AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 2297 



Q. That is the mercantile branch of your business ! A. You may put 

 it that way. Yes. 



Q. That would be the sum and substance and result of your testi- 

 mony? A. Yes. 



Q. Am I to understand that seining, as practiced on the American 

 coast, is a benefit or disadvantage to the fisheries along the coast? A. 

 I think that it is a disadvantage. I consider that it will prove to be a 

 very expens ve way of catching the fish. This year is a very disastrous 

 year. 



Q. In what way? A. There are no fares to pay the bills with. 



Q. And do you ascribe that in any degree to the process of catching 

 the fish with seines ? A. Yes, partly ; and there are other causes for 

 it. I think that the larger fish have driven off the smaller. 



Q. And all things combined, it is a very bad year T A. It is a con- 

 siderably bad year. Few vessels have done well. 



Q. You stated you believed that not more than one-tenth of the fish 

 were caught inshore in the bay ? A. Yes ; one-tenth or one-eighth. 



Q. This statement conflicts with other evidence. You, as a matter of 

 fact, have never fished in the bay at all ? A. I have not. 



Q. And you do not know, as an actual fisherman, where the fish are 

 caught? A. No. 



Q. You have derived your information on the subject from your cap- 

 tains and others ? A. Yes. 



Q. Do you know the general opinion about this matter ? A. I do not. 



Q. Do you know whether the Boston merchants entertain any strong 

 opinion in opposition to the one you have given ? A. I do not. I never 

 heard that they had stated anything on the subject. 



Q. I refer to the Boston Board of Trade ? A. I do not know how 

 they should know anything more about that than myself. I never knew 

 that the Boston Board of Trade had said anything about it. I never 

 heard that they talked fish. You allude, perhaps, to the Boston Fish 

 Bureau. 



Q. Perhaps. Are the merchants who handle your fish and get a 

 commission on the transaction opposed to your view ? A. They are 

 interested in the trade between the provinces and Boston. 



Q. Do they know where the fish are caught ? A. They have a very 

 limited knowledge concerning this matter. 



Q. But some of them would be old fishermen ? A. I do not know 

 that this is the case with any of them. 



Q. You think that your opinion would be as good as theirs ? A. I 

 think it would be far better. 



Q. Neither you nor they have ever been fishing in the- bay ? A. But 

 they have no vessels or property there, and they have not inquired about 

 it nor paid licenses. 



Q. You would prefer the opinion of a man who had been there catch- 

 ing fish ? A. I think such testimony would be better and safer than my 

 own, as he would speak from actual knowledge. 



Q. You are not speaking as a practical fisherman at all ?- -A. I speak 

 as an owner and one who risks his property in the fishing business. 



Q. In the statement you made, I think you said you charged interest 

 at the rate of 7 per cent..! A. It was 6 or 7. I have not figured it ex- 

 actly ; but it is roughly calculated as between G and 7 per cent, for two 

 or three months. 



By Mr. Foster : 



Q. Fora voyage often weeks ? A. Yes. 



