2168 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



Q. Could their boats allow them to go far from the shore ? Did you 

 see any of those boats ? A. I uever saw them. 



Q. Did you hear what size they were ? A. No ; I don't know that I 

 ever heard the dimensions. I believe they are not deck-boats. 



Q. So you have always fished outside of three miles, you say ? A. I 

 don't think I ever fished inside. 



Q. Did you ever see any Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, or 

 Quebec people fishing near you ? A. No ; I don't recollect that I have. 



Q. So if they have been fishing they must have been fishing far away 

 from you ? A. I never saw them, not in those open boats. I may have 

 seen some of their large vessels in the bay, but not to distinguish them 

 from our own. 



Q. You have never been in the bay since 1852 ? A. That was my 

 last trip there. 



Q. Did you ever fish in any of the bays, such as Bay Chaleur? A. 

 No ; I never was in Bay Chaleur. 



Q. Have you ever been in Gaspe Bay ? A. No j I have never been in 

 Gasp Bay either. 



Q. You are not aware at all what was going on during the whole of 

 the Reciprocity Treaty, except from hearsay ? You have no personal 

 knowledge of anything f A. I was in the fishing business all that time. 

 I used to listen to what our men said. Perhaps I didn't pay particular 

 attention to it. I never remember anything particular. 

 fc Q. You have never been yourself, during the existence of the treaty, 

 in the bay ? A. I have never been since 1852. 



Q. I have taken down here that you said you would not fish in the 

 bend of the island because it was too deep. Did I understand you ? 

 A. I didn't say I would not fish there. I said I considered it more dan- 

 gerous than any other part of the bay. 



Q. I have taken down because the water was too deep ? A. No ; I 

 didn't say that. We didn't heave the lead over to see how deep the 

 water was on account of the mackerel. We were not particular about 

 the depth. 



Q. It was on account of the prevailing winds only that you didn't 

 like that part of the island f A. O, yes ; if you go into shoal water the 

 sea comes up suddenly. It makes it more dangerous. 



Q. Have you any knowledge of the number of vessels engaged in 

 fishing from Gloucester ? A. The number fishing in the Bay of St. 

 Lawrence ? 



Q. Anywhere? A. The whole of them ? Well, I should think 300 sail. 

 I don't believe but what there is that many. 



Q. All of a tonnage to go to the Bay of St. Lawrence ? A. O, no ; very 

 few of them go. 



Q. I don't say that they go, but that they are all of capacity to go ? 

 A. Certainly. The larger portion of them are of the right size to go to 

 the bay. That is, if there is anything there to make it pay. 



Q. What is the population of Gloucester? A. I think about in the 

 neighborhood of 18,000; 18,000 or 19,000, 1 should think. 



Q. Has it not been built almost exclusively from the fishing industry I 

 A. Fishing is the principal business and has always been. 



Q. Where would they go generally fishing ? A. To George's Banks 

 principally. 



Q. That is on the coast of Maine? A. That is abroad off the eastward 

 of Nantucket. Between the Grand Bank and Nantucket shoals is what 

 we call the South Channel. The South Channel is inside of George's 

 Banks. 



