AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 2453 



Q. Then, since you have left Grand Manan you know nothing, I sup- 

 pose, of the number of vessels ! A. No ; I have never seen the island, 

 that I recollect, since, any more than at a distance. 



Q. As to the period during the last twelve years, you don't profess to* 

 say anything about it at all ? A. No. 



Q. When you were there, after the end of the seven years, you fished 

 in boats yourself! A. Yes. 



Q. What kind of a man is McLaughlin ; a respectable man ? A. He is 

 considered so. 



Q. Is it possible that the fishing may have changed since you were 

 there ? I will read Mr. McLaughlin's statement with reference to the 

 Grand Manan fishery. He was asked : " Now, about how many Ameri- 

 can vessels fish on the coast during the season?" He answers: "It 

 would be hard to tell that. It has never been my duty to count them." 

 He was asked : " They come in large numbers and they greatly out- 

 number ours ? " He answers : " Yes ; our people at Grand Manan fish 

 but little in vessels." He is asked again : " Do these vessels come in fish- 

 ing within three miles?" And he answers: "At a certain time of the 

 year. In winter it is entirely within. The fall and winter fishing is 

 entirely within." Now that may be the case for the last twelve years ; 

 you don't profess to know? A. I don't profess to know anything about 

 that. 



By Mr. Dana : 



Q. While you were there you saw no American vessels fishing there? 

 A. No. 



No. 45. 



ISAAC BURGESS, of Belfast, Me., fisherman, called on behalf of the 

 Government of the United States, sworn and examined. 



By Mr. Foster : 



Question. You are one of the sharesmen on board the Eliza Poor, 

 Captain Dickie, and are twenty-four years old? Answer. Yes. 



Q. When did you begin fishing for mackerel in the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence ? A. In 1868. 



Q. You must have been a little fellow then? A. Yes; fifteen years 

 old. 



Q. Do you remember the name of the schooner ? A. The Oak Grove, 

 Captain Burgess. 



Q. How many barrels did you take ? A. 210 barrels. 



Q. Where was she from ? A. Belfast. 



Q. How long was she taking them ? A. She was somewhere in the 

 neighborhood of seven or eight weeks. They were taken off shore on 

 Bradley. 



Q. Any within three miles T A. No. 



Q. Take the next time. A. 1869. I was in the James Jewett, Cap- 

 tain Henry Coombes. 



Q. Where from ? A. Belfast. 



Q. How many barrels of mackerel did she take ? A. 273. 



Q. Now where were these taken ? A. On the West Shore, Escumi- 

 nac, North Cape, East Point, and some at Magdalens. 



Q. Well, if any of those were taken within three miles of the shore, 

 state at what place and how many ? A. I don't think we caught any 

 within three miles of the shore. 



Q. What was the next year ? A. 1872. 



