254 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



greatest supply of bait available, and from these was obtained the bait 

 required for the prosecution of their fishing by the French fishermen, 

 who, owing to the bounty, enjoyed enormous advantages over the 

 fishermen of Newfoundland. 



To prevent these French fishermen from getting bait, this drastic 

 Bait Act was passed. It prohibited the export of bait, the hauling, 

 catching, taking, purchasing or having in possession for the purpose of 

 export, taking, shipping or carrying, or conveying on board any vessel, 

 any herring, caplin, squid, or other bait fishes from or near any parts 

 of Newfoundland without a license in writing to be granted and 

 issued by the Government. The applicant for such license was 

 required to make an affidavit, setting forth the purposes for which 

 such bait was to be used, and, if he refused to do so, the license was to 

 be refused. When issued the licensee was required to enter a bond 

 with two sufficient sureties in a sum of not less than one thousand 

 dollars, containing a condition that the terms of the license should be 

 complied with. A penalty of one thousand dollars was imposed for 

 any failure to comply with the Act, and upon conviction for a second 

 offence the penalty was imprisonment with hard labor for not less 

 than one year. These penalties could be enforced before any Stipend- 

 iary Magistrate in the Island. There were other stringent pro- 

 visions, but this is the substance of the measure. 



This Act was passed the 21st February, 1887, and reserved by the 

 Governor for the assent of Her Majesty. As soon as it came to the 

 knowledge of the Canadian Ministry it was immediately seen that the 

 Act would apply to Canadian fishermen, and with most oppressive and 

 disastrous results. As there was reciprocity between the two coun- 

 tries and they had made common cause in and derived common advant- 

 ages from the Treaty of 1818, the measure naturally caused profound 

 concern. On April 11, 1887, an Order-in-Council was passed by the 

 Canadian Government setting forth the whole question, entering 

 remonstrance against this Act receiving the Royal assent. On April 

 20, two cables were received by the Minister of Marine and Fisheries 

 from the Newfoundland Government. Sir Robert Thorburn, the 

 Premier, was then in London conferring with the Imperial authorities 

 on public matters, accompanied by Sir Ambrose Shea, a most influ- 

 ential man in Newfoundland, though not in the Government, and 

 Sir James Winter, the Attorney-General, was in charge of the Govern- 

 ment in St. Johns. The first cable from London was as follows: 



"Your fishermen are on same footing as our own under Bait Bill, 

 and no practical impediment in the way of either. The Government 

 will give any necessary guarantee that this is our reading of the 



