PERIOD FROM 1871 TO 1905. 651 



[Appendix.] 



Report on the differences that arose between British and United 

 States -fishermen in January, 1878, by Capt. George Lydiaard 

 Sulivan, of her Majesty^s ship Sirius. 



Having carefully weighed the evidence given on oath before me 

 by Newfoundland fishermen present at the time, together with that 

 inclosed in the correspondence forwarded for my perusal, I am of 

 opinion 



1. That the Americans were using seines for catching herring on 

 the 6th of January, 1878, in direct violation of Title XXVII, chapter 

 102, section 1, of the consolidated statutes of Newfoundland, viz: 

 " No person shall haul or take herring by or in a seine or other such 

 contrivance on or near any part of the coast of this colony or of its 

 dependencies, or in any of the bays, harbors, or other places therein, 

 at any time between the 20th day of October and the 25th day of 

 April." 



2. That the American captains were setting and putting out seines 

 and hauling and taking herring on Sunday, the 6th January, in 

 direct violation of section 4, chap. 7, of the act passed 26th April, 

 1876. entitled " An act to amend the law relating to the coast fisher- 

 ies," viz : " No person shall, between the hours of twelve o'clock on 

 Saturday night and twelve o'clock on Sunday night, haul or take any 

 herring, caplin, or squib with net, seines, bunts, or any such contriv- 

 ance for the purposes of such hauling or taking." 



3. That they were barring fish in direct violation of the contin- 

 uance of the same act, Title XXVII. chap. 102, section 1, of the con- 

 solidated statutes of Newfoundland, " or at any time use a seine or 

 other contrivance for the catching or taking of herrings, except by 

 way of shooting and forthwith hauling the same." 



4. That, contrary to the terms of the Treaty of Washington, in 

 which it is expressly provided that they do not interfere with the 

 rights of private property or with British fishermen in the peace- 

 able use of any part of the said coasts in their occupancy for the 

 same purpose (see article 18 of the above-named treaty), they were 

 fishing illegally, interfering with the rights of British fishermen and 

 their peaceable use of that part of the coast then occupied by them, 

 and of which they were actually in possession their seines and boats, 

 their huts, gardens, and land granted by government being situated 

 thereon. 



5. It is distinctly shown in the evidence that the cause of the dif- 

 ference commenced with the Americans by their persisting in shoot- 

 ing their seines on the Sunday, as the Englishmen who worked for 

 them would not do it on that day, not only on account of its being 

 illegal, but of their religious regard for the Sabbath, which is always 

 strictly kept by them, and, although it must be observed that the 

 result of this illegal fishing would have been that the Americans 

 would have secured the whole of the herring in the bay on that day, 

 to the exclusion of the rights and fair chances of all the others during 

 the week, yet there is no evidence to prove that this or anything else 



