Cartwright Staff. 



CHAPTER VIII 



/ 



THE TRUCK SYSTEM 



COD alone is fish in Labrador diction. Cod is the 

 coin of the realm. Money is scarcely known, and 

 no other medium of exchange is used by the people, 

 whose raison d'etre almost is cod. All live on goods 

 advanced on credit, to be paid for by their catch of 

 cod. This truck system, is the next of kin to the 

 old feudal system, and has long been extinct in 

 most civilized countries. It seems the early treat- 

 ment of Newfoundland by England is partly re- 

 sponsible for the rise of this baneful system, which 

 it is now difficult to remove. The struggling fisher- 

 man knows it is a state of bondage, but cannot get 

 out of it ; the merchant knows its disadvantages out- 

 weigh its profits ; while the colony must recognise 



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