BRITISH, COLONIAL AND OTHER CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 545 



ness, and very generally in other branches, both of deep-sea and in- 

 shore fishing, as, for example, fresh herrings, alewives, capelin, sand- 

 launce, smelts, squids, clams, and other small fishes caught chiefly 

 with seines close inshore. British fishermen can thus find sufficient 

 bait at home, and can purchase from American dealers any quanti- 

 ties they require much cheaper than by making voyages to United 

 States waters in order to catch it for themselves. It is a remarkable 

 fact that for six years past American fishermen have bought from 

 Canadians more herring-bait alone than all the menhaden bait im- 

 ported into Canada during the same period. The menhaden bait 

 itself can also be bred and restored to places in the Bay of Fundy, on 

 the western coast of Nova Scotia, where it existed up to the time 

 of its local extermination. 



It is notorious that the supply both of food and bait fishes has 

 become alarmingly scarce along the United States coast. At Glouces- 

 ter alone some thirty vessels are engaged during about six months in 

 each year catching menhaden for bait. They sell about $100,000 

 worth annually, and, by catching them immoderately in nets and 

 weirs for supplying bait and to furnish the oil-mills, they are rapidly 

 exterminating them. The Massachusetts Fishery Commissioners, in 

 their report for 1872, state that " It takes many hands working in 

 many ways to catch bait enough for our fishing fleet, which may easily 

 be understood when it is remembered that each George's man takes 

 fifteen or twenty barrels for a trip; and that each mackereler lays 

 from 75 to 120 barrels, or even more than that." One of the prin- 

 cipal modes for the capture of bait and other fishes on the New 

 England coast is by fixed traps or pounds on the shore. By means of 

 these, herrings, alewives, and menhaden are caught as bait for the 

 sea-fishery, besides merchantable fish for the markets, and the coarser 

 kinds for the supply of the oil-factories. There are upward of sixty 

 of these factories now in operation on the New England coast. The 

 capital invested in them approaches $3,000,000. They employ 1,197 

 men, 383 sailing-vessels, and 29 steamers, besides numerous other 

 boats. The fish material which they consume yearly is enormous, 

 computed at about 1,191,100 barrels, requiring whole fishes to the 

 number of about 300,000,000. These modes of fishing for menhaden 

 and other bait are furthermore such as to preclude strangers from 

 participating in them without exceeding the terms of the treaty; 

 and even without this difficulty, it must be apparent that such exten- 

 sive native enterprises would bar the competition and suffice to insure 

 the virtual exclusion of foreigners. 



The attention of the Commissioners is therefore respectfully drawn 

 to the following points : 



1. The " sea fishery " is distant and unproductive. 



2. The inshores are occupied to the fullest possible extent, and the 

 supply, especially in the matter of bait, is rapidly becoming exhausted. 



3. British fishermen have not, either during the Reciprocity Treaty 

 or the Treaty of Washington, availed themselves of the freedom of 

 fishing in the United States waters. 



A careful consideration of these points will, we believe, lead to the 

 conviction that in this respect no advantage whatever accrues to 

 British subjects. 



