AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 2513 



County is a very important fishing county. In 1861 I was a census enumerator, and I 

 think the result of the fishing in that county nearly equalled that of all the other fish- 

 eries of the province, with the exception of St. John County. 



Q. You put half a million as the catch of the British fishermen on the mainland for 

 the year, and, in your judgment, the American catch is the same ? A. All lean judge 

 is by what I hear; they come down in their vessels; I think thov have their own way 

 on the North Shore, very much more than on Grand Man'au. I have a great deal of 

 trouble with them there. But on the North Shore I think they have things pretty 

 much as they want. I would say that they probably surpass our own catch. 



Now does your judgment conform with that statement ? A. If I 

 heard that correctly, he estimates Grand Manan at $500,000, and 

 Campobello and the adjacent islands $500,000, and halt' a million for 

 the mainland. 



Q. If he means that the mainland is half of Campobello and West 

 Isles, it would be only $250,000 ? A. He is under my estimate, but I 

 should not alter my estimate. 



Q. You put half a million for the mainland for a year? You don't 

 agree with him? A. No ; I think he should have added $250,000 more. 



Q. Now he is asked if, in his judgment, the American catch is the 

 same as the British, and answers, "All I can judge by is what I hear. 

 They come down in their vessels. I think they have their own way on 

 the North shore very much more than at Grand Manau." Have you 

 any idea that that is correct ? A. No. As I have said before, of that 

 amount caught there there is not one-fifth that is caught by Amer- 

 icans. I would be safe in saying less. 



Q. At page 256 he is asked by Mr. Foster what he includes in the 

 mainland. Mr. Thomson answers, "From Point Lepreau to Letite ;" and 

 the witness says. "From Point Lepreau to St. Andrew's." Then, the 

 question is asked, " You make one million and a half taken by Ameri- 

 cans and the same by British fishermen," and the answer is yes ; and 

 then he answers in the affirmative to the question whether that is a 

 low estimate. A. That is where we differ. I say that of one and a 

 half million taken, not more that one-fifth of that quantity may be taken 

 by American fishermen. That includes off shore and inshore. 



Q. You have been living in Eastport of late years ? A. Yes. 



Q. And you know the neighborhood of Eastport, Lubec, and Cut- 

 ler? A. Yes, very well, indeed. 



Q. Now, we bare been told, although I can't find the evidence what 

 are the occupations of those places'? A. Eastport is what you would 

 call a fitting village or town, or whatever you may call it about 4,000 

 population. The merchants there fit out fishermen, but those fishermen 

 that they fit out are the same men that come up from those islands 

 they come up to Eastport and fit out there to prosecute this fishery on 

 the North shore, at Grand Manan, and other places in the Bay of Fuudy. 

 The amount of American vessels fitted from Eastport in the fishery 

 business is very small, and it is decreasing every year, because it has 

 not been a paying business. Then Eastport sends a number of vessels 

 to the Magdalen Islands in the spring for herring. That has been here- 

 tofore quite a business with us, and is still followed up. Not so much 

 this last year as formerly, because year before last they lost a great 

 deal of money by the Magdalen herring, on account of the price of 

 smoked Magdalen herring declining very much in the market. A good 

 many people kept Magdalen herring lying in the smoke-house until this 

 year. They didn't sell them until this year. Then there is a certain 

 number of small boats and vessels which don't exceed 25 at the outside, 

 in my estimation, that fit out for this fishery; that is, hake fishing and 

 frozen herring off shore. That is about the extent at Eastport. Then 

 158 P 



