AWARD OP THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1613 



fishing of our vessels in the gulf has not been a loss to the fishermen. 

 Let me call your attention to the fisheries of the provinces. In 1869, 

 Mr. Venuing, in making his fishery report, after speaking of the falling 

 off in the mackerel catch, went on to say : "This may be accounted for 

 chiefly by stating that a large proportion of our best mackerel catchers 

 ship on board American vessels on shares, and take their fish to market 

 in those vessels, and thus evade the duty.; but after selling their fish, 

 for the most part return home with the money." 



The Hon. S. Campbell, of Nova Scotia, in the debate on the Eeci- 

 procity Treaty, says : 



Under the operation of the system that had prevailed since the repeal of the treaty 

 of 1854, the fishermen of Nova Scotia bad, to a large extent, become the fishermen of 

 the United States. They had been forced to abandon their vessels and homes in Nova 

 Scotia and ship to American ports, there to become engaged in aiding the commercial 

 enterprises of that country. It was a melancholy feature to see thousands of young 

 and hardy fishermen compelled to leave their native land to embark in the pursuits of 

 a foreign country, and drain their own land of that aid and strength which their pres- 

 ence would have secured. 



Mr. James K. McLean, one of our witnesses, was asked whether the 

 condition of things was not largely due to want of capital, and he said : 



It was owing to this reason : We had to pay $2 a barrel duty on the mackerel we 

 sent to the United States, and the men would not stay in the Island vessels when they 

 saw that the Americans were allowed to come and fish side by side with the British 

 vessels, and catch an equal share of fish ; of course, this was the result. The fishermen 

 consequently went on the American vessels ; our best men did so, and some of the very 

 best fishermen and smartest captains among the Americans are from Prince Edward 

 Island and Nova Scotia. 



Captain Chivirie, the first and favorite witness called on the British 

 side, says : 



Q. What class of men are the sailors and fishermen employed among the Ameri- 

 cans ? A. I would say that, for the last fifteen years, two-thirds of them have been 

 foreigners. 



Q. What do you mean by the term " foreigners " ? A. That they are Nova Scotians, 

 and that they come pretty much from all parts of the world. Their fishermen are 

 picked pretty much out of all nations. 



Q. If the Americans were excluded from our fishing privileges, what do yon think 

 these men would do I A. They would return to their native home and carry on fishing 

 there. 



Q. Have many of them come back ? A. O, yes. We have a number of Island men 

 who have returned. A large number have done so. A great many come home for the 

 Winter and go back to the States in the spring ; but during the past two years many 

 of this class have come down to remain. This year I do not know of more than a 

 dozen, out of three hundred in my neighborhood, who have gone back. They get 

 boats and fish along the coast, because they find there is more money to be secured by 

 this plan of operations. The fisheries being better, the general impression is that they 

 are all making towards home to fish on their own coast. 



James F. White says in his affidavit, put in on the British side : 



The number of boats fishing here has trebled in the last three years. The reason of 

 this increase is that other business is depressed, and fishermen from the United States, 

 Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia are coming here to settle, attracted 

 by the good fishing, so that we are now able to get crews to man our boats, which 

 formerly we were unable to do. Another reason is that the year 1875 was a very good 

 year, and owing to the successful prosecution of the fishing that year, people's atten- 

 tion was turned to the business, and they were incited to go into it. 



And another of their men, Meddie Gallant, says in his affidavit : 

 In the last, five years, the number of boats engaged in fishing in the above distances 

 has at least doubled. At this run alone there has been a very great increase. Eight 

 years ago there were only eight boats belonging to this run, now there are forty-live. 

 The boats are twice as good in material, fishing outfit, in sailing, in equipment, in rig- 

 ging, and in every way, as they were five years ago. There is a great deal more money 

 invested in fishing now than there was. Nearly every one is now going into the busi- 

 ness about here. The boats, large and small together, take crews of about three mn 

 each. That is, besides the men employed at the stages about the fish, who are a con- 

 siderable number. 



