2974 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



which are specially mentioned ? A. I meant that they were engaged in 

 fishing at other points besides the Bay of St. Lawrence about the Brit- 

 ish provinces ; that is intended to cover the whole of the Nova Scotia 

 and Newfoundland shores. They go in in case of storms. 



Q. Have you never had occasion to ascertain the percentage of loss 

 of your fishing- vessels ? A. Myself ! 



Q. Yes. A. No, I have never made that a subject for specific statis- 

 tics at any time. 



Q. Do you know whether this loss exceeds 2 per cent. ? A. For the 

 entire fleet ? 



Q. Yes. A. I could not ascertain that without going into the figures. 



Q. And you never have ascertained it ? A. No. 



Q. Have you ascertained, in conversation with leading men, whether 

 it has been more than 2i per cent. ? A. Not in that form. 



Q. In what form have you done so ? A. We always understand that 

 we lose from 10 to 15 vessels and from 100 to 1.50 men every year in our 

 general fisheries. 



Q. That does not show what the percentage is? A. Not by any 

 means. 



Q. What percentage is this loss ; for instance, would 2J per cent, in- 

 surance cover all such losses ? A. You mean whether 2 per cent, of 

 the whole fleet is lost ? I suppose that the loss would fully equal that. 



Q. And you think it would not be more ? A. I know that it would 

 not be a great deal more than that. 



Q. And the difference between that and what was charged for insur- 

 ance would represent the profits made ? A. I do not know what you 

 mean. 



Q. I want to ascertain the value of the vessels that leave Gloucester 

 to pursue the fishing-business, and whether 2 per cent, of that valuation 

 would cover the loss that is incurred here ? A. Allow me one moment: 

 I did not understand that question as applying to insurance. I thought 

 you asked whether the loss amounted to 2| per cent, of the whole num- 

 ber of the vessels. 



Q. That is just the way in which I put it. A. But as far as insurance 

 is concerned, that is a matter of which I have no knowledge whatever. 



Q. I want to ascertain what percentage of the fishing-vessels which 

 leave Gloucester is lost ? A. Well, we generally lose from 10 to 15 

 every year, out of nearly 400 vessels. 



Q. In the annual report of the Bureau of Statistics of the United 

 States for 1876, on page 15, under the head of Trade with Canada, dur- 

 ing the year ending the 30th of June, 1876, I find a table of values, 

 which had been omitted in the returns of the United States customs- 

 officers on the Canadian border, as appears from an official statement 

 furnished by the Commissioner of Customs, amounting to $10,507,563, 

 as against $15,596,224 for the preceding year: now, the fish exported 

 from the United States into Canada by railway do not appear in any 

 return, do they ! A. That is a thing with which I have never had any- 

 thing to do. 



Q. I thought you might know something of this trade, and be able to 

 explain the discrepancy between the United States and Canadian re- 

 turns? A. That is a matter entirely beyond my jurisdiction ; that comes, 

 by the Grand Trunk Railway, I think. 



Q. You do not know whether they make any return of fish exports, 

 or of trade that is thus carried on ? A. We have no experience of that 

 kind at our office. 



