THE NORTHEAST COAST FISHERIES 521 



of the purse seine had supplanted the old method of " chum- 

 ming " for mackerel. This was carried on in deeper water, 

 and without the use of bait. Halibut fishing in the vicinity 

 of the provincial shores was at one time profitable, but it, 

 too, was found to yield better results in offshore waters. 

 Herring alone remained in 1885 a purely inshore fishery, but 

 its importance was relatively small ; owing to constant 

 disagreements with the natives, with whom this occupation 

 brought our men in close contact, the practice of purchasing 

 herring from the provincial fishermen gradually came to be 

 adopted. Thus in 1885 the shore privileges, for which 

 American statesmen had so strenuously contended, had 

 become of comparatively little value to American fishermen. 

 But the privilege of entering Canadian ports for certain pur- 

 poses was still desirable, for all the contingencies of long 

 voyages and lengthy sojourn upon the Banks could not 

 always be provided against before departure from home. 

 Continued boisterous weather often prevailed, and oix 

 account of the delays caused thereby, together with acci- 

 dents that are likely to occur in such exposed stations, the? 

 right to enter any nearby harbor to refit or purchase fresh 

 supplies was useful though not perhaps absolutely necessary. 

 These privileges were already provided for by the treaty 

 of 1818, except the one privilege of buying bait. While 

 this single privilege was less important in some respects 

 than the others, it was still considered to be worth a price, 

 though not so great a price as the remission of duty upon 

 Canadian fish. Aside from the quarrels in which these 

 fishermen so often found themselves involved when they 

 visited Canadian ports, American skippers found other good 

 reasons for abstaining, as far as possible, from the necessity 

 of making port during the fishing season. A run ashore 

 consumed valuable time, and invariably demoralized their 

 crews ; the more frequent the calls in port the less efficient 

 became their men. Not a few of the shrewder captains of 

 " bankers " would have quietly welcomed the excuse to offer 

 their men that all landing on Canadian shores was prohibited. 

 It will be remembered that the treaty of 1818 gave the 



