1814 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



arriving at the conclusion as to whether this man told the truth or not. 

 That is the only manner in which it is important. That the American 

 fishing fleet comes down here every year is a settled fact. But there is 

 an important point connected with this fleet, to which I respectfully call 

 the attention of the Commission. It is a confessed fact that the Amer- 

 ican fleet does come down there, that very large quantities of herring 

 are taken, and have been taken yearly, and will be taken for all time 

 to come, I suppose ; but not one single captain of all that fleet and the 

 names of the captains and vessels they commanded are known has 

 been put on the stand for the purpose of contradicting the British evi- 

 dence in regard to the fisheries of Grand Mauan and the adjacent shores 

 of New Brunswick to the north of it. That is a most extraordinary co- 

 incidence that not a single man of all that fishing fleet has been called 

 for the purpose of giving evidence on that point. 



Mr. FOSTER. You are entirely mistaken about that. Here is Ezra 

 Turner, and Sylvanus Smith had been there. 



Mr. THOMSON. He had not been engaged in the fishery for eleven 

 years back, if my memory serves me right. We will take Ezra Turner 

 first. I am speaking now of within the time covered by the testimony 

 of those witnesses whom the four witnesses were called to contradict. 

 If you say Ezra Turner comes within the reference, I am quite willing 

 to be shown that such is the fact. 



Mr. FOSTER. What time do you say is covered by the witnesses ! 



Mr. THOMSON. I say it was during the time of the Reciprocity Treaty, 

 and possibly a few years later. 



Mr. FOSTER. If you look at Ezra Turner's evidence, on page 227, you 

 will find the following : 



Q. In regard to the herring fishery at Grand Manan, have you been in that neighborhood 

 after herring f A. Yes ; I suppose I was the man who introduced that business. 



Q. How many years ago was that? A. That is 25 years ago, I guess. 



Q. Did you go there to catch herring or to buy them ? A. That is the way all our vessels 

 do : they go and buy them from the inhabitants there, who fish the herring and freeze them. 



Q. When were you there last ? A. I was down there last year ; last winter. I only 

 stopped a little while. 



Mr. THOMSON. Was he down there as captain of one of the vessels ? 



Mr. FOSTER. He is a man who has been captain all his life. 



Mr. THOMSON. What I said was, that of all the fishing-fleet coming 

 there, not one of the skippers had been called for the purpose of contra- 

 dicting the evidence given by McLaughlin, Lord, and McLean, and they 

 could not contradict it unless they were down there as captains during 

 the period over which the testimony of these men runs. Now, as far as 

 I remember, Turner has not done so. 



Mr. FOSTER. Here is the evidence of Lawrence Londrigan, who was 

 there last winter in the J. W. Roberts. He does not come within the 

 terms of the statement because he was not captain. P. Conley was 

 captain of the vessel. Londrigan, in his evidence, says : 



Q. What were you doing last winter ? A. I left to go in a vessel for frozen herring. 



Ci. \\ hat is the name of the vessel ? A. J. W. Roberts. 



y. \\ here did she hail from ? A. From Rockport, Me. 



y. Who was her captain ? A. P. Couley. 



g. When did you start from Rockport ? A. 16th December. 



y. How long were you gone ? A. We were at Beaver Harbor and around Grand Manan 

 about two weeks. 



Q. Were other vessels there ? A. Yes. 



y. How many ? A. Electric Flash, Madawaska Maid, Mary Turner, Episcatawa. 



U. H many frozen herring did you get ? A. Some were bought frozen and some were 

 bought green and took ashore, and some we froze on the deck of the vessel. 



id you pay for them ? A. For most of them fifty cents a hundred ; for about 

 SD,UOO forty-five cents a hundred. 



