1158 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION, 



11. Ife is certainly a very great advantage to the Americans to be 

 allowed to land and transship their cargoes, as it enables them to make 

 more trips and consequently catch more fish than they otherwise could. 

 By means of this privilege they save about a fortnight each trip. I 

 think it adds fifty per cent, to their catch when the fish are plenty. 



12. It is much cheaper for the American cod -fishermen to buy their 

 bait on our shores than to spend the time in catching it themselves. 

 They consequently purchase almost all their bait from our merchants 

 and fishermen. It would be utterly impossible for the Americans to 

 carry on the cod and other deep sea fisheries profitably without resort- 

 ing to our shores and harbors for bait; nor could they carry on these 

 fisheries profitably without obtaining ice to preserve their fresh bait, 

 and other supplies on our shores. 



13. The privilege of fishing in American waters I consider to be of 

 no practical advantage to Canadians, and 1 never heard of Canadians 

 availing themselves of this privilege. 



PETER PAIXT, SB. 



The said Peter Paint was sworn to the truth of this affidavit at Port 

 Hawkesbury, iu the county of Inverness, this 25th day of July, A. D. 

 1877. before me. 



MALCOM MCDONALD. 



Justice of the Peace. 

 No. 45. 



In the matter of the Fisheries Commission at Halifax, under the Treaty 



of Washington. 



I, GEORGE C. LAWRENCE, of Port Hastings, in the county of Inver- 

 ness, merchant, make oath and say as follows: 



1. I have been engaged here and at Port Hood for the past fourteen 

 year in a general fish trade, and have dealt in cod-fish, mackerel, and 

 herring. 1 am carrying on a large fishing business here now, and dur- 

 ing the period named I have had good opportunities of watching the 

 fishing business of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and becoming familiar 

 with it. 



2. During the Reciprocity Treaty there were each year in the gulf 

 about five hundred American vessels. These would average from sixty 

 to seventy tons each, and their crews would number about fifteen men. 

 They were engaged chiefly in taktnglmackerel,and cod-fish, and herring 

 from the Magdalen Islands and Bay Chaleurs. The mackerel vessels 

 in the gulf during the Reciprocity Treaty iu the most favorable years 

 would average about five hundred barrels of mackerel per season. 



3. After the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty, the number of 

 American vessels decreased on this coast, and, so far as I am able to 

 give an opinion, their profits diminished after that time. During the 

 1 ast two or three years since the Washington Treaty the American mack- 

 erel fleet in the gulf has been somewhat smaller than in former years 

 under the Reciprocity Treaty. The catch of mackerel has been smaller. 

 I do not regard this as due to any permanent falling off iu our mackerel 

 fisheries, but merely accidental and temporary. I have reason to 

 believe that the catch will be larger this year than for some years past, 

 and I know no reason why our mackerel ground should not be as pro- 

 ductive during the next eight years as heretofore. 



4. The privilege of transshipping cargoes iu our p'orts is a great ad- 

 vantage to American fishermen. I have kuowu it to be done since the 



