It will be noted that Mr. Alexander asserts that any inference from the
reports in question that men were illegally shipped is unwarranted, and
based on wholly untrustworthy information.
The contents of the inclosure may be made known to Sir Edward Grey.
[Inclosure.]
The Secretary of Commerce and
Labor to the Secretary of
State.
Department of Commerce and Labor,
Office of the
Secretary,
Washington
,
January 9,
1906
.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt to-day of your communication of the 6th instant,
transmitting a copy of the full text of a letter from Mr. Joseph
O’Reilly, inspector of revenue preventive service of Newfoundland,
in which allegation is made that Newfoundland fishermen were
illegally shipped by American vessels, particularly by the M. B. Stetson, on the advice of Mr. A. B.
Alexander, an agent of the Bureau of Fisheries in this
department.
As you were advised on the 26th ultimo, your previous communication
of December 22, 1905, regarding the same matter, was referred to the
Bureau of Fisheries with instructions to have Mr. Alexander submit a
statement relative to the allegations mentioned immediately upon his
return to Washington. This statement has just been received, and in
transmitting a copy herewith I beg to invite your attention to Mr.
Alexander’s assertion that the inference of Sir Edward Grey from
reports received through Mr. O’Reilly that men were illegally
shipped on the schooner M. B. Stetson, and
that such course was advised by Mr. Alexander, is unwarranted and
based wholly on untrustworthy information.
[Subinclosure.]
Mr. Alexander
to the Commissioner of
Fisheries.
Department of Commerce and Labor,
Bureau of
Fisheries,
Washington
,
January 8,
1906
.
Sir: A communication, dated December 27,
from the chief clerk, Department of Commerce and Labor, to the
Commissioner of Fisheries, transmitting a letter from the Secretary
of State to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, with an inclosed
copy of a telegram from the American embassy at London to the
Secretary of State, calling attention to alleged violation of the
laws of Newfoundland by the schooner M. B.
Stetson, of Bucksport, Me., was received January 5.
In reply, I have the honor to say the inference of Sir Edward Gray
from reports received through Mr. J. O’Reilly, inspector of revenue
protection service, of Newfoundland, that men were illegally shipped
on the schooner. M. B. Stetson, and that such
course was advised by me, is unwarranted and based on wholly
untrustworthy information.
Mr. T. M. Nicholson, owner of the vessel in question, previous to
engaging men, came on board the Grampus and
solicited my advice. He was told that he must not permit either men
or boats on board his vessel within territorial waters nor must he
afford any assistance to them in reaching a point beyond the 3-mile
limit. This was fully understood by Mr. Nicholson.
Several days afterwards Mr. Nicholson came on board the Grampus and stated that on November 29 a
native crew of fishermen had been shipped on the Stetson, and, furthermore, that he had complied with the
law in every particular, and that Mr. O’Reilly had been a witness to
the legality of the method employed. During our conversation Mr.
Nicholson was asked if the men engaged to be enlisted had been taken
on board or in any way given assistance previous to their being
received on board outside the 3-mile limit. He stated that no
assistance was rendered.
The second paragraph of the telegram, however, affirms that nine men
were engaged at Wood Island, and that the vessel towed them in their
boat to Lark Harbor. The weather being too stormy the Grampus did not go out and I was not a
witness.
Previous to my arrival at Washington, I had not heard that the
captain and owner of the M. B. Stetson had
been charged with violating the law in the manner described. On the
contrary, in conversation with Mr. O’Reilly, subsequent to the men
being shipped on the M. B. Stetson, he asked
me if I had heard it reported that Mr. Nicholson, owner of the Stetson, had towed [Page 667] a fishing boat and crew from Wood
Island to Lark Harbor that had been engaged for the herring fishing
on that vessel. I replied that I had not heard such a report, and,
furthermore, did not believe that Mr. Nicholson acted contrary to
law, as he had informed me that he had been very particular to do
nothing that would cause comment or place the Government in an
embarrassing position. Mr. O’Reilly replied that he felt confident
that Mr. Nicholson had committed no overt act. This would imply that
Mr. O’Reilly had no positive knowledge of any infraction of the law
on the part of Mr. Nicholson.
From October 5 until December 22, 43 American vessels arrived at Bay
of Islands for salted and frozen herring. The captains and agents of
these vessels were instructed before leaving the home port to obey
the law in every particular, and in all cases where any doubt
existed as to the proper methods to pursue, to exercise great
caution and make the necessary inquiries regarding the wording and
interpretation of the law before acting. I would state that the
captains, owners, and agents of the said vessels frequently visited
the Grampus for the purpose of gaining
information relating to the law governing the herring fishery on the
treaty shore of Newfoundland, and in no single instance, among all
the American captains, have I observed or learned that the law had
been transgressed; neither have the captains been advised to pursue
methods or perform acts contrary to the treaty rights of 1818 as
interpreted by the United States Government. Precaution was taken to
prevent captains from violating the law through ignorance, and they
in turn exhibited a disposition to gain all possible information
bearing upon the subject in order to comply with the
requirements.
Respectfully,
Approved and forwarded:
Geo. M.
Bowers, Commissioner.
