months from the date of the exchange of notes making this Agreement binding, the printed case of each of the parties hereto, accompanied by printed copies of the documents, the official correspondence, and all other evidence on which each party relies, shall be delivered in duplicate (with such additional copies as may be agreed upon) to the agent of the other party. It shall be sufficient for this purpose if such case is delivered at the British Embassy at Washington, or at the American Embassy at London, as the case may be, for transmission to the agent for its Government. Within fifteen days thereafter, such printed case and accompanying evidence of each of the parties shall be delivered in duplicate to each member of the Tribunal, and such delivery may be made by depositing within the stated period the necessary number of copies with the International Bureau at The Hague, for transmission to the Arbitrators. After the delivery on both sides of such printed case, either party may, in like manner, and within four months after the expiration of the period above fixed for the delivery to the agents of the case, deliver to the agent of the other party (with such additional copies as may be agreed upon) a printed countercase accompanied by printed copies of additional documents, correspondence and other evidence in reply to the case, documents, correspondence, and other evidence so presented by the other party, and within fifteen days thereafter, such party shall, in like manner as above provided, deliver in duplicate, such countercase and accompanying evidence to each of the Arbitrators. The foregoing provisions shall not prevent the Tribunal from permitting either party to rely at the hearing upon documentary or other evidence which is shown to have become open to its investigation or examination or available for use too late to be submitted within the period hereinabove fixed for the delivery of copies of evidence, but in case any such evidence is to be presented, printed copies of it as soon as possible after it is secured, must be delivered in like manner as provided for the delivery of copies of other evidence, to each of the Arbitrators and to the agent of the other party. The admission of any such additional evidence, however, shall be subject to such conditions as the Tribunal may impose, and the other party shall have a reasonable opportunity to offer additional evidence in rebuttal. The Tribunal shall take into consideration all evidence which is offered by either party. VII. If in the case or counter-case (exclusive of the accompanying evidence) either party shall have specified or referred to any documents, correspondence or other evidence in its own exclusive possession without annexing a copy, such party shall be bound, if the other party shall demand it within thirty days after the delivery of the case or counter-case respectively, to furnish to the party applying for it, a copy thereof; and either party may, within the like time demand that the other shall furnish certified copies, or produce for inspection the originals of any documentary evidence adduced by the party upon whom the demand is made. It shall be the duty of the party upon whom any such demand is made to comply with it as soon as may be, and within a period not exceeding fifteen days after the demand has been received. The production for inspection, or the furnishing to the other party of official governmental publications, publishing, as authentic, copies of the documentary evidence referred to, shall be a sufficient compliance with such demand, if such governmental publications shall have been published prior to the 1st day of January, 1908. If the demand is not complied with, the reasons for the failure to comply must be stated to the Tribunal. VIII. The Tribunal shall meet within six months after the expiration of the period above fixed for the delivery to the agents of the case, and upon the assembling of the Tribunal at its first session, each party, through its agent or counsel, shall deliver, in duplicate, to each of the Arbitrators and to the agent and counsel of the other party (with such additional copies as may be agreed upon), a printed argument, showing the points and referring to the evidence upon which its relies. The time fixed by this Agreement for the delivery of the case, counter-case, or argument, and for the meeting of the Tribunal, may be extended by mutual consent of the parties. IX. The decision of the Tribunal shall, if possible, be made within two months from the close of the arguments on both sides, unless on the request of the Tribunal the parties shall agree to extend the period. It shall be made in writing and dated and signed by each member of the Tribunal, and shall be accompanied by a statement of reasons. A member who may dissent from the decision may record his dissent when signing. The language to be used throughout the proceedings shall be English. X. Each party reserves to itself the right to demand a revision of the award. Such demand shall contain a statement of the grounds on which it is made and shall be made within five days of the promulgation of the award, and shall be heard by the Tribunal within ten days thereafter. The party making the demand shall serve a copy of the same on the opposite party, and both parties shall be heard in argument by the Tribunal on said demand. The demand can only be made on the discovery of some new fact or circumstance calculated to exercise a decisive influence upon the award, and which was unknown to the Tribunal and to the party demanding the revision at the time the discussion was closed, or upon the ground that the said award does not fully and sufficiently, within the meaning of this Agreement, determine any question or questions submitted. If the Tribunal shall allow the demand for a revision, it shall afford such opportunity for further hearings and arguments as it shall deem necessary. XI. The present Agreement shall be deemed to be binding only when confirmed by the two Governments by an exchange of notes. In witness whereof this Agreement has been signed and sealed by His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador at Washington, the Right Honourable James Bryce, O.M., on behalf of Great Britain, and by the Secretary of State of the United States, Elihu Root, on behalf of the United States. Done at Washington on the 27th day of January, 