704 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. 



ried the large mackerel seines, which we use in summer for taking 

 mackerel. These seines will take from 2,000 to 5,000 barrels at a haul, 

 and the herring are better taken in this way. As most of the New- 

 foundlanders fish with gill-nets, our manner of seining would take 

 away from them the monopoly of the herring trade, and hence the 

 feeling which produced the outrage on our vessels. It is apparent 

 that they will obstruct any American fishery on their shores, and are 

 not men who would know much about rights or privileges under a 

 treaty. I should say that there are at least 100 cargoes of herring 

 taken from Newfoundland yearly by American vessels, and as things 

 are now it would be useless for American vessels to go there for her- 

 ring unless they bought the herring from the inhabitants at whatever 

 price they may see fit to ask. This American trade has been a great 

 benefit to Newfoundland, and the change in the manner of taking 

 herring will greatly reduce the amount of money paid them for her- 

 ring. Only three vessels of eighteen that were there got any herring 

 whatever. Captain Jacobs, of the Moses Adams, held his seine with 

 revolvers, and, being a native of Newfoundland, was allowed to take 

 in the herring he had taken. The feeling was very intense and bitter 

 against the Americans. The Newfoundland fishermen were catching 

 jiiid taking herring with their nets and boats on the same day. 



(Signed) DAVID MALANSON, 



Master Schooner Crest of the Wave. 



ESSEX, ss : 



Personally appeared before me David Malanson, and subscribed 

 aifd made oath to the above statement. 



(Signed) AARON PARSONS, 



Justice of the Peace. 

 (16) 



Deposition of Edward Stapleton. 



GLOUCESTER, February 21, 1878. 



I, Edward Stapleton, master of the American schooner Hereward, 

 of Gloucester, dp, on oath, depose and say : 



That I have just arrived from Newfoundland, where I have been 

 for a load of herring. I was at Long Harbour, Newfoundland, when 

 the Newfoundland fishermen destroyed the seines of the American 

 schooners New England and Ontario, and saw the whole transaction. 

 I carried a seine with me, and employed Newfoundland fishermen 

 to operate it for me. The first time they set it for me they put it out 

 in a strong tideway, and utterly destroyed it, and after that I had 

 to depend on the other American seines. This was the understand- 

 ing among the American captains, that we were to work together 

 and load all our vessels. The setting of the seines on the 6th January 

 did not interfere in any way with their nets or fishing. I think there 

 is a local regulation that does not allow the Newfoundland fishermen 

 to fish on Sundays; but the first seine (a small -one) set on that clay 

 was one owned and operated by the natives, and they were picking 

 their nets and boating their herring ashore all day. On the arrival 

 of the American fleet the Newfoundlanders put their nets where they 

 would obstruct our sailing, but on this day the herring were away 



