100 FISHERIES OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 



coast is believed to have largely influenced the transfer in 

 1774 of the entire Labrador to the jurisdiction of Quebec. 



AMERICAN FISHERMEN AND LABRADOR. 



Meanwhile, however, American fishing vessels were flock- 

 ing to Labrador. The whale fishery in the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence and in the Straits of Belle Isle seems to have been car- 

 ried on at this period principally by vessels from the New 

 England colonies, and was the object of much concern to Sir 

 Hugh Palliser. Gosling says: "He issued proclamations in 

 1765 and in 1766 for the conduct of this fishery, and laid 

 many injunctions upon the crews for their proper behaviour. 

 An abundance of whales was said to be on the coast in April, 

 May, and June. From the very earliest days of the discovery 

 of the new lands a whale fishery has been carried on in these 

 waters, with short periods of intermission. The present whal- 

 ing station at Cape Charles has a long line of predecessors. 

 Sir Hugh's proclamations on the whale fishery were again 

 supplemented by Governor Byron in 1768." 



Dr. G. Browne Goode, in his Report on American Fisher- 

 ies, 1884, tells us that in 1765 one hundred vessels cleared 

 from New England for the whale fishery in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence and the Straits of Belle Isle. The season was a 

 very good one, and they returned with about nine thousand 

 barrels of oil. Loud complaints were made the next year 

 against Palliser 's regulations, which do not of themselves ap- 

 pear unreasonable, but necessitated a considerable change 

 from the lawless and uncontrolled American methods of pre- 

 vious years. The Boston News Letter of November 18th, 

 1766, reports that the "vessels are returning half loaded" ; 

 and a later issue says: "Several vessels are returned from 

 the whaling business who have not only had a bad success, but 

 also have been ill-treated by some of the cruisers on the Lab- 

 rador Coast." 



The following is Palliser 's account of the circumstance, 

 in his letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, August 25th, 

 1766: "When the King's ships arrived on their stations this 



