Note 1093 — Chapter II · GENERAL ADOPTION OF THE THREE-MILE LIMIT.
Reading edition
Hansard, xxxiii. 504. The Lord Chancellor (Lord Herschell), who followed, said : “He was far from saying that three miles was to be the limit of territorial waters for all time. Originally the distance was fixed by gunshot, and it was always said that the distance a gun could fire to was three miles. How far this principle was to be extended, and whether it was to be extended indefinitely, was a question for consideration, and it was a question which would not be without its difficulty.” Lord Salisbury referred to a gun which was fired on Jubilee Day and carried twelve miles, and Lord Herschell to one which had a range of thirteen miles.