Cannon-range and three-mile limit as its equivalent introduced into English Jurisprudence in 1800, 1801--Lord Stowell’s decisions regarding the _Twee Gebroeders_ and the _Anna_ in British High Court of Admiralty--Restricted to questions of neutrality--The practice of Great Britain and the United States leads to general adoption of three-mile limit--First applied to fisheries (of North America) by Great Britain--Treaty of 1818--Negotiations concerning Behring Sea--Russian claim of 100 miles--Adoption of gunshot or three miles--Judicial decisions as to extent of territorial sea--The Bristol Channel--Conception Bay--Statutes relative to territorial waters--Foreign Enlistment Act--Territorial Waters Jurisdiction Act--The _Franconia_ case--Three-mile limit restricted to the open coast for certain purposes only--Bays excluded--The Hovering Acts--Customs’ jurisdiction--Quarantine Acts--Opinions of publicists of earlier part of nineteenth century--Rayneval, Chitty, Schmalz, Klüber, Wheaton, Kent, Manning, Heffter, Reddie, Ortolan, Hautefeuille, Pistoye and Duverdy, Massé--Summary--Most accept cannon-range--Few accept the three-mile limit 576 CHAPTER III. THE FISHERY CONVENTIONS. In nineteenth century the boundaries of territorial sea concerned chiefly with fisheries--Encroachment of foreign fishermen--Dutch decrees of 1824 and 1829 fixing a limit of two leagues on British coast--Disputes with French fishermen--Inquiry by select committee of House of Commons, 1833--Their recommendations--Opinion as to bays--Renewed encroachments and disputes--Convention with France, 1839--Three-mile limit and ten miles for bays adopted--Granville Bay reserved for French--Regulations regarding trawling--Disputes with Belgian and Dutch fishermen--Belgians claim special rights under Bruges Charter--Convention of 1852 with Belgium--Dispute about Fame Islands--Second Convention with France, 1867--Not ratified--Question of Irish oyster-beds beyond three-mile limit--Fishery disputes in British North America--The definition of bays and creeks--British cruisers seize American vessels--The British Government relax the rule as to Bay of Fundy--Decision of referee as to this bay--Reciprocity Treaty, 1854--Terminated by United States, 1866--Concessions by British Government--Licenses to American vessels--A six-mile limit for bays conceded--Treaty of Washington, 1871--Terminated by United States, 1885--Treaty of Washington, 1888--Precise delimitation of bays--Treaty not ratified by United States--_Modus vivendi_ conceded and still in force--Discussion as to bays--Renewed disputes in North Sea--The Belgian “Devil”--The Higgin’s Inquiry--Conference at Hague, 1881--Views of British Government as to territorial limit--Question of dependent banks--Trawling and preservation of fish--North Sea Convention, 1882--Sweden and Norway refuse to join--Discussion