BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 409 



herring, know better than anyone else, for they have good reasons 

 to know, the loss that has resulted to the country by this suicidal 

 policy. The stream of United States gold that annually flowed into 

 the country having been suddenly cut off, a financial blight fell on 

 the land and drove hundreds of our fishermen out of .the country. 



So much for the policy of revenge. If the American people were 

 to retaliate on our fishermen in like manner how would it be? 

 About 1,000 of our fishermen go to the New England States every 

 year to engage in pogie and other fishing. Their wages, at an aver- 

 age of $250 per man, would amount up to a quarter of a million 

 dollars. Most of these men are engaged beforehand by American 

 skippers in contravention of the United States Alien 'Labor Act. 

 which prevents the importation of foreign fishermen. The United 

 States Government could, if the law were strictly enforced, prevent 

 many of these men from fishing in American waters. 



What then is to be gained by us in this fight with the Americans ? 

 Have they not done more good than hurt to us in the past? They 

 come right down to our doors and give employment to thousands of 

 our people in the purchase of herring, caplin, squid, and ice. The 

 West and South Coasts were prosperous while this trade was unin- 

 terrupted, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold were stowed 

 away in reserve by our people every year. Bay of Islands witnessed 

 a prosperity which will be difficult to pick up again, owing to the 

 unfortunate interruption of last year, and the bad blood that was 

 engendered by our Government attempting to prevent the Americans 

 from getting herring, and our men from shipping on their vessels. 



And what was the end of it all? Our Premier was forced to 

 back down and revert to the statu quo ante, or, in other words, to 

 allow the Americans to have their own way as in former years. A 

 treaty that had almost been forgotten, that of 1818, was hunted up, 

 and, exasperated by the conduct of our Government, the Americans 

 contested for the strict letter of their rights under that treaty, which 

 otherwise they probably would never have thought about. It further 

 resulted in strengthening their position to make what, no doubt, will 

 be a heavy claim for damages when the matter goes before the Hague 

 Tribunal. 



It will be the same old story Newfoundland will continue to be 

 the sport of historic misfortune. Going back to the subject of the 

 herring: What could we do with them if the American fishermen 

 did not come along and buy them? Why, we are not able to market 

 our own codfish profitably now, not to speak of the herring fishery, 

 which has never been generally taken up by our merchants. The 

 wiser policy for us as a fishing country, would be to cultivate the 

 good feeling and freindship of the American people, and this, we 

 believe, would be the shortest road to such a treaty as would be as 

 beneficial in its commercial results, for all intents and purposes, as the 

 Bond-Hay Treaty. 



We cannot reasonably expect the people of the States to eat our 

 hard salt cod, such as we send to Spain, Portugal, and other countries 

 of Europe; it is not the kind of prepared fish that they want. Now, 

 it is different with our green fish ; it is suitable for their markets, and 

 if we get on amical trade terms with the ninety million people of the 

 United States, it ought to require no extraordinary diplomatist to 



