918 NORTH ATLANTIC COAST FISHERIES ARBITRATION. 



547 The exception to which I referred was at the time of the occur- 

 rence in Fortune Bay, when the question was raised and dis- 

 cussed to some extent, but not disposed of or finally settled either one 

 way or the other, but in so far as my researches have enabled me to 

 discover, this is the only case in which the Americans have availed 

 themselves of the opportunity of using seines for the prosecution of 

 the herring fishery in Newfoundland. Another misconception on the 

 part of learned counsel 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: Do you say that legislation originated 

 in 1862? 



SIR JAMES WINTER : I have taken the legislation of 1862 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK: I do not want you to go into details; 

 I put the question do you say it originated in 1862? 



SIR JAMES WINTER: Yes, Sir. 



SIR CHARLES FITZPATRICK : That is all I want to know. 



SIR JAMES WINTER: I am not positive whether there was legisla- 

 tion to the same effect before 1862. My recollection rather is that 

 there was legislation in 1858, or thereabouts. My observation was 

 for the purpose of showing that since 1862 this legislation has been 

 in force. The other point with regard to which the statements of 

 learned counsel were not exactly consistent with the facts is his de- 

 scription of the manner in which the shore fishermen set their nets. 

 It is quite true that the shore fishermen set their nets, and that 

 sometimes they do operate from the shore in the sense that their 

 boats row out from the shore for the purpose of setting their nets, 

 but it is perfectly competent, perfectly easy, and, as a matter of fact, 

 it is done repeatedly over and over again, continually, although 

 not quite universally that nets may be set without any connection 

 with the shore whatever, that nets may be set from a vessel or from 

 a boat, moored in the water, watched and tended, and the fish hauled 

 and taken from these nets, just as well as from the shore and some- 

 times better, and that it is and always has been perfectly competent 

 for the American fishermen, in the full exercise of their rights, to 

 catch herring by means of nets from their own vessels and with their 

 own boats. There is one explanation of the whole matter, one obser- 

 vation, or one statement of fact, which applies to the whole case, 

 and which may be taken as running through the whole case, and 

 that is that down to 1905 it was more profitable and convenient for 

 the Americans to come down and purchase in small quantities from 

 our people such herring as they required which were only for the 

 purpose of bait and not for the purpose of selling in the market as 

 an article of food. The business in which our people were engaged 

 was that of selling herring as an article of food every season to for- 

 eigners and exporting it. That is the real purpose for which the 

 Newfoundland people caught herrings. The United States fisher- 



