FISHERIES OP THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 141 



ations when Ellis arrived with a number of men and again 

 drove him away. He made an effort to resist and to enter 

 his establishment, but was threatened with instant death by 

 a member of the Ellis band, armed with a gun. 



In the spring of 1848, the same thing was repeated, and 

 in August of that year, Talbot boarded H.M.S. Alarm, which 

 happened to be in the locality, to demand justice. The 

 " Alarm" was commanded by the Hon. Granville Gower 

 Loch, C.B. After investigating the complaint, Captain Loch 

 condemned Ellis to replace Talbot in immediate possession 

 of his establishment, and to return to him his effects, which 

 had been taken away. This order was never obeyed, for 

 H.M.S. "Alarm" had left the neighbourhood of Bradore as 

 soon as the hearing of the case and the rendering of the 

 judgment had been completed. It was useless for Talbot to 

 look for justice on the coast, for the nearest law court to 

 Bradore was then at St. Johns, Newfoundland. 



The above facts were all sworn to by Talbot before Mr. 

 Louis Fiset, at Quebec, on the 5th of January, 1849, and also 

 presented as evidence before a special committee of the Legis- 

 lative Assembly. 1 



NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. 



In addition to the testimony above referred to in the case 

 of Talbot, it was declared that nearly all the owners of fish- 

 ing vessels in the district of Quebec who had possessed fish- 

 ing establishments on the Labrador coast were successively 

 compelled to abandon them because of the robberies and vio- 

 lence of all kinds to which they were constantly exposed from 

 the many foreigners who visited the coast every summer; 

 and that although these fisheries were very profitable, it was 

 next to impossible to operate them without being exposed to 

 an almost certain danger of being robbed and perhaps mur- 

 dered. 



i See Journals of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Appendix 

 L. L. L. L. 1849. 



