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heavily as a nation, when the United States renounced those rights 

 which should have been inalienable, the right of fishing within three 

 miles of the coast of Canada, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Prince 

 Edward Island, and gained nothing. The seizure and annovance of 

 our fishing vessels followed, until the enactment of the reciprocity 

 treaty of 1854, when, until its termination in 1866, an era of compar- 

 ative peace prevailed. The Washington Treat}' followed in 1872 r 

 and you know the disastrous effects of that Treaty. 



The speaker next reviewed at some length the history of the boun- 

 ties b}' which our government fostered and encouraged the fisheries,, 

 of 1789 to 1866, when the bount}- law was repealed and the duties 

 on salt used in the fisheries were remitted. 



Who are the men, he asked in conclusion, who come here to-day 

 asking for the protection of the government? The representatives 

 of the fishing interest of New England do not come here to-day as 

 suppliants. We do not come here asking that an}- favor may be 

 granted us. We come here to-da}' asking for the vindication of our 

 rights and privileges (Applause). We take that high ground. We 

 stand here as citizens of a free republic to show that our interests- 

 have not had that care from the general government to which they 

 were entitled. I know the class and character of the men engaged 

 in the fisheries. They are a manly set of men. They are not shirk- 

 ers. They do not whine. They are used to hardship and exposure. 

 They are men who have always been true and loyal to the govern- 

 ment. Before the Revolution they went down with Sir William Pep- 

 perell and at the seige of Louisburg wrested from France the very 

 fishing rights which our government has renounced. In the war of 

 the Revolution in 1812, and in our more recent struggle, they have 

 done their part. In 1812 when the United States had but half a do- 

 zen ships, the fishermen of New England manned those ships, and 

 the proud flag of England trailed in defeat. In our civil war they 

 were found all along the line, from the capes of the Chesapeake 

 around into the Gulf. Wherever the honor of the nation was to be 

 upheld and its integritj- vindicated, these men have been at the front. 

 We are here to consider what can be done for them. 



In 1783, when the nation was in infancy, with a small population, 

 the government took a decided stand in defence of the rights of the 

 fishermen. To-day, ranking among the first nations of the world, 

 competent to vindicate all our rights, it has played shy of the subject 



