110 



FISHERIES OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 



best of Robin and he returned to Jersey, where he remained 

 till the summer of 1783. In April of this year he gives a 

 letter of instructions to Capt. Georges Neil, of the brig ' Paix, ' 

 for his guidance on arrival at Paspebiac, telling him among 

 other things to 'plant potatoes and May peas/ and he himself 

 reached Paspebiac June 14th. Soon after he writes that 

 'war has impoverished this coast amazingly,' and complains 

 that the Restigouche savages had broken into his store at 

 Trocadiguess (Carleton) and had stolen all they could take 



off. 



" What- 

 ever ma y 

 have been the 

 methods 

 adopted b y 

 Robin in his 

 previous busi- 

 ness in deal- 

 ing with his 



employees, 

 this year. 

 1783, with the 

 renewal of his 

 enterprises on 

 the coast, he 



introduced 

 the ' truck 

 system,' then 

 in vogue in 

 Newf o u n d- 

 land. This 

 was payment 

 JAMES ROBIN (Died 1864). to the fisher- 



( Photographed -for the author from an oil painting men for fish 

 in Jersey, by courtesy of Mr. W. F. Hamon). taken, half 



in cash and 



half in goods from the company's stores. Doubtless 

 this practice and its abuse laid the foundation for 



