6 



ocean commerce from the sea, and to-day the United States has no 

 reserved force to man her navy except what she gets from the coast- 

 ing and fishing business. This is the position of the government. 

 The present Senate was fully alive to the situation, and there was no 

 fear of reciprocity at their hands, whatever the future might bring. 

 The matter of reciprocity had always been a favorite one with Cana- 

 da, to give free fishing for free markets ; but their own local interests 

 rendered free fishing impossible. To go into their bays and take 

 their fish was to take the bread from the mouths of their wives and 

 children. The Fortune Ba} T case shows this. At the time of the 

 Halifax Commission we had no official facts to back up our state- 

 ments, but had to take the evidence as we found it, and for that rea- 

 son did not receive the consideration we should have had. Now the 

 opposite is true. At no time in the history of the government have 

 we had such an array of facts and figures at Washington bearing on 

 this question as now, to show that to give Canada our free markets 

 would be one of the most destructive things that could happen to the 

 United States, aside from our personal interests as a community. 

 In the past ten years Canada has built up a fleet of nearly five hun- 

 dred vessels, almost entirely by reason of our free markets. We 

 have but one course to pursue, to organize, and induce other fishing 

 communities to organize, and take united action in the matter. This 

 is a question between the producing and the distributing elements. 

 Gloucester, Portland and other outbying ports are the producers, 

 Boston the distributor. To-morrow the latter can sell out their stock 

 and turn their capital into other channels. Here we cannot close out 

 our wharves and fleet without a sacrifice. Give up the fisheries and 

 what is to become of the fishermen ? They cannot go into foreign 

 commerce, for we have none, and the coasting interest is full. This 

 is a national and patriotic, not a local or party matter. We must 

 put our claims upon this basis, the interests of the United States in 

 contradistinction to the interests of Great Britain. Upon that issue 

 we must stand. The country that will not protect its own interests 

 is unworthy of existence. You have got this thing in your own 

 hands. It is not a question of capital alone, but of capital, labor 

 and patriotism combined, and you will have no difficulty in- showing 

 that your cause is just. (Applause.) 



William A. Pew, Jr., Esq., was the next speaker. He thought it 



