PERIOD FllOM 1871 TO 1905. 703 



I hereby claim that amount as indemnity for the wrong done me and 

 the owners of the vessel. 



(Signed) CHARLES H. NUTE, 



Master Schooner Edward E. Webster. 

 ESSEX, ss: 



GLOUCESTER, February 20, 1878. 



Personally appeared Charles H. Nute, master of schooner Edward 

 E. Webster, who subscribed and made oath that the foregoing state- 

 ment is true. 

 Before me. 



(Signed) ADDISON CENTER, 



Justice of the Peace. 



(15.) 

 Deposition of David Malanson. 



GLOUCESTER, February 20, 1878. 



I, David Malanson, master of the American schooner Crest of the 

 Wave, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, do on oath depose and say : 



That I sailed from Gloucester on the 8th December, 1877, on a 

 voyage to Newfoundland for herring. I arrived at Long Harbour, 

 Newfoundland, on the 23d December, 1877. I was interested in a 

 seine carried by the schooners New England and Ontario. I was at 

 Long Harbour on the Gth January, 1878, and was on the beach 

 when the Newfoundland fishermen destroyed the seine belonging*to 

 these vessels. The herring did not strike inshore until that day, and 

 as it is very uncertain how long they will remain, it is imperative, for 

 successful prosecution of the business, to take them when they are 

 inshore. By means of our large purse seines we can inclose the 

 herring and keep them alive a month, if necessary, as we need to 

 have freezing weather when we take them out to freeze them, to 

 keep them fresh until we get them to market. On this occasion 

 the herring were entirely inshore of the Newfoundland gill-nets, 

 and as the sequel proved, if we did not take them then and there 

 we should lose the season catch. The seines were set in no way 

 interfering or injuring the gill-net fishing, and inclosed and held cer- 

 tainly 2,000 barrels of herring, enough to load four vessels. Over 200 

 men came down to the beach, seized the seine, let out the fish, pulled 

 the seine on shore, tearing and cutting it to pieces with knives. The 

 crews operating the seines were powerless against so many ; and after 

 they had destroyed this seine they went for the other American seines, 

 shouting and gesticulating, saying : " Tear up the damned American 

 seines." All of the vessels would have been loaded with herring if 

 the Americans could have used their seines. 



My loss by this outrage is not less than 5.000 dollars, which has 

 been taken from me despite the provisions of the Washington treaty, 

 and which I claim as indemnity. 



The Newfoundland fishermen have for years been in the habit of 

 selling all the herring to American vessels. I have been there eight 

 years, and I have always bought my herring, or engaged the New- 

 foundlanders to take them for me. paying them in cash. This has 

 been the universal practice of American vessels. This year we car- 



