1840 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION, 



the usual time, was prevented from becoming in that condition ; and I 

 think until that fact is made clear your honors must dismiss it from 

 your minds. I only refer to it to show that the American Government 

 felt that upon that subject it was in a very difficult position. It is 

 clear, therefore, to my mind, and I think it must be assumed by this 

 Commission, that without fresh bait American fishermen cannot get on. 



The next question is, can they get a supply of fresh bait on their own 

 shore ? There is a consensus of evidence given by witness after wit- 

 ness, who went on the stand and stated that he came in once, twice, 

 three times or four times during one season for fresh bait into ports of 

 Nova Scotia, along the Cape Breton shore. I did not examine as to the 

 Grand Bank fishing vessels, for that part of the case I left to my learned 

 colleague, Mr. Whiteway ; but as to the George's Banks fishery the 

 supply of bait is obtained from our own shores. It is one of the mat- 

 ters your honors must take into consideration, that if American fisher- 

 men were kept out of our shores so that they could not get bait r not 

 only their mackerel-fishing in the bay, which was a subject of very con- 

 siderable contest, would go down, but their codfishery would go down 

 also. According to the evidence, if your honors will examine it, we 

 hold the keys in our hands which lock and unlock the whole North 

 American fisheries ; I mean the North American fisheries for cod, hali- 

 but, mackerel, and herring; in fact for all those fish which are ordinarily 

 used for food. 



Mr. FOSTER. Do you say mackerel f 



Mr. THOMSON. Yes; in regard to mackerel I will show that we hold 

 the keys. It is probably forestalling my argument a little; but Mr. 

 Foster, in the course of his speech, asserts that because the larger pro- 

 portion of mackerel, as he. says, comes from the American coast, our 

 mackerel do not have any effect on the market. 



Mr. FOSTER. I thought you were speaking about bait and the bait 

 question. 



Mr. THOMSON. So I was. Even for mackerel it is not much of pogie 

 bait they use, and at all events they use other bait as well ; but pogie 

 is not mecessarily an American bait ; it is a deep-sea fish, as has been 

 shown by different witnesses. 



Now, in regard to the quantity of bait, I refer you to the evidence. 



John F. Campion, of Souris, Prince Edward Island, pp. 36, 37, and 45, 

 says : 



There are large numbers of American trawlers off Cape North. They catch their bait 

 around the coasts of Newfoundland, sometimes at St. Peter's Island, and at Tignish Bay. 

 I have seen them catch herring for bait this spring. Three or four were setting nets right in 

 our harbor. 



John James Fox, Magdalen Islands, at p. 114, says: 



Americans catch bait largely in our neighborhood; the chief place for catching it is at 

 Kntry Harbor. They set their nets on shore; they want this bait for cod-fishing. 



Angus Grant, Port Hawkesbury, Cape Breton, at pp. 184, 185, says: 



Americans both purchase and fish for squid ; they catch squid by jigging. Large quan- 

 taken at Hawkesbury. They buy and catch bait at Crow Harbor and those places. 



James Purcell, Port Mulgrave, at p. 197, says: 



United StUs vessels fret their bait in our harbor. Th*v nmtir 



;rft their bait in our harbor. They sometimes buy it, and sometimes 

 have seen them catching it. I have seen 18 vessels taking squid as fast as they 

 could haul them in, at Hawkesbury. 



John Nicholson, Louisburg, Cape Breton, at p. 205, says: 



aud buy il< * have seen them fishing for 8quid close to 



