2766 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



Q. Now from your experience during those years, what do you think 

 of the inshore fishery in the bay for such vessels as are sent out from 

 Gloucester ? What is the value, everything considered, of the inshore 

 fishery in the bay for such vessels as are used in the States? A. I 

 should not consider it worth anything. 



Q. What are your objections to it ? A. It is very dangerous to fish 

 inshore ; our vessels are large and they want to be off shore in case a 

 storm should come up. 



Q. In your experience you found that there were plenty of fish off" 

 shore ? A. Yes, except the last year ; there were not any fish in the 

 bay that year save very few. 



Q. You are a sailmaker, and in 1853 you went back to your trade ? 

 A. I went into business in the fall of 1853. 



Q. And followed it up until when ? A. 1864. 



Q. After that did you go into the fishing business, not as a fisherman 

 but as a dealer ? A. Yes. 



Q. Had you a partner ? A. Yes ; Sargent S. Day. 



Q. What was the style of your firm ! A. Nelson & Day. 



Q. How long were you in it f A. From 1864 to 1869. 



Q. Do you count 1864 and 1869 ? A. Yes; that is, I came out in the 

 fall of 1869. 



Q. You are an outfitter and in the fishing business ? A. Yes. 



Q. How many vessels did you usually manage ? A. We had six. 



Q. Were you interested in all of them? A. Yes, I think so; all 

 except one. 



Q. Some you owned ? A. Yes. 



Q. And you were interested in all of them except one ? A. Yes. 



Q. In these cases had your skippers shares in the vessels ? A. Yes ; 

 they invariably held a small portion of them one quarter or something 

 like that. 



Q. Is it customary in Gloucester for the skippers to take shares in 

 vessels'? A. Yes. 



Q. Is it to the interest of the owners to interest them in their business 

 in that way? A. Yes; very much so. 



Q. When the owner makes such an arrangement with a skipper, giving 

 him a share in the vessel, one-quarter, one-eighth, or one-half, how do 

 they carry it out ? Is the skipper entered at the custom-house as part 

 owner ? Has he a bill of sale ? A. In some cases this is done, but not 

 in all cases. He sometimes receives obligations, to be given in a bill of 

 sale when it is paid for. 



Q. He sometimes has a bill of sale, and gives a mortgage back ? A. 

 Yes. 



Q. And sometimes a private agreement is made to give him a bill of 

 sale when he pays for it ? A. Yes. 



Q. While you were engaged in the fishing business during these five 

 or six years, were you cod-fishing as well? A. I was some early in the 

 spring, but I was principally engaged in the bay fisheries, that is, the 

 vessels were principally sent to the bay. 



Q. Were you fishing off the American coast at all ? A. JS"o, not much, 

 except at George's Bank. 



Q. How did your bay fishing turn out? A. Very slim. 



Q. Did you gain or lose by it ? A. We lost by it. In that time we 

 lost about all we had put into the concern. 



Q. How much did you put in? A. Somewhere in the vicinity of 

 $15,000, I think. 



Q. In what business had you made that ? A. I made it principally 



