2492 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



fr 



that I have any prejudice about it, for this is not the case ; I have 

 none. 



Q. lu point of fact, you say that unless the American fishermen are 

 allowed to fish off our coasts, our own fishermen cannot catch any- 

 thing ? A. No, 



By Mr. Foster : 



Q. Does anybody get any considerable quantity of mackerel without 

 throwing out bait I A. No ; it takes a quantity of it to raise the mack- 

 erel. 



Q. Do the small-sized boats usually have a considerable quantity of 

 bait to throw over ? A. No. 



Q. Will you tell me how many men there were on board of the vessel 

 or large boat on which you were ? A. There were six of us. 



Q. Will yon describe what kind of boat it was, and state its length 

 and tonnage ? A. An open boat has no tonnage. The boat was of 22 

 feet keel, 11 feet 6 inches beam, and 5 feet 6 inches in depth of hold ; 

 she had something like 6 or 7 feet laid off for a forecastle, called the 

 cuddy ; the two sides of the boat were furnished with bunks for the 

 men to sleep in ; and then there was what was called standing room for 

 the captain ; and between this and the mainmast was another place 

 where we stowed away nets, fishing-lines, and fishing-gear of all kinds 

 a barrel of flour and a barrel of beef and a barrel of pork, if we wanted it. 



Q. Do you know the boat's tonnage ? A. I could not tell you ; none 

 of the boats are measured, because they are open. By keeping them 

 open, we get clear of custom-house taxes, while if we decked them fore 

 and aft, we would have to piy taxes at every port which we entered. 



Q. Are they like the boats called in Newfoundland western boats, 

 which stay out at sea ? A. Yes ; pretty much. 



Q. Which stay out for three and four weeks, and scarcely ever go 

 beyond three miles from the shore ? A. They are not built on the same 

 principle ; we Nova Scotians call the western boats of Newfoundland 

 jacks. 



Q. How do these boats of yours compare in size with the Newfound- 

 land jacks ! A. Ours are not quite so large. 



Q. How much smaller are they ? A. If the jacks are of 25 tons bur- 

 den, our boats are something like 15 tons. 



Q. I notice that Mr. Killigrew in his testimony speaks of western boats 

 manned by six men for six months, and states that their tonnage varies 

 from 22 to 28 tons, and that they follow the fish to different parts of the 

 coast. Sir Alexander Gait asked him if they staid out at sea, and he 

 replied : 



Yes; perhaps for three or four weeks. They are something like our Bankers, but 

 they only fish about a couple of miles from the shore. They scarcely ever go farther 

 than that from the coast. 



Q. Yon know what kind of boat this is ! A. Yes. 



Q. And you say that if this is of 25 tons, yours are of 15 tons ? A. 

 Yes. 



By Mr. Davies : 



Q. What is the length of the keel ? A. Twenty-two feet. 



Q. What is the beam ? A. Eleven feet six inches. 



Q. Do you say that a boat of 22 feet keel has 11 feet beam? A. 

 Eleven feet six inches we generally c.ill it ; the hold is some 5 feet 6 

 inches. 



Q. And six feet is taken in the low for the cuddy? A. Six or seven 

 feet, I should say. 



