
ton by any sane persons to whom the question
/ would be submitted. Yet it is only by advancing
| such untenabe arguments that France can bolster
/ up a claim TO she does.
To such extremes this position carried that last
season ninety-two fishing vessels. with crews OF
| more than one thousand were driven out Of
/ Hare Bay by a British gunboat. because seventeen
Frenchmen trawlng island twenty-eight
miles away held that these craft were interfering
with them Similarly. when Frenchman desires
| station which a Newfoundlander occupies the
latter has TO give IL up and II he does not DO SO
peaceably the warshps eXpel him forc6iy. lie Is
bundled out of his holding, his nets are sent adrtt
after their contents have been empted INTO the sea
and rnpoveris nment Is the lesson taught MIN LOT
his contumacy. Some years ego hsr! SoiC Ia
politician advised the prosecuted coast tolk that
M Gesf way TO settle the take by the
4 ears and plunge into the sea the first trenchInah
! doctrine was siernly frowned down. and when zen
sometime atter~ard settler tIleG 10 t teI i1
! WINTER while the owners were absent. he was
TN cS5rtitio1 OF the Observation-Disclosures along the
Treaty Coast is than that of any ether white
| are subjected TO indignties akin TO those OF the
Russian mouth Nowhere else are Brlllsh Val
shins detailed to patrol he coast 10 Coerce ther
hes cruisers is to compel the settlers give way
80 no