102° 
to the bounty before referred to, they obtain food and goods of all oad 
necessary for the fishery at St. Pierre, almost free of duty. While our 
fishermen are thus handicapped in the catching of fish, this fleet of — 
bankers from St. Pierre obtain their supply of bait from our waters. 
The fish thus taken is landed at St. Pierre, and on its export receives 
from the French Government a bounty equivalent to about 10 francs 
for every 112 lbs. (English), 8 francs direct and about 2 francs 
indirect. The average price of Labrador fish, which is more especially 
competed with by French Bank fish, did not exceed in this colony, — 
during the past season, 1] francs for 112 lbs. (English). It will 
thus be seen that the bounty as above, and differential duty on St. 
Pierre fish entering Spain under the most-favoured-nation clause in — 
their tariff, amount to 124 francs on every 112 lbs. (English), or, in 
other words, to more Han the whole value obtained by our fishermen 
for Labrador fish, 
The United States fishermen have, since the year succeeding the 
signing of the Treaty of Washington, been allowed to obtain the bait | 
unrestrictedly in our harbours and bays—the stipulation that they had 
the right to catch bait for themselves within the three-mile limit — 
naturally carrying with it the corollary that what they had the right 
to take they had the right to buy, and the latter course was found by — 
them to be the more profitable. For this privilege—for it was by far, — 
the principal one they exercised under the Washington Treaty—they 
paid a considerable sum of money, as well as admitted our fish duty _ 
free, and accorded to us the privilege of fishing on all the north- — 
eastern coasts and harbours of the United States. They have now | 
abrogated the Treaty of Washington, taken from us the privilege of 
fishing in their waters, and taxed our fish and oil when exported to the | 
United States from 12 per cent. to 30 per cent., and yet assume 
to exercise, as of right, the privilege of obtaining bait as heretofore, 
when they gave us a fair return for that privilege. If we supinely 
assent to this course, we shall provide these, our rivals, with the means — 
of shutting us entirely out of the United States markets. h: 
The Committee have been informed that, unless the Legislature 
assent to the arrangement recently entered into between Great Britain 
and France, regarding the French claims on a part of the coasts of this 
island, any Acts prohibiting or regulating the export of bait fishes will 
be disallowed by the parent Government. 
The Committee are unwilling to believe that such an extreme course 
would be adopted by the mother country, for no better reason than — 
that a nation, supposed to be a friendly one, demands a concession from 
this colony which, if granted under the present system of French — 
bounties, means starvation to our fishermen, ruin to our mercantile and — 
