AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1833 



depth could not be found. In reply to the question whether he could 

 name any person who had caught halibut there within the distance he 

 had named in eighteen fathoms of water, he gave us the name of one 

 vessel, the Sarah C. Pyle, Captain Swett (as it is in the rejwrt) of 

 Gloucester; and being asked if he is a halibut-fisher, he says he thinks 

 he is. 



Mr. THOMSON. When Smith was under cross-examination the ques- 

 tion was put to him whether there was eighteen fathoms of wjiter in the 

 place where the halibut was caught, and he said there was. A chart 

 was placed in his hand, and whether he looked at it or not I do not 

 know and I do not care. It was said to him by the counsel for the 

 United States, "Look at that chart and you will find no such depth as 

 eighteen fathoms." He said, "I have known it all my life-time ; I know 

 there are eighteen fathoms there." And while the American case \va 

 going on, and while one of the witnesses, who had been brought for the 

 purpose of contradicting Smith, was on the stand, I myself took the 

 British Admiralty chart, and on the identical spot which Mr. Smith had 

 referred to I found eighteen or twenty fathoms of water. I think Mr. 

 Foster must have forgotten this incident when he interrupted me. 



I now turn to the evidence of Cunningham, page 407. The following 

 passage occurs in his evidence: 



Q. How much within three miles do these vessels which fish for halibut within that dis- 

 tance from the shore come? A. I could not say; some, perhaps, fish within IJ miles of 

 the shore. Where I am engaged in prosecuting the fisheries some of the American vessels 

 fish within H miles, and others within 2 miles of the shore, and so on. 



Q. Are any cod and halibut taken outside of the three-mile limit? A. O, yes ; but this 

 is not so much the case with halibut as with cod. 



Q. Do many American fishermen fish there outside of three miles from shore T A. Un- 

 doubtedly ; some 75 American sail do so around the shores of the county of Shelburne. 



The word "outside" in the last question but one must be a misprint 

 for inside. My question was, ; ' Do many American fishermen tish there 

 inside of three miles from the shore? And the answer was, undoubtedly; 

 " some 75 American sail do so around the shores of the county of Shel- 

 burne." 



Now I will turn the attention of the Commission to the evidence of 

 Patillo. 



Mr. FOSTER. Do you understand Cunningham as having left his tes- 

 timony that 75 sail of halibut-fishermen frequented the shores of the 

 county of Shelburne ? 



Mr. THOMSON. No; American fishermen. 



Mr. FOSTER. He said he could not tell how many fished for halibut. 



Mr. THOMSON. I dare say so; if he had been an untruthful witness 

 he would have fixed the number at once. 



I now turn to the evidence of Thomas K. Patillo not tke Patillo of 

 pugnacious reputation and I want to refer specially to the remarks of my 

 learned friend in reference to the evidence of Mr. Patillo, because ii 

 warning to the Commissioners to scrutinize the argument of my learned 

 friend very closely. It is wonderfully ingenious, and unless you watch 

 very closely it will possibly mislead you. This is what Mr. Foster said, 

 page 39 of his argument : 



So much for the inshore halibut fishery. I will, however, before leaving it. refer to I ho ..tste- 

 ment of one British witness, Thomas R. Patillo, who testified that occasionally hi 

 be caught inshore, as a boy may catch a codfish off the rocks. 



Now he puts it as if Mr. Patillo had said that occasionally a halibut 

 might be caught, as a boy might catch a codfish oft' the rocks, b 

 it was not pursued as a business. There is just enough truth 



