130 



And Andrews, at page 35 of his ofKcial Rei>ort 1852, to the Secretary o( the 

 United States' Treasury, says : — 



"A free ]>.<irtiuipntioii in the sea tiHlivriea lU'iir tlic slim-es of tlio Colonies is pejjardwl as the just 

 Itrescriptivo privilege of our tialierinen. Without such privilege our deep-sea fisheries in that nigioa 

 will hecouie valueless." 



'' And United States' Commander Shubrick, in 1853, reported : — 



c " The shoi-es of I'riui'e Kilwunl Island nltound 

 early in the seMou, omi mn only In tuktn riosi- iiuilioir 



with tisii of all kinds. The mackerel strike 

 " (Kx. I>.k;. 18r»;H.r.4, No. 21, page 32.) 



Ill 



Numbers of similar authorities can be prcwluced. 



With ro};ard to the statuincnt in page 10* of tlie Answer, that for a number of 

 f years past the value of the macliercl iisliery in Dritish waters has diminished, while 

 durinij- Mio s.mie period the quantity and quality of these lish taken oH the coast of 

 New Kiighitid lias jjreatly improved, it is sufficient to mention that the result of the 

 present season's fishing, so far, in .\merican waters, has been very small, and the 

 indications are that the remuinder of the season will also be poor. On the other 

 hand, the waters of the Britisli Canadian territories teem with mackerel as in former 

 years. 



The catch of mackerel in British waters by Can.idian fisher.nen has actually 

 incrAased iluring several years past. Recent reports show that the prospects for 

 the current season are good, and that American iishing vessels are preparing to turn 

 them to proiitable account, the mackerel fishery off the United States shores having 

 p faile«l this year. The "Cape Ann Weekly .\dvertiser" of .hine I4th, 1H77, notices 

 the early appearance of mackerel in the Bay of St. Lawrence, and anticipates "a 

 more successful season than that of 187'!, and that quite a large fleet will engage in 

 Q the Bay fishery." The same journal of June 2Uth, 1877, records "a good mackerel 

 catch " along the eastern sliore of Nova Scotia. The Boston "Commercial Bulletin" 

 of July 7, 1877, states that "' mackerel are plenty " at Prince Kdward Island; also 

 that "quite a large licet " of mackerel fishing vessels had arrived at Boston and 

 Gloucester from tiie Uniced States coast, "but most of them report no catcli, and 

 the average will not exceed a few barrels per vessel." The same paper, under date 

 of.luly 14, 1877, states on olHcial authority that the catch of mackerel " is very 

 light," the returns to July I'i this year being only :i8,04.'l barrels, against 81,193 

 barrels to July 1 last year ( l«7<)). 'I'he "Cape Ann Weekly Advertiser " of July 13. 

 1h77, contains the following announcement ; — 



'■ .V trw >iniiill miiikcii'l liave l«cii laki'ii nil slion'. suftifient to meet the lociil demand for fresh 

 iiliuki'wl, Imt tlic lli'cl liuvf met willi ill-siufe^s. mid iioin- ol cnu.seiiileme hiive lieeii liiiided. . . 

 Tli<' I'litin- recciiils li.i .liilv 7»v(;;i " /iiii/i- Jill/ will not e.\<eed 8tt() liiiriel.s." . . . " The .sriiooner 

 ' .Ml, '11 l.fwi^,' riHiii till' \iii',^diil(H iMliiiitIs, for lldutli liay. rc|iMits siiiiill codlisii jilciily at the 

 .Mai,'ilairii:', and niinifnm.s sijioiils of laixc maci re! in the Xuitli Hay, lietween Kast I'oiiit, I'rince 

 Kdwaiil NIand, and I'lirl IliMtd. The ve.s.sel was hove to, and .sevenil hirgi- maekerel taken. The 

 -kippiT of thi^ 'Allen Lewis' thinks the prospect for the iimc^kend fishery in the liuy ils giHwl as he 

 <ver kiii'w it." 



These extracts may be taken with many others as proof of the uncertain 

 ciiar.ncter of the mackerel fishery on the American coast, although the Answer 

 describes it as being "unsurpassed by any in the world"' (p. 19t). The\ at the 

 same time all'ord Iresl) indications of the continued dependence of the American 

 mackerel fishermen on the Britisii inshores, whidi really are in a thriving condition, 

 * and yield increased returns every year. 



Certain expressions u.sed in the .Answc- which reflect unjustly on the l)<iminion 

 fisheries and lishcrnien caiiiiot lie passed over in silence. They arc contained in the 

 ollij-.ving parugiaphs : — ■ 

 ' " .Ml (les(ri|)ti<iiis of lish found in Britisii waters also aboinid along this portion 



'Of the coast of the United States," — that is, down to the thirty-ninth parallel of 

 north latitude. — " It the provincial fishermen invested the same amount of capital in 

 the business, and exerted etpial enterprise, industry and skill, they would find the 

 American waters liilly as valuable to them as theirs are to fishermen t)f tl e United 

 States " (p. lx|). This admission of value conflicts with the assumpv on (d. 13) that 

 the inshore fisheries possess no "commercial or intrinsic value." 



At pages 1!) and 20,§ after describing the United Slates inshore Csherics for 

 ^m.'kcrel as being unsurpassed by any in the world, it is said that " they combine 



• \ft .»•« Ul of this voJ»|. trttgeU4. J P«ge 93. § I'ugcs 94 uiai a,".. 



