§ MR. BADEN-POWELL (Liverpool, Kirkdale)asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether fishermen in a boat belonging to the American fishing vessel D. J. Adams recently entered the basin of Annapolis and purchased bait while within three miles of the shore of Nova Scotia; whether Article 1 of the United States Convention of 1818, which now regulates all questions of fishery rights on those coasts as between American and British subjects, specifically forbids American fishermen from approaching within the three miles limit except for purposes of shelter, repairing damages, and purchasing wood or water; whether the D. J. Adams has in consequence been arrested by the British authorities; whether any other cases of illegal infringement of the existing fishery agreements have been reported to Government during the past six weeks; and, whether, seeing that Her Majesty's Government promised on April 19th to spare no efforts to settle any disputes that might arise as to the exercise of fishery rights under the 1818 Convention, steps are now being taken to arrange this particular dispute, and also permanently to terminate so unsatisfactory a state of affairs?
§ THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. BRYCE) (Aberdeen, S.)1042 I beg to refer the hon. Member to the answer given in the House last night to the Question of the hon. Member for Central Sheffield by the Under Secrecretary of State for the Colonies, to whom Questions on this subject had better be addressed. Another case of seizure occurred last April, in which the United States vessel was released. In regard to the last paragraph of the hon. Member's Question, Her Majesty's Government are of opinion that until the facts of the case of the D. J. Adams have been established, it would be premature to consider the question of any diplomatic action.