Evening star., 1926-10-28
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

developed sufficient to run all the
railroads and factories of Canada.
Hamilton River drops 760 feet in l.
miles. and contains Grand Falls
which have a sheer drop of 3l5 feet
more than twice the size of Niagara
Falls, whose height is only 155 feet.
The volume of water going over
Grand Falls is $4,000 cubic feet per
second-which is greater than Mag
ara. It would develop 100000
horsepower. The rapids above the
falls would develop 100000 horse
power and Muskrat Falls. 27 miles
above Goose Bay, is estimated at
500 600 horsepower. There are numer-
Gus other falls and rapids through
out Newfoundland claimed territory.
There is a range of mountains parai-
lei to the Atlantic Coast, with peaks
7. 600 to 5000 feet high. containing
various metals-irOn. gold. copper ana
nickel-lead-but mining Is quite unde
veloped. The chief immediate source
of wealth is the timber and water
power. though the amount OF ores 10
be found there in the future Is un-
estimated.
Since 1918, American fishermen have
held rights. under our treaty with
rador Coast, but in recent years the
rights have not been extensively eX.
ercised, for the fishing has ceased To-
be very profitable. Newfoundland has
attempted to handicap American fish
ing by forbidding the buying of bait ol
hiring of natives along the coast, and
diplomatic parleyS resulting in no set
tlement, the American claims were re
ferred by Secretary Root to The Hague
in 1908. In 1910 The Hague Tribunal
gave it's decision. awarding to Grea
Britain the power to make regula
tions, subject to our treaty of 1918
but permitting Americans to fish
within the Smile marine limit
and to hire foreign Uabrador) hand.
to aid them.
1t will be recalled that Secretary oi
State Daniel Webster once offered tu
concede Oregon and Washington tu
Great Britain for q clear title to these
fishing rights, but he was persuaded
by missionary, Marcus Whitman.
that he was making a bad bargain.
r X X
While the mainland Of Labrador wa
no-man's land for centuries after /,
had been given to Newfoundland. u
began to be valued after the Battle Of
the Plains of Abraham and the Brit
ish conquest of Canada in 1859.
BY the treaty of Paris In 1863. 81
strip extending eastward from the
Saguenay River to st. Johns River.
opposite the west end of Antlcosti j.
land, was made part of conquered Que
be, and the coast" was confirmed to
Newfoundland. In 1874. this 'coast'
was reannexed to Quebec. and in 1870"
it again passed to Newfoundland. H.
1925, another adjustment was mad.
nd nd utya Al
800 miles to Blanc Sablon. at the west
end of the Belle Island Strait. and held
to terminate at a line drawn due north
to SO degrees north latitude. But ever
| then there was no definition Of what
was meant by the coast"
History establishes this precedent:
BY a grant of 1870 the Hudson Bay
! Fur Co. was given control of all ter
ritory whose waters drained into Hud
son Bay. Later, narrow strip
along the st. Lawrence River wa
| granted to Quebec and consequently
| Quebec construed that grant as cover
ing "all territory north to the water
shed separating the Hudson Bay ter
rain from the st. Lawrence River
| drainage area"
On that Quebec precedent, New
| foundland now claims all the water
| shed whose drainage runs into tho
| Atlantic through its coast"
The dispute began actively 30 year
| ago, when the value Of pulpwood
was realized. Canada passed a law
| carrying it's Canadian boundary north
OF Quebecs old boundary 10 the
| height Of land Of the Eastman and
Hamilton Rivers. and east To the un
| disputed Newfoundland coast" hold
| ings.
Friction over that claim rose H.,
| 1903, when Quebec set up a protes
| because Newfoundland was leasing
| timber rights on the Hamilton River
| within that grabbed territory, bu'
| Newfoundland pointed out that for
| $50 years that territory had been
| British with no pretense OF jurisdic
ton by Quebec before 1908.
y 4
The supply Of pulpwood in the Prov
ince of Quebec will be exhausted IN
less than 90 years. Newfoundland
| justified her price for the entire ter
| ritory, $50, 900 900, not by the Quebe,'
comparison with Americas purchase
Of Alaska for $7.250.000. but by Tnorr
modern land deals-when America
paid Spain, after defeating her in war
$40, 100000 for Porto Rico and the
Philippines, and paid Panama $40 900.
] 900 besides an annual stipend OF $3.50
900 for strip across Panama 10 miles
wide, and later gave Colombia SIS.
900, 900 more for her quitclaim on that
same strip.
| Newfoundland recognizes that the
resources of her continental territory
cannot be developed without IL rail.
road to Quebec City, because the river
is frozen five months annually. and
that such development could never he
made by Newfoundland. She offers 10
sell the hinterland alone for SIS 900. =.
900, but Quebec declines to buy into
future troubles of commerce passing
through Newfoundland waters. So
the case goes to the Priyy Council for
adjudication.
(CopyriEht. 1896. by Paul v. ColIlnsJ