227 



thnt one witness said the traders in Canso telegraphed how fine the prospects were, 

 with a view, piohably, to increase their custom ; but they diil expect that the 

 fishing in tlie Gulf of St. Lawrence was to be better than it had been for a lung 

 time. Let us see what has happened this year. We have a part of the Port 

 Mulgrave returns, down to the 25th September, 1877. There is another page, or 

 half a page, vvhich our friends have not furnished us. I invite them to put that in 

 now. I would like it very much. Itut so much as we were able to extract produi-cd 

 the following result: — GO vessels; 8,3(j.').j bbls. ; an average of i;39.J sea-barrels, 

 or 125 packed bbls. ; and one of our adidavits says that the iish on one vessel were 

 all bought. The "John Wesley" got 190 bbls., very much over the average, and 

 the witness said he went to the gulf, could not catch any mackerel, and thought 

 he wouU! buy som;' of the boatmen. Hut 125 packed barrels is the average catch, 

 anil s,.3(i')ii JK the total number of bbls. Now, multiply that by the value of the 

 mackerel after thev are are landed, and see what is the result. It is about 

 31,370 dollars. 



I will not stop to do that sn-u jucurately, because it is too small; but I will 

 call your attention to the results of tiie importations this year. The importations 

 into Boston to 1st October, from Nova Scotia and New lirunswiek, were 30,576 

 barrels; from Prince Kdward Island, 14,54!>.J barrels; in all, ;')l,l'i.'').\ barrels, which 

 would amount in <luty saved to 10'J,251 dollars, up to the 1st October. It is not 

 strictly evidence — and if my friends object to it it may be stricken out — but here 

 is the last report of the Hoston Fish Hurcau, that came yesterday, which gives 

 later results. Up to the 2nd November there had been 77,<>17 barrels imported 

 into I{osti)n from the provinces — more than double the amount that, was imported 

 in 187G, up to the same time, so that, while there has been this great falling-oil' in 

 the vessel lishery in tlie gulf — it is a total failure to-day- -there has been double 

 the catch by boats, and double the catch by the provincial Hshermin. They have 

 saved I.'».'),"jy4 dollars of duty, as against something like 3().(ii)0 (iollars' worth of 

 tish, when they are caught. It may be said that these returns will not represent 

 the average, but we had a witness here, the skipper of the schooner •' Kli/.,i Poor," 

 Captain William .\. Dickie, who tvsiitied, on page2(it of the American evidence, 

 that he had US sea barrels, or lOO packed barrels, lie was one of those men who 

 happened into Halifax on his schnoner, and upoi\ cross-examination it was drawn 

 from him by Brother Doiilre that Mr. Murray, the collector at .Mulgravc, tohl him 

 that he had an average, or more than an average, of the catch of the I'nited States' 

 fleet. Me saw fifty United States' vessels in the gulf. In iUo alisince of more 

 complete returns, that is the best account I am able to give of the condition of the 

 macKcrel lishery in the tiulf ol St. Lawrence, since the Treaty ol Washington was 

 enacted. 



I might connrin this by (•.lUiiig your attention to the testimony of witnesses 

 from the other fishing towns in Massachusetts, Provincetown, Wellllcet, and other 

 places, showing how the number of tiieir vessels has tleereascd, and that the 

 inisiness is being abandoned, so far as the (Julf of St. Lawrence goes. Whatever 

 is left of it is concentrated in (iloucester, and there its amount is inhi^^nilicant. 



I have spoken incidentally of the .imount of duties saved upon tin- provincial 

 catch. On the subject of duties I |)rcipose to speak separately by-and-ljy ; but I do 

 not wish tt) leave this branch of the siiliject, without calling your attention to what 

 strikes me as evidence so convincing that it admits of no answer. We have shown 

 y«)U how, under the operation ol the Treaty of Washington, or Irom natural causes, 

 the mackerel lishery of the U'nited States' vessels in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has 

 been dwindling down; that hardly any protilable voyages have been made to the 

 gulf since the Treaty. Certainly there has been no year when the tisliing of our 

 vessels in the gull has not been a loss to the tishermen. Let me call \our atten- 

 tion to the Hsheries of the provinces. In \hi\[\ Mr. Venning, in making his fishery 

 report, alter speaking of the falling oil in the mackerel catch, went on to say : — 

 "This mav be nceonnted for chiefly by sinting that a large proporlion of our best 

 mackerel catchers ship on board American vessels on shares, and take tlieir llsh 

 to market in those vessels, and thus evade the duty; but alter selling their fish, 

 for the most part return home with the inoiiev." 



The ll«»n. S. Cam|)^)ell, of Nova Seotia, in the debate on the Heciprocity 

 Treaty, sa\s: — 



■' I'ihIi r the oiicnitiiin nf tll ' sy.slcni tli;il Ii;iil inrviiilcd since the r('|ii'il ol' tin' Tn al\ nl' ]H'i4. the 

 lislh'nili'Il lit' N'liVIl ."^ciitia ilild. In ll lill^ri' i'\li>lil, IuiiHIH' tllf tisinillli'li nf llin I'liilnl Sl.drf. They 

 llllil Iteell Iblnil In iiliullilnll ihuil' Vcssri.H mill linini'S III Nnvil Si'ntiil, mill siiiji to Alili'lii'illl [MtrtH, thi!l'B 



