BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 371 



18. In conclusion, I have great pleasure in saying that during the 

 whole period I have not had, in my official transactions, the slightest 

 difficulty or misunderstanding, and I do not wish to have better or 

 more courteous colleagues than Mr. March, Mr. Alexander, and 

 Inspector O'Reilly. 

 I have, &c., 



ROBERT ANSTRUTHER, 

 Senior Naval Officer, Newfoundland Fisheries. 



The SECRETARY OF THE ADMIRALTY. 



[Inclosure 2.] 

 NOTES ON THE NEWFOUNDLAND WINTER HERRING FISHERY. 



No. 88/346.] Brilliant, AT BIRCIIY COVE, December 10, 1906. 



In considering the question of this fishery, it appears to me that 

 there are six distinct standpoints from which it can be viewed: 



1st. That of the Newfoundland fishermen. 



2nd. That of the American fishermen. 



3rd. That of the Canadian fishermen and fish merchants. 



4th. That of the Newfoundland Government. 



5th. That of the United States Government. 



6th. That of the British Government. 



Taking the first three together, I find that the Newfoundland men 

 were quite satisfied with the system which obtained till the beginning 

 of last year, under which they caught herring with their own appli- 

 ances, and sold them to whomsoever they chose. Since they have been 

 forbidden to sell them to Americans, some of them sell to Canadians, 

 or to local buyers, as they may have done before, whilst others, deter- 

 mined to work for their old comrades the Americans shipped on 

 board American schooners in spite of all obstacles, and followed their 

 calling in, virtually, the same manner as they had always been 

 accustomed to; their contention being, in the first place, that the 

 Canadians and others could not take all the herring, and that, there- 

 fore, this was the only means left to them of making a living ; in the 

 second place, that they had always been in the habit of working 

 with Americans, and that they did not see why they should not con- 

 tinue to do so, if they wished to. 



There are about 1,200 fishermen belonging to Bay of Islands and 

 Bonne Bay, besides a few who come from neighbouring places on the 

 West Coast, and from other parts of the Island to engage in this 

 lucrative industry. About half these men prefer to work with, or 

 for, Americans, one reason being that whereas, formerly, herring 

 fishers worked under a system of barter (as cod fishers do to this day) , 

 the Americans were the first to inaugurate a system of payment cash 

 down, which compelled everyone else who wished to compete to 

 follow suit. This influx of ready money engendered a sense of free- 

 dom and a spirit of independence amongst the herring fishers such 

 as can never be felt by men working under a truck system. The men 

 are grateful for this emancipation from former conditions, they are 

 loth to lose the benefits they have gained, and they would risk any- 

 thing to avoid a return to the old regime. 

 92909 S. Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 6 32 



