Governor Sir W. MacGregor to the Earl of Elgin.
I am desired by my ministers to state that they have learned with profound regret that His Majesty’s Government has, without reference [Page 735] to this colony, proposed to the United States ambassador, as one of the terms of a modus vivendi, the suspension of the foreign fishing vessels act this year, which was only adopted after consultation with His Majesty’s Government and mainly with a view to enable the government of this colony to deal with the local fisheries, and thus secure during the coming autumn peaceable conduct of the fisheries.
They respectfully submit that any arrangement embracing the suspension of that act interferes with the internal affairs of the colony and is in violation of the pledge furnished by Lord Salisbury through the British Parliament of the 5th May, 1891, during the debate on Newfoundland fisheries bill, “that the government of this colony is given unlimited power with respect to its internal affairs.” They had hoped and expected that before a modus vivendi was proposed to the United States Government a full text of the same would have been submitted to this Government, and thus have afforded an opportunity for suggestion or remonstrance. They also submit that the reasonableness of this expectation was warranted by the statement of Lord Salisbury in the debate on the Newfoundland fisheries bill of the 28th April, 1891. The suspension of the act under reference renders them entirety powerless to carry out their fisheries policy and to secure that peaceable conduct of the fisheries during the coming season, for which so much anxiety has been expressed by His Majesty’s Government.