THE NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERIES. 115 



shillings. The English fishery seemed about to 

 expire^ so nearly was the great fishery destroyed, 

 which had been supported by English capital on so 

 great a scale. The cod-fishery of Newfoundland 

 was reduced to that which it remains at this moment 

 — shore-fishery in the neighbourhood of the ports, or 

 near the coasts, or by means of boats, with five men 

 per smack. In addition to this, there are vessels 

 of from 50 to 200 tons, that take seals on the ice 

 between March and April, and fish for salmon and 

 cod on the shores of Labrador. 



The population of the island having augmented to 

 something near 100,000 souls, and the place being 

 no longer considered a station for the English 

 fishery, there has been a change of policy. The 

 Newfoundlanders have been permitted to establish 

 farms ou their island, a concession very propitious 

 to" agriculture ; and in 1833 the British Parliament 

 allowed the island to have a legislative assembly. 



"The Newfoundland cod-fishery has gradually 

 revived, and now yields about a million hundred- 

 weight of fish per annum; but the inhabitants still 

 view with envy the superior prosperity of their 

 French rivals. Serious charges have been adduced 

 as to their encroachments ou the English fisheries, 

 principally in the neighbourhood of Belle Isle 

 Strait, and in spite of the activity displayed there 

 by the English ships of war, a colonial navy has 

 been established to watch over intruders, and com- 



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