mmmim 



291 



cxcItkIo us. \i was amusemont to them, tlioiigli it mip:lit have been death to some of 



us; Mini tliev imiiiiincd (liat ifthn- did not liave tlic duty to pay, wliicli they all based 

 their answer U)iOn, of course tliey would rather <;o liack tn free trade and exclusion, for 

 inHieir min<ls il amouii(((I (o tliat. Tlicy liad not the duty to pay, although one was 

 laid, and of course, with no duty to pay, (hey would ratlier ro baci< to that old state of 

 t]iiny:s, and have the I'xeliisive riijlit to fish within tl\ree ndles. I think that illusion may 

 be sately predicated of nearly all tiie witnesses brought upon the opposite side, by the 

 eounsel for the Crown. 



A i;;ood deal of time was tai\cn uj) on each side in ])resonting extracts from the 

 .speeelies of politicians and parliamentarians, and men in Congre'-,s, as to what was the 

 real value of free trade in fi.sh, and the re;d value of tlie rijrlit to nsh witliin three miles. 

 Some extracts were read by tlu' learned Cv .. ;.sel for the Crown from speech(-s made by 

 certain in(Mnliers of the American Con!;re::s, wlio liad a point to carry, and some argu- 

 ments, nnieli .;tron^er, winT produced by us from numbers of llie Dcnuinion Government, 

 who also had a point to carry. I do not attach the \(ry hii^hcst iniporlance to either of 

 them, I jiope J am guilty of no disrespect to tlic polenlates and powers that be in 

 saxing that, because I have always observed that men in ptd>lic life who have points to 

 carry will usually find arj^uments by which to carry them, and that their position is not 

 very difl'erent from that of counsel, not before (his trilnmal, but counsel in court, strictly 

 speaking, who have a point to (nain(ain, and who have a verdict to get, becaus(», woe to 

 the statesman wli.'se argument results in a majority of negatives, because he and his whole 

 party, under the Dominion system, go out of power. It is not so with us. Our members 

 of Congress speak with less responsibility. They do not represent the Government in 

 the liiiuse, nor do they rejjresent the Opposition in such a sense (hat they arc bound to 

 take charge of the government the moment thos(> in charge fail of retaining public 

 approval. Our ])olitician.s, even in Congress, are a kind of" free-swimming lish." They 

 are rather more like a liorse in a jiasture tiian like thos(> liorses that are carrying the old 

 family eoacli beliiud tliem. They feel more at liberty. When we consider that the 

 Dominion Parliannnitarians speak luuler tliis great res]ionsibility, and meet an opposition 

 face to face, who speak under e(|ual responsibililics, when we consider that fact, and the 

 numlx'r of them, and the strengtii of their declarations, all to the elTect that the 

 Provinces could not siu'vive our duties any longer, and that in giving up to us the right 

 to fish within tlie three miles, much was not surn.'ndered, I (hink your Honours, without 

 reading it all over, or comjiaring these argnnieiUs, argiuuent for argument, may say at 

 once that whatever weight is to be altaciied to them, far more weight is to be attached 

 to tlie utterances of the British odicers llian to the few American politicians who may 

 liave lifted up their voices on this subject in their irresponsible way. Moreover — your 

 Honours caiuiot have tbrgot(en it — the fishermen of Provincetown and Gloucester 

 remons(rated against tliis Treaty of 1871 . They remonstrated against it as hostile to their 

 interests. He it so. They were good judg(>s of their interests. Tiiey stated that taking 

 oil' the duties would make the fish ciieap. They thought so ; and tliey did not cimsider 

 that the right to fish (and they were lisliermen, and knew their business) within the three 

 miles was any compensation for that. And the remonstrance was made at the time, and 

 it was e,iru(>st. Tiie men went to Washington to enforce it. While men dealing in lish 

 remonstrated against this concession, the othcers of the British Crown, who were 

 responsible, and whose constituents were fishermen and fish-owners, along a certain line 

 of the Provinces, were contending earnestly for the Treaty as beneficial, absolutely, to 

 the Pro\ inees. 



Well, it has been said that they knew all the time that there was money to be paid. 

 They knew no sueli thing. They knew there might or might not be money to be paid, 

 because this Tribunal cUies not sit here to determine oidy the iiunnlitw that the United 

 States shall pay, but first and foremost to determine whether anything shall be paid, and 

 as to that the.se odieers of the British Crown could not pass any judgment. It 

 certainlv has abundantly appeareil in tliis ease that the exportation of fish into the 

 United S(a(es, and the value of the fish Jiere, has risen and fallen steadily, and almost 

 uniformly witii the right of frer' trade, or the obligation to pay the duty. From 

 lh54 to KsGli, when there was free trade in fish, and we had the right to fish 

 where we {ileased, and they had free trade, and s(ut their fish to the American 

 markets, imniedia(ely (iieir mackerel fishery increased in value. Their boat-fishing, 

 instead of being a matter of daily supply for the neighbourhood, developed into a 

 large b\isiness. The luiats were owned In merchants, large (|uautities were shipped 

 from them, and the business increased twofold, threefold, tenfold, as one of their 

 own svilnesses has stated, siiiiiulated by tlie free American markets. I am remhided 

 that Llie w ilnesfi said il had increased an hundredfold. Your honours will psrceive mj 



