2786 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



these Commissioners, from an American stand-point ? A. Yes ; of course 

 I do. 



Q. And I suppose you take quite an interest in seeing the Commis- 

 sioners award nothing, or as little as possible, against the United 

 States! A. Well, I took no thought of it good, bad, or indifferent 

 until I was invited to come down here ; and that was a week ago yester- 

 day. I have tried to overhaul my memory the best I could, and I have 

 done the best I could. If anybody could could do it any better, I would 

 like to have him try it. I have done the best I could, and if I have done 

 wrong, I have not intended it. I would not lie for the Commission, 

 whether they give fifteen millions or not. 



Q. Do not misunderstand me. I am not charging you with lying or 

 anything of that kind. A. No ; I would not do it. 



Q. Tell me why, having this memory, and considering the fact that 

 your memoranda were destroyed, you wrote down memoranda on that 

 paper? A. I could tell all the things just as they came along, but I 

 wanted to be accurate, and I did not know but they might begin at one 

 end or the other, and I wanted it to refer to. 



Q. You have been examined before you came here ? A. I have merely 

 talked it over. 



Q. You had no idea of Mr. Trescot puzzling you ? A. He asked me 

 a word or two ; but I did not then refer to any particular year good, 

 bad, or indifferent. 



Q. You had no idea of his entrapping you ? A. Well, I did not know 

 but what you might catch me. 



Q. You have stated you do not think that the inshore fisheries in the 

 gulf are worth anything at all ? A. No ; I do not. 



Q. And you say that you never took out a license, but I see that one 

 of your vessels took out a license; hence, her captain entertained a dif- 

 ferent opinion from yourself in this regard ; are you really serious in 

 saying that they are worth nothing at all ? A. No ; they are not. The 

 fish of the sea, on any shore, are not worth anything. 



Q. Then your idea is that these inshore fisheries ought not to be paid 

 for by the United States, because the fish in the sea are nobody's fish 

 until they are caught? A. That is it; I never thought that the fish- 

 eries inshore were worth anything. 



Q. For this reason, because they are not caught ? A. Well, that is 

 one reason for it. 



Q. You did catch fish inshore on several occasions; you took more 

 than half one trip 100 barrels or upwards inshore ? A. I was then a 

 hand, and was along with William Forbes in the Mount Vernon ; that 

 was a very poor year when very few mackerel were taken in the whole 

 bay. 



Q. Even so, but you then caught one-half of your trip inshore ? A. 

 We ttok two-thirds of it, 200 barrels. 



Q. Inshore? A. Yes; within half a mile of the island. That was 

 my second year fishing. 



Q. The privilege of fishing inshore was worth something that year? 

 A. We made a little out of it that time. 



Q. If you could do that again, the inshore fishing would be worth 

 something? A. I have tried it a number of times, but I could never do^ 

 anything of any account inshore. 



Q. O, yes, you did afterward to some extent ? A. Well, while I was 

 in the Oliver'Crornwell I caught 940 barrels, and I think about 100 bar- 

 rels of these were taken inshore. 1 did not go home with my first catch 

 that year, but I sent fish home twice. I shipped from Canso 330 bar 



