2190 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



Q. "Why would you prefer a duty on mackerel ? A. Our mackerel 

 would fetch that much more a barrel ; we lose that, you know. 



Q. By the duty coming off? A. Yes; the fishermen lose it ; the gov- 

 ernment does not lose it. 



Q. And the people who eat the fish gain it ! A. Yes. 



Q. And if you were to speak to a man whose business was consuming 

 mackerel, you would get an opinion adverse to a duty ? A. Yes. 



Q. You would not object, I suppose, to run the duty up a little higher 

 how would that suit the fishermen? A. I think that is about right. 



Q. When asked by Mr. Foster as to how many barrels of mackerel 

 should be taken by a vessel to pay well, I understood you to say that if 

 mackerel brought $10 a barrel, the number should be 1,000 barrels? A. 

 No ; 400 barrels. 



Q. Four hundred barrels would make a paying voyage ? A. It would 

 make the vessel pay her bills. 



Q. A vessel of what size? A. A 75 or 100 ton vessel. It would cost 

 about $2,000 to run her. 



Q. You say it would cost 82,000 to run the vessel ; what would 

 become of the other $2,000 ? A. The crew get half. They are not paid 

 by wages, but on shares. If a man catches 10 barrels he has half of 

 those, after expenses are taken out, and so with a man who catches 5 

 barrels. 



Q. A vessel of 75 or 100 tons with the fishermen going on half line 

 would, if it got 400 barrels at $10 a barrel, pay its bills. Would it leave 

 a fair recompense to the owners? A. It would not leave much. Some 

 men might run a vessel and leave something, and others would leave it 

 in debt. 



Q. You have made some pretty successful trips in your time ? A. 

 Well, I have got many fish, but they never fetched a great price. 



Q. In regard to the year when you made the wonderful voyage, Mr. 

 Foster read you some parts of Captain Campion's testimony, and I did 

 not understand yon to contradict it. Do you know Captain Campion ? 

 A. !No ; I may have seen him, but I don't know him. 



Q. In how many vessels are you interested ? A. 15. 



Q. How many years have you been in the business? A. I have been 

 in it since I owned a piece of a vessel from 1847. 



Q. How many vessels had you when you commenced ? A. I had only 

 one-sixth part of a vessel, the whole of which cost $1,800. 



Q. You are now interested in 15 vessels ? A. In 15. 



Q. You live in Gloucester and have a snug place besides ? A. Yes. 



Q. What is the cost of one of those fishing vessels, take a vessel of 

 90 tons, present tonnage ? A. A vessel of DO tons would cost, all rig- 

 ged, about $7,500. 



Q. When you commenced business, I suppose Gloucester was rather 

 a small place compared with what it is now ? A. It has grown some 

 since. 



Q. How much do you mean by some ? A. About one-half. 



Q. In 1847, did you commence the fishery business ? A. Yes. 



Q. What was the population in 1847 ? A. I cannot recollect. 



Q. Has it grown more than two-thirds since then been practically 

 built up ! A. It has been practically built up. 



Q. How many members are there of your firm ? A. Three. 



Q. I wish to see whether you contradict the statement of Captain 

 Campion. This is what he said : 



Q. Were they engaged in the bay fishing? A. Captain Andrew Layton was reported to 

 be part owner of a vessel in 1862 ; and when I left there he was established with seven or 

 eight vessels, with a firm. 



