The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-05-28
GATHERING At THE
HAGUE

The Hague, May 28.-An array of
lillustrious counsel engaged to con-
duct the oral arguments in the New
foundland fisheries dispute before
the International Arbitration Court
next week is beginning to put In an
appearance here. The diplomats and
lawyers are accompanied by host
of secretaries, technical experts and
attaches, together with number of
newspaper correspondents, and the
lazy old Dutch capital is beginning
to buzz with an animation such as
has not been witnessed since the last
worlds peace conference.
/ The personnel of the arbitration
court is to be the most distinguished
ever chosen to preside at the trial
of special case before the great
peace tribunal. The presiding Off
Ger will be DR.. Heinrich Lammasch,
the noted Austrian authority on in
ternational law. The other mem
bers Of the court will be Sir Charles
Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of the Su-
preme court of Canada; Judge Geo.
Gray, of the United States Circuit
Court; Jonkheer A. F: De Savornin
Lohmano, Of the Netherlands, and
Luis M. Drago, of the Argentine Re
public.
The legal representatives of Great
Britain, including Canada and New
founiland, will include the Hon. A.
B. Aylesworth, Minister of Justice of
Canada; the Hon. Sir Edward Nor
ris, X. c., Premier of Newfoundland;
the Right Hon. Sir William Robin
son, X. c., Acknowledgement of Eng
land; D. Morrison, X. c., Attorney
General of Newfoundland; the Hon.
Sir James Winter, X. c., former At
torney-Genera1 Of Newfoundland; the
Right Hon. Sir Robert Finlay, for
mer Attorney General of England;
Sir H. Erie Richards, K. c., who was
counsel for Great Britain in the Sa-
moa and Venezuela arbitrations;
John S. Ewart, K. c., and George
Shepley, K. c., distinguished Cana
dian lawyers. Messrs. Blake and
Redden are the British solicitors.
Equally distinguished, though not
quite so numerous, will be the rep
resentatives of the United States.
Senator Elihu Root of New York
heads the list of counsel, the other
members including Charles P. An
; derson, who acts as agent; former
Senator George Turner of Washing
ton, who represented the United
States on the Alaska Boundary Tri-
bunal; Samuel J. Elder, distingu-
ished lawyer of Boston, and James
Brown Scott, solicitor for the Depart
ment of State.
The Newfoundland fisheries case
J is regarded as one of the most i'm
portant disputes that has arisen be-
tween Great Britain and the United
States in the last century and is the
first case to come before the Inter-
national Arbitration Court under the
agreement of the Powers as signed
by the Peace Convention held at The
Hague in 1907. The dispute dates
back almost one hundred years and
during much of that time it has been
the fruitful sources Of irritation and
OF a voluminous diplomatic cores
. pondence. Naturally it will be a
} matter of congratulation for both
. nations when the controversy is at
. last laid to rest, as it will be by the
award of the tribunal about to con-
vene.
The controversy had it's origin in
the treaty signed by the United
States and Great Britain in 1918, by
which certain rights of fishery in
common with British fishermen
which had been claimed by the Unit
ed States for it's people under the
treaty of peace of 1888, were recog'
nizei by Great Britain, while others
were renowned by the United States
BY this remuneration American fish
ing vessels were not allowed to take
dry or cure fish within three mar
inc miles of the coasts, bays, harbors
and creeks of the British posses.
sions except certain specified coasts
and except in certain cases of emer'
gency. Some twenty-five years at
ter the treaty was signed the colon
ial governments declared that the
word "bays" used in the treaty
meant any bay so named on the
maps, irrespective of it's width, and
some American vessels were seized
at distances greater than three miles
from land.
The United States denied this in.
depreciation of the treaty provisions
asserting that only inlets of the sea
not over six miles wide, were intend.
ed. From that time forward the in.
depreciation has been in dispute
At a much later period the New.
foundland government adopted reg.
ulations as to the coast fisheries OF
that island, which the American