711.428/1329
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in Canada (Riggs)
Sir: Consideration has been given to the amended draft of the Halibut Convention submitted by the Canadian Government as a counterproposal to the draft which the Legation submitted to that Government pursuant to instruction No. 548 of May 29, 1929,17 and transmitted to the Department with the Legation’s despatch No. 1159 of October 7, 1929.18
Note has been made of the criticism made by the Canadian Government in its note No. 128 of October 3, 1929,19 of the second paragraph of Article III in the draft presented by this Government, and of the alterations made in that paragraph by the draft forwarded to the Department with the Legation’s despatch of October 7, 1929. As will be indicated hereinafter in detail, this Government is prepared to accept, with the insertion of two phrases and two verbal changes, the paragraph as revised by the Canadian Government.
On a comparison of the Canadian draft enclosed with the Legation’s despatch and the draft transmitted to the Legation with instruction No. 548 of May 29, 1929, changes made by the Canadian Government have been noted in the Preamble and in Articles II, III and V. References made in this instruction to line number are to the draft received from the Canadian Government in October, 1929, and in many cases do not correspond exactly with the line number in the revised draft herewith enclosed.19a
[Page 514]The Preamble of the draft submitted by Canada is acceptable to this Government.
The word “mutually”, appearing in the expression “as may be mutually agreed upon” in Article II in the American draft, was omitted from the Canadian draft. This omission is acceptable.
The expression “convention between His Britannic Majesty and the United States” in the first paragraph of Article III and in Article V of this Government’s draft was amended in the Canadian draft to read “convention between His Britannic Majesty and the President of the United States”. This Government does not agree to the insertion of the words “the President of” in this expression at these places. The expression used in the Halibut Convention concluded March 2, 1923,20 to which reference is made at these two places in the convention under negotiation, is “the United States” and not “the President of the United States”. In the view of this Government the same expression, namely, “the United States”, should be used in the reference in the present Convention. The term “the President of the United States of America” at the other places where the expression “the President of the United States” or “the President of the United States of America” appears in the Canadian draft is acceptable to this Government.
Other differences between the two drafts appear to be confined to Article III. The differences noted in detail are as follows:
The expression “Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea” was substituted at one place in the first paragraph and one place in the second paragraph for the expression “Northern Pacific Ocean including Bering Sea”. Inasmuch as that expression as used in the first paragraph is a reference to the description in the Convention of 1923, it is believed that the word “including” should be restored at this place, as it is used in the Convention of 1923. “Including” was retained, quite properly in the view of this Government, in the second paragraph of Article V of the Canadian draft of the new Convention. This Government has no objection to the use of the word “and” in the same expression in the second paragraph of Article III and in the Preamble of the new Convention, as it appears in the Canadian draft.
The provision “and this Commission shall publish a report of its activities from time to time” also in the first paragraph of Article III was amended in the Canadian draft to read “which Commission shall make such investigations as are necessary into the life history of the halibut in the treaty waters and shall publish a report of its activities from time to time”. The revision is acceptable to this Government.
The amended statement of the authority vested in the International [Page 515] Fisheries Commission in the second paragraph differs from that proposed in this Government’s draft in respect of the following provisions:
- (a)
- divide the treaty waters into areas;
- (c)
- fix the size and character of halibut fishing appliances to be used therein;
- (e)
- close to all halibut fishing such portion or portions of an area or areas, as the International Fisheries Commission find to be populated by small, immature halibut.
In provision (d) the words “statistics of the catch of halibut” were substituted for the words “statistics of the catch”; the words “as will enable the International Fisheries Commission” were substituted for the words “as will enable the Commission”; and the words “trend of the halibut fishery” were substituted for the words “trend of the fishery”.
This amended statement, with the substitution of the word “convention” for “treaty” in subdivision (a) as hereinafter proposed, is acceptable to this Government.
You are instructed to make the following proposals for the revision of the Canadian draft of the Convention:
(1) that the words “including Bering Sea” in the seventh line of the first paragraph of Article I be replaced by the expression “including the southern as well as the western coasts of Alaska”. The Pacific Ocean is not mentioned in this paragraph. Reference to the coasts of Alaska, for the purpose of including the waters of Bering Sea, is analogous to the description of the waters of the Pacific Ocean by reference to the coasts of the United States of America and of Canada. The new expression proposed by this Government embraces all the waters intended to be covered by the expression “including Bering Sea”. It is believed also that it is well to include expressly the waters off the southern coast of Alaska, which otherwise would only be embraced by inference in the waters off the western coasts of the United States and of Canada.
(2) This Government is of the opinion that it should be clearly expressed in the Convention that the authority which will be conferred on the Commission by the second paragraph of Article III is limited in its application to nationals and inhabitants and fishing vessels and boats of the United States of America and of the Dominion of Canada. It, therefore, proposes that there be inserted after the word “may” at the end of the sixth line of the paragraph the words “in respect of the nationals and inhabitants and fishing vessels and boats of the United States of America and of the Dominion of Canada”.
(3) The expression “from time to time” in the sixth line of the second paragraph of Article III in the draft transmitted to the Legation with the Department’s instruction No. 548 of May 29, 1929, does not appear in this paragraph as revised in the Canadian draft. In the view of this Government the expression should be restored, and [Page 516] should be placed after the insertion proposed in the foregoing paragraph of this instruction.
The insertions proposed under items (2) and (3) read together are as follows: “in respect of the nationals and inhabitants and fishing vessels and boats of the United States of America and of the Dominion of Canada, from time to time”. This clause will immediately precede the subdivision (a) and relate to subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e).
You are instructed to propose also
(4) that the word “Convention” be substituted for “article” in the second line of the third paragraph of Article I and in the second line of the fourth paragraph of that Article;
(5) that the word “or” be substituted for “and” in the second and third lines of the third paragraph of Article I;
(6) that the words “Each of the High Contracting Parties” be substituted for “Each Party” at the beginning of the last sentence of the first paragraph of Article III;
(7) that the term “the United States of America” be used throughout the text in place of the term “the United States”; and
(8) that the word “convention” be used in lieu of “treaty” throughout the text.
The places at which the expression “the United States of America” will be substituted for “the United States” are as follows:
- Article I, first paragraph, lines 3 and 6;
- Article I, second paragraph, line 4;
- Article I, third paragraph, lines 4 and 17;
- Article II, line 2;
- Article III, first paragraph, line 5;
- III, second paragraph, line 6; and
- Article V, second paragraph, line 4.
The places at which the word “convention” will be substituted for “treaty” are as follows:
- Article III, first paragraph, line 10; and
- Article III, second paragraph, subdivision (a).
You are instructed to inform the Dominion Government of the views of this Government in regard to the amended draft submitted in the note to the Legation from the Department of External Affairs of October 3, 1929, and to state that this Government is now prepared to conclude the Convention and to request the President to issue a full power to you to sign it.
Copies of the draft now proposed by this Government, showing by deletion or underlining the amendments to the Canadian draft, are enclosed. One copy should be submitted to the Canadian Government.
I am [etc.]
- Ibid., p. 61.↩
- Ibid., p. 66.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Revised draft convention not printed.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1923, vol. i, p. 468.↩