1909. (L.S.) JAMES BRYCE. (No. 1.) Mr. Bryce to Mr. Bacon. SIR, Washington, February 6, 1909. I HAVE the honour to inform you, under instructions from His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, that I am now in a position to complete the formalities incident to the conclusion of the Special Agreement for submission to arbitration of questions concerning the fisheries on the North Atlantic coast. I accordingly transmit herewith the signed copy of the Agreement in my possession, which, when signed on the 27th ultimo, was for the time to be held in suspense, and I have to request you to be so good as to acknowledge its receipt in a note forwarding to me the copy now in your possession, and to take note of the fact that formal delivery of the document has now been duly effected by our action on behalf of our respective Governments. As you will recall, the General Arbitration Convention of 1908* provided that an Agreement such as this should take final effect upon an exchange of notes ad hoc, and only that proceeding now remains. Before the time for it arrives, it will be necessary that we should come to a definite understanding as to the composition of the Tribunal, and I hope that you will agree with me in desiring that this should soon take place, in order that the exchange of notes may be promptly effected and steps taken to set the machinery of arbitration in motion. I have great pleasure in taking this opportunity of acknowledging for myself, and on behalf of those who aided me in the negotiations preceding this Agreement, the friendly and courteous expressions used by your predecessor in office, Mr. Root, in regard to these negotiations in his note of the 26th ultimo. A negotiation for the purpose of putting into effect a policy so large in its scope and so beneficent in its aim as that recorded by Mr. Root and yourself in the General Arbitration Convention of last year, and carried out in this its first application to the removal of an ancient dispute which has often troubled the relations of the two countries, could not but correspond in its methods to the spirit of equity and conciliation which, as I gladly recognize, has inspired its authors and has constantly animated the President of the United States in the attitude of his Administration towards Great Britain. I have, &c. JAMES BRYCE. EXCELLENCY, (No. 2.)-Mr. Bacon to Mr. Bryce. Department of State, Washington, I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note of this day's date, by which you inform me, under instructions from His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, that you are now in a position to complete the formalities incident to the conclusion of the Special Agreement for submission to arbitration of questions concerning the fisheries on the North Atlantic Coast. You accordingly transmit the signed copy of the Agreement in your possession, which, as you state, when signed on the 27th ultimo, was for the time to be held in suspense. Acknowledging the receipt thereof, I have the honour in turn to transmit herewith the signed copy of the Agreement which was retained in my possession, and to make of record the fact that formal delivery of the document has been duly effected by our action in behalf of our respective Governments. I shall be glad to take up with you at any time the matter of the composition of the Tribunal, and I entirely agree with you that this should be done promptly, in order that the exchange of notes provided for in the General Arbitration Convention of 1908 may be effected and steps taken to set the machinery of arbitration in motion. I would be remiss and do injustice to my feelings were I to close this note without the expression of my high appreciation of your courteous recognition of the friendly spirit towards Great Britain which animated the President and the members of his Administration who had the pleasure to have a part in these negotiations, and who, I beg your Excellency to believe, share in the acknowledgment of the courtesy, consideration, and fairness displayed by you and your assistants in the negotiation which Mr. Root was moved to express in his note of the 26th ultimo. I have, &c. ROBERT BACON. SIR. (No. 3.)-Mr. Bryce to Mr. Bacon. British Embassy, Washington, March 4, 1909. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note informing me that the Senate of the United States has approved the Special Agreement for the reference to arbitration of the questions relating to the fisheries on the North Atlantic Coast and of the terms of the Resolution in which that approval is given. It is now my duty to inform you that the Government of His Britannic Majesty confirms the Special Agreement aforesaid, and in doing so confirms also the understanding arrived at by us that Question 5 of the series of questions submitted for arbitrationnamely, from where must be measured the "3 marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbours" referred to in the said Article-is submitted in its present form with the agreed understanding that no question as to the Bay of Fundy, considered as a whole, apart from its bays or creeks, or as to innocent passage through the Gut of Canso, is included in this question as one to be raised in the present arbitration, it being the intention of the parties that their respective views or contentions on either subject shall be in no wise prejudiced by anything in the present arbitration. This understanding is that which was embodied in notes exchanged between your predecessor and myself on the 27th January, and is that expressed in the above-mentioned Resolution of the Senate of the United States. EXCELLENCY, I have, &c. JAMES BRYCE. (No. 4.)-Mr. Bacon to Mr. Bryce. Department of State, Washington, I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 4th instant, in which you confirm the understanding in the matter of the Special Agreement submitting to arbitration the differences between the Governments of the United States and Great Britain concerning the North Atlantic fisheries, as expressed in the Resolution of the Senate of the 16th February, 1909, and as previously agreed upon by the interchange of notes with my predecessor of the 27th January, 1909.* I therefore have the honour to inform you that this Government considers the Special Agreement as in full force and effect from and after the 4th day of March, 1909. I have, &c. * Not printed. ROBERT BACON. |