430 MISCELLANEOUS 



Sydney, Louisburg, or other Canadian ports, or our men would go 

 to Gloucester, or they might go to St. Pierre, or it might be they 

 would take their boats and row outside the 3-mile limit; there was 

 nothing to prevent our fishermen doing so, join the American ships 

 there, and come back in our waters and fish for them. Then our 

 Newfoundland fishermen would not be paid by the barrel as they are 

 now, but by the day, the fisherman would be a tired man and once 

 teach the Americans that game and no matter what you will do, 

 they will keep it up. They will not thank you for it, if the Ameri- 

 cans find they can catch herrings free. He considered that this bill 

 amounted to nothing more than the creating of a passenger traffic 

 for the Railway Co. and the Bruce, for it means the driving of 

 our fishermen out of the country. This bill will drive them to 

 Gloucester where they will hire themselves, and after two or three 

 years would settle down there and become American citizens. The 

 Premier said he thought there were 4,000 Newfoundlanders among the 

 American fishing fleet. Well, if these can't hire here they will go to 

 America and hire, would it not be far better for the colony for these 

 fishermen to live here than to drive them to live in America. He 

 considered this was an expatriation bill, one to drive the natives to 

 a foreign land. It was an absurdity, for while the people of the 

 southern shore could go to St. Pierre and join the American fisher- 

 men, by this law you won't let them join a foreign vessel at Burin 

 or Lamaline; what utter absurdity. Look at this section: "If the 

 master of the said vessel shall have engaged or attempted to engage 

 any person to form part of the crew of the said vessel in any port 

 or on any part of the coasts of this Island or has entered such waters 

 for any purpose not permitted by treaty or convention for the time 

 being in force, such vessel and the tackle, rigging, apparel, furniture, 

 stores and cargo thereof shall be forfeited." You don't say if he em- 

 ploys any Newfoundland fishermen he shall pay forfeit, for the gov- 

 ernment can't say so, and the only thing is done is to put fees and 

 charges on our own people. It would be just like saying that no 

 man should go to the seal fishery except he come to St. John's and 

 ship, therefore perfectly absurd and only leaving it open to the men 

 to go outside the three mile limit and ship or hire on board American 

 vessels. Why, the whole of the southern shore could, if they wished, 

 row off outside the three mile limit, hire to the Americans and then 

 come back to their harbors and what could the government say or do? 

 With respect to the herring fishery he had heard it said by some, 

 it would be a good thing if it was destroyed. It might be bad for 

 some people, but good for the country as a whole. He would not 

 deny that if vou could destroy the American herring fishery and 

 keep the herring it might be good for the people of the colony as 

 a whole, but by this bill that fishery would not be destroyed, it would 

 go on, herring would be carried away, used for food and bait by the 

 Americans, and all that will be accomplished is the destruction of the 

 profit to a section of our own people, without any resulting good 

 to the people as a whole. The individual must give way to the com- 

 munity, but one had no right to take away from the people of the 

 West Coast the rights they enjoy and hand them over to the Ameri- 

 cans, and that is what this bill will do. We were told the bill was to 

 a large extent a copy of the Canadian act; and he Mr. M., just de- 

 sired to point out what a dangerous thing it was to follow this 



