AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1637 



so with us. Our members of Congress speak with less responsibility. 

 They do not represent the government in the House, nor do they repre- 

 sent the opposition in such a sense that they are bound to take' charge 

 of the government the moment those in charge fail of retaining public 

 approval. Our politicians, even in Congress, are a kind of " free-swim- 

 ming fish." They are rather more like a horse in a pasture than like 

 those horses that are carrying the old family coach behind them. They 

 feel more at liberty. "When we consider that the Dominion parliamen- 

 tarians speak under this great responsibility, and meet an opposition 

 face to face, who speak under equal responsibilities, when we consider 

 that fact, and the number of them, and the strength of their declara- 

 tions, all to the effect that the Provinces could not survive our duties 

 any longer, and that in giving up to us the right to fish within the three 

 miles, much was not surrendered, I think your honors, without reading 

 it all over, or comparing these arguments, argument for argument, may 

 say at once that whatever weight is to be attached to them, far more 

 weight is to be attached to the utterances of the British officers, than to 

 the few American politicians who may have lifted up their voices on 

 this subject, in their irresponsible way. Moreover your honors can- 

 not have forgotten it the fishermen of Provincetown and Gloucester 

 remonstrated against this Treaty of 1871. They remonstrated against 

 it as against their interests. Be it so. They were good judges of their 

 interests. They stated that taking off the duties would make the n>h 

 cheap. They thought so ; and they did not consider that the right to 

 fish (and they were fishermen and knew their business) within the three 

 miles was any compensation for that. And the remonstrance was made 

 at the time, and it was earnest. The men went to Washington to 

 enforce it. While men dealing in fish remonstrated against this conces- 

 sion, the officers of theBritish Crown, who were responsible, and whose 

 constituents were fishermen and fish owners, along a certain line of the 

 Provinces, were contending earnestly for the treaty as beneficial, abso- 

 lutely, to the Provinces. 



Well, it has been said that they knew all the time that there was 

 money to be paid. They knew no such thing. They knew there might, 

 or might not be money to be paid, because this tribunal does not sit 

 here to determine the quantum that the United States shall pay, but 

 first and foremost to determine whether anything shall be paid, and 

 that they could not pass any judgment upon. It certainly has abun- 

 dantly appeared in this Case that the exportation of fish into the United 

 States and the value of the fish here have risen and fallen steadily and 

 almost uniformly with the right of free trade or the obligation to pay 

 the duty. From 1854 to 1866, when there was free trade in fish, and we 

 had the right to fish where we pleased, and they had free trade, and 

 sent their fish to the American markets, immediately their mackerel 

 fishery increased in value. Their boat-fishing, instead of being a matter 

 of daily supply for the neighborhood, developed into a large business. 

 The boats were owned by merchants, large quantities were shipped from 

 them, and the business increased twofold, threefold, tenfold, as one of 

 their own witnesses has stated, stimulated by the free American mar- 

 kets. I am reminded that the witness said it had increased an hundred 

 fold. Your honors will perceive my moderation in all things. The wit- 

 ness to whom I refer is the fellow-citizen of our friend the premier of the 

 island, Mr. John F. Campion, and I think he recognized him immediately 

 upon his appearance on the stand : 



Q. You say that the number of boats and men engaged in the shnre fishery have in- 

 creased; has the catch increased to any appreciable extent? A. It has increased in 

 the same ratio as the boats. 



107 F 



