2558 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



Q. I selected that year because I thought it was the one you referred 

 to. A. I only knew the year we lost so much money in Gloucester oil 

 mackerel was when mackerel was high in the fall and low in the spring. 



Q. I ask you this : Can you recall the year 1871 to your mind? That 

 was the year of the Washington Treaty. Are you or are you not aware 

 that American vessels were admitted to the waters of Prince Edward 

 Island ! A. I have no knowledge about anything of that kind. 



Q. Were not your vessels there? A. I think I might have heard 

 them say that they were. I don't recollect. 



Q. I find a rather curious coincidence that the price of mackerel fell 

 just about that time, and it struck me that the fact of their being al- 

 lowed to catch there might have something to do with it ? A. That 

 year! 



Q. I speak of 1871. A. My vessels don't show a very large catch 

 that year. 



Q. Your vessels, you say, have never fished near Prince Edward 

 Island, so that is quite consistent with my theory ; but you will ac- 

 knowledge, I think, and that is as much as I want, that generally 

 speaking the supply regulates the price. A. To a certain extent. 



Q. To a material extent. Will you go as far as that? A. Well, up 

 to a certain point. If there was a very small quantity I don't think the 

 market would take them. The trade will not take them beyond a cer- 

 tain limit. When the mackerel goes to $14 a barrel, or along there to 

 $15, that is our own mackerel, they will not take them. 



Q. They pay $25 for some. A. That is men that have the money to 

 pay, not poor people. 



Q. But there is a class who will pay a large price for the best fish 

 10,000 people you put it at. A. I don't know exactly. 



Q. Supposing the mackerel caught in colonial waters were excluded, 

 would it, or would it notj have any effect upon the price you get for 

 your fish ? Supposing one fourth of the quantity consumed in the 

 States was excluded, would it have any effect on the price of the other 

 three- fourths ! A. I think some, not much. I think it would stimulate 

 our home production. 



Q. In what way would it stimulate it ? By raising the price, is it 

 not? A. Well, to a small extent. 



Q. What do you mean by to a small extent? A. Well, I think up to 

 a certain point the market does not seem to take mackerel when they 

 go beyond a certain figure. At $15 and along there the mackerel drags 

 hard, even with a small quantity. It was surprising to me this year, 

 having mackerel to sell, that I had to look round to find buyers. But 

 when we have large quantities at low prices it seemed to me everybody 

 wanted to buy. 



Q. You are speaking of the Gloucester markets ? A. I have no 

 knowledge of any other market. I find my customers when they get to 

 a certain point will not take them. 



Q. Well, then the effect of the British mackerel coming in is that the 

 consumer is able to buy it cheaper than he otherwise would ! A. Well, 

 up to a certain point. The effect would be very small. There is not a 

 large enough quantity. It is our home catch that affects it. 



Q. I am putting what I conceive to be the fact, as I said, that one- 

 fourth of the mackerel consumed comes from the provinces. Would not 

 the exclusion of that naturally give you an enhanced price for the other 

 three- fourth s? A. Well, I think it would to a certain extent, to a small 

 amount, I don't know how much. 



Q. You made the same statement with regard to herring. I suppose 



