2230 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



licenses or the value of licenses. What do you say was the general 

 opinion of the masters as to having licenses? A. They didn't think 

 they were any value at all only to protect themselves in case they 

 were not dealt with just squarely. They thought they were best to be on 

 the sure side. 



Q. Now, you have heard this talked over and the reasons given, have 

 you ? A. Yes ; I have. 



Q. Those who did think it safe to have them, or convenient to have 

 them, didn't consider them really as of much value 1 A. They thought 

 it would save them from trouble when they came into collision with the 

 cutters. They were uncertain how far they were off. 



Q. Now, is it difficult at sea to determine your distance from the land? 

 A. It is, especially with high land. It is very deceiving. 



Q. Explain how that -is, and to what extent an honest man, who 

 wishes to know how far he can go with safety to his vessel I don't mean 

 from cutters may be deceived by the appearance of the laud f A. 

 Plenty of men have thought they were within three or four miles when 

 they were not within six or seven. 



Q. Take your own experience. If you have high land, have you had 

 experience of being deceived in that way, thinking yourself very near 

 and finding yourself double the distance you supposed ? A. Yes, I 

 have. 



Q. Is that common with seamen? A. Yes; it is common. The coast 

 of Cape Breton is bold, and at Prince Edward Island it runs up pretty 

 abruptly at Malpeque. 



Q. Suppose the land is low, a sandy beach and low-lying country, and 

 you have your vessel near, are you liable to make a mistake, and which 

 way ? A. Well, you can generally tell pretty near how far you are off. 



Q. If you make a mistake, which way will it be likely to be if the 

 land is low ? A. We would think we were too far off, when we would 

 be too nigh. 



Q. Is the liability to mistakes a common and recognized thing? A. 

 It is. I will state an instance. We were fishing off East Point the last 

 year before the treaty, 1872, was it not ? and were catching fish in the 

 morning. I supposed for a certainty I was not much more than three 

 miles off, and I saw a steamer coming along. I didn't know whether I 

 was safe or not. I did not know what to think. I had no license, and 

 felt afraid. When he came along he went outside of us over a mile. 



Q. Did he say anything to you ? A. He never said a word. 



Q. And you don't know now whether he was running on the three-mile 

 line or not ? A. He was not running on the three-mile line. 



Q. Mr. Da vies said your catches in the bay had been very small and 

 yet you had not tried to go inside. Are those catches very small ? A. 

 No ; they are a fair average. 



Q. Do you call that catch in 1862, when you caught 290 and 280 bar- 

 rels, a small one ? A. I do not. That was a good catch. 



Q. In 1863 you had 280 and 215. Was that very small ? A. No. 



Q. In 1864, 284 and 215, how was that ? A. That is the very best 

 year. 



Q. In 1865 you had 285 and 215 ? 



Mr. DAVIES. That is not the statement he gave me. 



Mr. DANA. Look at 1865. Take the paper or your memory, I don't 

 care which, only give me a correct answer. How many trips did you 

 make in 1865 ? A. Two. 



Q. What did you catch ? A. I think about 500 barrels. 



Q. Is that very small ? A. No. 



