31 



admit that "the cod-fishery could not exist." This fislicry, says M. 

 Senac, " is a productive industry; and it furnishes more than a fifth fart 

 of the whole number of o%ir seamen, and hij far the best 'portion of them. 

 There is no cheaper, better, or more useful school for the formation of seamen 

 for the navy, and none is more capable of extension and development. The, 

 doubling of the consumption and exportation (f the produce (f the fisheries 

 would Jurnish onr fleets with twelve thousand more seamen.''^ 



We have seen that when, in 1778, France embarked in our revohj- 

 tionary struirgle, her fishermen, absent at Newfoundland, were recalled 

 to enter her ships-of-war. The same reliance is placed upon them 

 now. War was apprehended in 1S41, and M. Thiers followed the ex- 

 ample of the statesmen referred to; and M- Rodet affirmed that, 

 "without the resources which were found in the sailors engaged in tJie fish- 

 eries, the expedition to Algiers could not have taken place. ^^ 



These reasons are not only sufficient to justify, but to demand, 

 national encouragement. But it may be urged, in addition, that the 

 o|)('u or deep-sea cod-fishery differs from almost every other employ- 

 njcnt; that in war it is nearly or quite destroyed; that in peace it 

 cannot be pursued for more than four or five months in a year; that 

 often skill and industry are insufficicnit to insure good fares; and that, 

 when success attends severe toil and exposure, the fishermen barely 

 subsist. The effects of a "l)ad catch" are, indeed, sad and calamitous. 

 The disasters of 1847 afford a recent and a forcible illustration. In 

 that year the French cod-fishery proved a failure. The quantity of fish 

 caught was scarcely a sixth part of that of former seasons ; and the 

 fishermen, discouraged, al)andoned the business as early as the middle 

 of August. The labor of the summer and the expenses of repairs and 

 of" outfits lost, the actual want of f()od and clothing until another year 

 came round was alone prevented by the bounty allowed by the gov- 

 ci"nment. 



The manner of fishing is now the only toj)ic that need claim atten- 

 tion. It is to be observed that the principal fishing-grounds are three, 

 and that on eacli there is a difference in the mode of operations and in 

 the size of" the vessels. First, the fishery on the cejasts of Newfound- 

 land, which has always been considered the most important, as being 

 more certain and emplojung the greatest number of men. The 

 vessels are of ;dl sizes — from thirty to two hundred, and even three 

 hundred tons. The latter size is, however, rare. When the vessel 

 arrives en the coast, which is generally early in .Jun(% she is dis- 

 mantled. Her boats, with two men and a l)oy in each, are sent out 

 every morning, when the weather will permit, to fish until night. On 

 the return in the; evening, the fish taken are split, salted, and put in 

 "/.77?67/^;.v" or ])ilcs; remaining in |)il('s ;i li-w da\\<, they are "washed 

 out " and dried until they are fit to ship. 'J'hese processes aic re- 

 pe.ited I'roin dav to day until the fiire is e(tni])lete(l, or th(> season has 

 p.isscd ;i\\ av. Towards tiie close of Sc|)l(iiib(r, fishing is suspt-nch d, 

 and ihe vessels depart ff)r France (tr the West Indies. 



'J'Ik' (irand Bank fishery is pursued in vessels of between one and 

 two liiuirlrefl tons l)urden, with Iwo strong chaloupes, or boats, to each. 

 I'Vom sixteen to twenty men compose a crew. TIk; vessels proceed 

 first to k^t. Fieri e, land the shorc-IJshermen and "curcrs," autl thcnco 



