Ogden Evening Standard | 1910-10-10 | Page 4 | What is a Bay ?

WHAT IS A BAY? The main point of the long dispute between the United States and the British government over the Newfoundland fisheries was this: Have the fishermen of the United States a right to fish in the bays of Newfoundland, and if so, what is a bay? The decision of the arbitration court at The Hague favored the British side on this point. That is to say, our fishermen cannot hereafter here-after fish in the bays of Newfoundland, though they can fish in the waters farther out. The old vexed question as to when a bay is a bay, however, was not directly answered. The fact is there is no exact definition of a bay, and the use of the term in treaties, laws, etc., has caused a vast amount of trouble. Some bays are almost entirely inclosed by land, while others are but slight depressions in the coast. Hereafter, when a pupil in school is unable to tell the teacher what a bay is, he can console himself with the thought that even the great international court at The Hague couldn't answer the question perfectly.