152 BOARD OF AGHICULTURE. [Pul). Doc. 



Mr. Russell. Then, if a State makes laws that suit your 

 side of the case, you would not propose to have the govern- 

 ment of the United States have anything to do with it ; l)ut, 

 if a State does not make such laws, then you think that 

 the government of the United States should take charge of 

 it? 



Mr. BowKER. It is immaterial to me, provided we can 

 harvest the crop from the sea when it comes here. But I 

 think the o-eneral government should go back to its old rule 

 before the government was formed, — that the fisheries were 

 a part of commerce, and that commerce should be regulated 

 by the general government. 



Mr. Russell. I do not agree with you that it was ever 

 considered by the government of the United States, since 

 the adoption of the constitution, that it had charge of any- 

 thing except tile deep-sea fisheries. They may be regarded 

 as commerce. The objects of our fathers in coming upon 

 this continent, as was stated more than two hundred years 

 ago, were " t6 worship God and catch fish." A hundred 

 and fifteen or a hundred and twenty years ago the fisheries 

 were so extensive that Edmund Burke said in Parliament, 

 " There is no sea but is vexed by their fisheries, no climate 

 that is not a witness to their toil ; " but never was there a 

 time when the colony of Massachusetts or the State of Mas- 

 sachusetts has not reserved to itself the right to control its 

 own coast, bays and estuaries ; and I doubt very much if 

 this Commonwealth proposes, even under the very loose and 

 wide construction of the present time, to give up any such 

 rio'ht as that to the government of the United States. It 

 would be a concession more important than ever has been 

 made to the government. 



jVIr. BowKER. True ; but that issue is coming. 



Mr. Russell. Well, it is a l)etter time for it to come on 

 now than it was, for I tell you the constitution of the United 

 States is to have a renewed reverence. 



Captain Church. As I understand, the government of 

 the United States has made two treaties with the govern- 

 ment of Great Britain since the formation of the constitution, 

 wherein the ijfovernmcnt has o-rantod to British sul)iects the 

 right to fish in every harljor, bay and river of the whole 



