File No. 711.428/446
The Secretary of Commerce ( Redfield ) to the Secretary of State
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I trust I may be pardoned in expressing surprise at the contents of your letter of 13th instant in regard to the conference for the consideration of fisheries questions between the United States and Canada. The matter has been discussed for months and has been the subject of several communications between this Department and the Department of State. It has been the basis of preliminary conversations with the British Ambassador and with the Canadian authorities in person. It seems very late in the day to raise the question as to the need of the conference. The Secretary of State in person, together with the writer, has taken part in a discussion with the British Ambassador on some of the questions involved, and I think is personally familiar Avith them. It is well known that legislation has been introduced in the last two sessions of Congress involving considerable friction which it is hoped the conference may remove. I have already nominated to you the two representatives of the Department of Commerce to sit upon that conference.
It is the desire of this Department that an agreement should be negotiated between the two Governments taking advantage of the expressed willingness of Canada and of the British Ambassador to this effect and of the present state of harmonious cooperation between the two countries. It is, of course, impossible for any such conference to take place without a representative of the Department of State, and I have already orally stated to Mr. Polk that I think the Department of State should have two or more representatives as well as the Department of Commerce. I am not prepared to suggest an exact date, but inasmuch as the matter started in the spring or earlier, it did not seem unreasonable to think it might get into being by the summer. My chief thought is that we ought not to permit the next session of Congress to open without there being some definite, actual, practical steps being taken to remove the existing causes of friction. Otherwise, there is certain to be legislation introduced of a character which may cause material difficulty. Nothing has been done to modify the orders in council relating to Prince Rupert, which are adversely affecting our fisheries there. Inasmuch as the British authorities are ready and willing to go ahead and have so expressed themselves repeatedly, there would seem to be no difficulty in getting the matter started, unless there are reasons with which this Department is not familiar.
Yours very truly,