AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 2347 



Magdalen f Islands, and got there the first of September, and landed iny 

 seines and boats without one scale. 



Q. What year was that ? A. I cannot tell that. It was when I was 

 in the Blondel. 



Q. Was it 10, 15, or 20 years ago ? A. It was 15 years ago. 



Q. That season after first September did you try catching mackerel 

 in the usual way, with hook and line ? A. Yes j all I got. 



Q. How many did you get ? A. 279 barrels. 



Q. Where ? A. At the Magdalen Islands and broad off New London 

 and about 30 or 40 barrels southeast of East Point. 



Q. What was the last year you fished in the Gulf of St. Lawrence ? 

 A. I think it was 1865. 



Q. You came from home here on a request by letter or telegram. Did 

 you bring any books or memoranda with you ? A. No. 



Q. You have not any means of fixing dates ? A. No. I did not 

 know for what I was wanted, or what you were going to do with me. 



Q. Do you recollect being in the Gulf of St. Lawrence once when there 

 was a cutter there, and the limits within which you were to fish were 

 pointed out ? A. I do, well. 



Q. Tell me what the cutter was ? A. I cannot tell her name, because 

 there was none on her, but I heard the name of her. The captain was 

 Captain Daly. 



Q. Where did she come from ? A. From Halifax. He sent for me 

 to come on board. 



Q. I should like to fix the time as nearly as possible. You hardly 

 remember the year? A. I cannot; I was in Highland Lass that year, 

 I am pretty sure. 



Q. Do you remember whether it was before the Reciprocity Treaty ? 

 A. It must have been. 



Q. The Reciprocity Treaty began in 1854 ; then it must have been 

 twenty-odd years ago? A. Yes. 



Q. Describe what sort of a cutter it was, where it came from, where 

 you saw it, and tell the whole story. A. He gave a general invitation 

 to all American skippers to come on board and see where their limits 

 to fish were. There were 30 or 40 sail of vessels round there, but they 

 all cleared out, except one or two, as soon as he came in. 



By Sir Alexander Gait : 



Q. Where did that occur ? A. In Port Hood. 



WITNESS (to Mr. Foster). I staid there. The captain sent his boat 

 down alongside a vessel which was there (I forget the name) and told 

 the skipper he wanted him to come on board. 'He went to another one, 

 and then came round to me and said, "The captain wants you to go on 

 board." I went on board. The captain told me what his orders were 

 from Halifax, and he showed me his marks on the chart. I well recol- 

 lect three marks. One was from Margaree to Cape St. George, and 

 then a straight line from East Point to Cape St. George, and then an- 

 other straight line from East Point to North Cape. The captain said, 

 " If you come within three miles of these lines, fishing or attempting to 

 fish, I will consider you a prize." 



Q. That is to say, you were excluded from three miles drawn from 

 point to point across the Bend of Prince Edward Island ? A. Yes. He 

 made those lines from the shore marks. 



Q. I want to ask yon generally whether you regard the Magdalen 

 Islands as a safe fishing-ground ? A. Yes ; as safe as any place in the 

 bay. 



