2350 AWAKD OF THE FISHERY' COMMISSION. 



Portland for seven or eight years. But I know about Bucksport and 

 Castine; they have broken up in regard to fishing. 



Q. They have stopped the business ? A. All except a few barrels. 



Q. What did Castine used to do ? A. Castine used to be the main- 

 stay of all fishing. Everybody went there to fit out, and it used to 

 own a good many Bankers itself, and it used to supply vessels with 

 salt and everything else. Now |he salt-stores are all gone and the ves- 

 sels are all gone. I don't know of one vessel that has gone out of Cas- 

 tine to the Banks this year, and there used to be 70, 80, or 90 sail of 

 Bankers fit out there yearly. There are more Bankers going out of 

 Bucksport than Castiue, because there are none from Castine, but noth- 

 ing to what they used to be. 



Q. You remember the old bounty system ? A. I think I do. 



Q. What was it, and what was the effect of its withdrawal ? A. It 

 used to cost about nine shillings to the dollar to get it. 



Q. How do you mean ? A. They would get an old vessel, and hire a 

 crew to go in her, and the wages and expenses would eat up all the 

 bounty and considerably more. 



Q. What do you mean by getting an old vessel t A. When the 

 bounty was on, anybody who had an old vessel would let a man take 

 her for nothing. If you had an old vessel you would say to me, " I will 

 give you her to use this season if you will give me the bounty." The 

 earning of the bounty would be no expense to you, and if I could make 

 the vessel earn anything I would get it. That is the way bounty catch- 

 ing was carried on where I live. 



Q. Would not that increase the number of vessels by keeping old ves- 

 sels afloat? A. Yes ; vessels which ought to have been dead. That is 

 the way the bounty system was carried on in our locality ; but there 

 were vessels which earned the bounty and the bounty helped them. 



Q. The bonntv was given exclusively on cod-fishing vessels ? A. 

 Yes. 



Q. Did those old vessels which went cod-fishing, partly induced to do 

 so by the bounty, go after mackerel any part of the year ? A. They 

 used to go after everything. 



Q. But not during the four months they were earning their bounty ? 

 A. No. 



Q. The rest of the year they went fishing for everything ? A. Yes ; 

 they did not go a great distance off. 



Q. Was the effect of withdrawing the bounty to diminish the number 

 of vessels and to place old and poor vessels out of employment f A. 

 Yes ; old vessels that were not good for anything. 



By Sir Alexander Gait : 



Q. A question was asked you whether fishing on the coast of Maine 

 had increased or diminished, and you said it had decreased ; and you 

 spoke of the number of vessels. Where did those vessels usually fish 

 at the time to which you referred ! A. Our vessels used to go to Lab- 

 rador, Brown's Banks, and Western Banks, and all round. 



Q. Along the whole coast ? A. Yes. 



Q. And to the Grand Banks ? A. Some, but very few; I went to the 

 Grand Banks in one vessel. 



By Mr. Foster : 



Q. Did your vessels come to the gulf for mackerel ? A. No ; not the 

 old bounty catchers. 



