AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1599 



Benjamin Swim, saying that he did not take any flab within many miles 

 of Cape Sable. He says he has been engaged in cod-flahing since April 

 of thia year, and " haa landed 150,000 pounds of halibut, and caught 

 them all, both codfiah and halibut, on Weatern Banka. The neareat to 

 the ahore that I have caught fiah of any kind thia year ia, at least, 40 

 miles." (Affidavit No. 242.) 



So much for the inahore halibut fishery. I will, however, before leav- 

 ing it, refer to the statement of one Britiah witneaa, Thomaa R. Pattilo, 

 who teatifled that occasionally halibut may be caught inahore, aa a boy 

 may catch a codfish off the rocks; but, pursued aa a business, halibut 

 are caught in the sea, in deep water. "How deep do you aay ?" "The 

 fishery ia moat succesat'ully proaecuted in about 90 fathoms of water, 

 and, later in the season, in as much aa 150 fathoms/' 



So much for the inshore halibut fiahery ; and that brings me to the 

 inahore cod fiahery, as to which I am reminded of a chapter in an old 

 history of Ireland that waa entitled " On Snakes in Ireland," and the 

 whole chapter was " There are no anakes in Ireland." So there ia no 

 inshore cod fiahery pursued as a business by United States veaaels 

 anywhere. It is, like halibut-fishing, exclusively a deep-sea fishing. 

 They caught a whale the other day in the haibor of Charlottetown, 

 but I do not suppose our friends expect you to asseas in this award 

 against the United Statea any particular sum for the inshore whale 

 fishery. There ia no cod fishery or halibut fishery inshore, pursued 

 by our vessels, any more than there is inshore whale fishery. We 

 know and our witnesaes know where our veasels go. If they go near 

 the British shores at all they go to buy bait, and leave their money in 

 payment for the bait. Will it be said that the cod fishery is indirectly 

 to be paid for, because fresh bait must be used, and the cod fishery can- 

 not profitably be pursued without fresh bait ; and because we are here- 

 after to be deprived of the right to buy bait by lawa expected to be 

 passed, and then shall have to stop and catch it, so that by and by, 

 when some new statutes have been enacted, and we have been cut off 

 from commercial privileges, we may be forced to catch bait for cod-fish- 

 ing in British territorial waters? I think it will be time enough to meet 

 that question when it arises. Any attempt to cut us off from the com- 

 mercial privileges that are allowed in times of peace by the comity of civ- 

 ilized nations to all at peace with them, would of course be adjusted 

 between the two governments in the spirit that becomes two imperial 

 and Christian powers. I do not think that, looking forward to some 

 unknown time when some unknown law will be passed, we need antici- 

 pate that we are to be cut off from the privilege of buying bait, and 

 therefore you should award compensation against us for the bait which 

 we may at that time find occasion ourselves to catch. But if it is worth 

 while to spend a single moment upon that, how thoroughly it has been 

 disposed of by the evidence, which shows that this practice of going 

 from the fishing grounds on the Banks into harbors to purchase bait is 

 one attended with great loss of time, and with other incidental disad- 

 vantages, so that the owners of the vessels much prefer to have their 

 fishermen stay on the Banks and use salt bait, and whatever else they 

 can get there. Saint Pierre and Miquelon are tree ports ; commercial 

 intercourse is permitted there; bait can be bought there ; and, as the 

 British witnesses have told us, the traffic for bait between Newfound- 

 land and the French islands is so great, and such a full supply of bait 

 is brought to the French islands, more than there is a demand for, that 

 it is sometimes thrown overboard in quantities that almost till up the 

 harbor. That was the statement of oiie of the witnesses. 1 do not 



