THE NORTHEAST COAST FISHERIES 487 



nounced that " our fisheries and the transportation of our 

 own produce offer us abundant means for guarding ourselves 

 against depending upon foreign vessels." The views of Con- 

 gress are reflected in its reply to the President's message : 

 " The navigation and the fisheries of the United States are 

 objects too interesting not to inspire a disposition to promote 

 them by all the means which shall appear to us consistent 

 with their natural progress and permanent prosperity." 



The fishermen's appeal was answered, and in 1792 a new 

 law was created abolishing the bounties on exported fish, 

 and in lieu thereof a specific tonnage allowance was made to 

 all American vessels engaged in the fisheries. This law was 

 more or less altered by subsequent legislative acts, until 

 finally all bounties and allowances to fishermen were abolished 

 in 1854. These various bounty acts had always met more 

 or less opposition on constitutional grounds. A generation 

 later, Senator Benton opposed them with all the vigor and 

 strength which that parliamentary leader possessed. Fur- 

 ther legislative measures were taken to improve the condi- 

 tion of the fishermen by the act of 1793 authorizing the 

 customs officials to grant to fishing vessels licenses " to 

 touch and trade " at any foreign port or place. The object 

 of this act was to enable the fishermen to purchase in foreign 

 ports, and free of all duties, needful supplies of salt, 

 provisions, fishing gear, etc. This privilege was certainly of 

 great benefit to the fishermen, who availed themselves of it 

 to carry on regular trading operations in Newfoundland and 

 in Canadian ports. Thus it soon led to abuses that later 

 ushered in a series of diplomatic complications, and added 

 to the " fishery question " new elements of controversy. 



Despite these earnest efforts to infuse new life into the 

 crippled fisheries, they rallied but slowly from the shock of 

 war. Statistics of the yearly catches from 1789 to 1812 in- 

 dicate a wavering increase in vessels and tonnage employed, 

 but the fishermen had nevertheless reason to rejoice in fairly 

 bright prospects for renewal of the prosperity they had 

 enjoyed before the Revolution. When their hopes were 

 about to be realized, the shadow of the approaching political 



