238 THROUGH CANADA 



" I am not, however, at this time prepared to 

 advocate the use of traps in any of the waters of 

 the Province that are unaffected by the use of 

 American traps." 



In 1908 an International Fisheries Commission 

 was created under a treaty between the Govern- 

 ments of Canada and the United States, but it 

 possessed no independent powers that could not be 

 set aside by Congress, as " an unwarrantable inter- 

 ference . . . regarding a matter in which the State 

 legislation is supreme." 



A report of last year (19 10) sums up the situation 

 in these words : " It is evident the only remedy for 

 conditions existing in Puget Sound threatening the 

 destruction of the salmon industry is voluntary com- 

 pliance with the existing law on the part of those 

 engaged in the business, and a universal and earnest 

 determination to protect and perpetuate a great 

 industry." 



Those who know the history of the salmon 

 fisheries in the British Isles will appreciate the 

 danger that this unhappy difference creates. Scotch 

 and Irish industries have been ruined through over- 

 netting. Companies which paid liberal dividends to 

 their shareholders, complain that they do not pay 

 their working expenses now. It would be worth 

 while for the Governments of Canada and the United 

 States to send over representatives to the Old Country 

 to collect evidence on these points, I believe the 



