AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1789 



afraid to trust iny memory, to quote the Very words he used, for his 

 language startled me a little. I read his remarks as follows : 



And now, with regard to this question of consequences, there is but one other illustration 

 to which I will refer, and I will be done. I find at the close of the British tentimonr an 

 elaborate exhibit of 166 lights, fog-whistles, and humane establishments used by United 

 States fishermen on the coast of the Dominion, estimated to have cost in erection, from tbe 

 Sambro light-house, built in 1758, to the present day, $t*2, 138, and for annual mainte- 

 nance, $263,197. I scarcely know whether to consider this serious; bat there it it. ami 

 there it has been placed, either as the foundation for a claim, or to produce an effect. Now, 

 if this Dominion has no commerce ; if no ships bear precious freight upon the daujrerou* 

 waters of the gulf, or hazard valuable cargoes in the straits which connect it with tbe 

 ocean : if no traffic traverses the imperial river which connects the Atlantic with the great 

 lakes ; if this fabulous fishery, of which we have heard so much, is carried on only in boat* 

 so small that they dare not venture out of sight of land, and the fishermen need no other 

 guide and protecting light than the light streaming from their own cabin-windows on shore : 

 if, in short, this Dominion, as it is proudly called, owes nothing to the protection of its com- 

 merce and the safety of its seamen ; if these humane establishments are not tbe free institu- 

 tions of a wise and provident government, but charitable institutions to be supported by the 

 subscriptions of those who use them, then the Government of the Dominion can collect iu 

 $200,000 by levying light-dues upon every vessel which seeks shelter in its harbors, or brings 

 wealth into its ports. But if, in the present age of civilization, when a common humanity 

 is binding the nations of the world together every day by mutual interests, mutual cares, 

 and privileges equally shared, the Dominion repeals her light-dues in obedience to the com- 

 mon feeling of the whole world, with what justice can that government ask yon, by a forcd 

 construction of this treaty, to reimpose this duty, in its most exorbitant proportions and ita 

 most odious form, upjn us, ami upon us alone? 



Now, a more extraordiuary argument than that I have never heard 

 used. Your excellency and your honors are here to value the difference 

 between the concessions made by the United States to Great Britain on 

 the one hand, and those made by Great Britain to the United States on 

 the other. We contend that the fisheries of the United States are use- 

 less, not because there are no light-houses on their shore, and no harbors 

 in which oar fishing-vessels could find shelter in time of need ; but we 

 say their fishing-grounds are of no service to us, because the fish are 

 not there, because our fishermen have never used them, preferring to fish 

 upon our own coasts ; there being, iu fact, no occasion for them to leave 

 their own shores and go hundreds of miles away from home to fish on 

 the American coast; but if the fish had been abundant in American 

 coastal waters, and light-houses had been there to guide our fishermen, 

 and harbors to preseivc them from shipwreck, or reduce their perils, 

 do you think these things should not be taken into consideration in fix- 

 ing the compensation for the use of those fisheries ? Do you think they 

 would not have been the basis of a claim against usf Certainly they 

 would. I shall show from the written statements of United 

 officials what estimate was placed upon light-houses immediately after 

 the great storm, which is called the " American storm," by reason of 

 the vast number of American vessels that were destroyed in the Gulf 

 of St. Lawrence, and the vast number of American seamen that found 

 a watery grave beneath its waves. I will show you what was thought 

 about this subject of light-houses at that time. And if you can then 

 agree with the view presented by Mr. Trescot, I have nothing more t 

 say ; but I do not think it is possible that you can. In the official coi 



" J * . I I U I I I II 111 V f>U V * V T V A U V* 1' A 1 



m the official correspondence (Appendix H), put in as par 

 dence in support of Her Majesty's case, at the outset of tliesj 

 ings. I may mention here that a number of the witnesses spok 

 storm as having taken place in 1351. This letter bears da 

 but as it refers to a great storm, and I have heard of only o 



