il 





I 



'1 "' 



300 



acquirod t1<o ria:1it to tnk(» fish of every kind between Ramcnu Islands and Capo Race 



on the soiitli coast, and hi'twot'ii f'ape Hacc and tlie Qiiirpon Islands on the cast coast, 

 comiMisin;i- ,i lari;e area of the nmsl valual)lt' inshore tisliorics of the world. 



We lind from t!ie evidence lliat llicrc has ix'cn a steady increase in tlie prodncts ot 

 tlie Xcwtoiindland fislnries, fmin GiXM'iO (|iiiiilals of codfish exported ia 1805, to 

 ].(iOi),7;2l <niiiital- exportcnl in 1S7I. 'fliat the exports of lierrinf!; iiave also increased, 

 from 'M>,'2'i9 l)arrels in 18;')!, to 2*.)1.7.')l i)arreis in 1S7(!, and the vahie of exports offish 

 and pro(hi(|s of lisli, from 4,-40f),if_'5 dollars in I Sol, to^s.JllJlO dollars in 1H74. These 

 ils;nres all'ord proofof the enormons animal product of the liritish fisheries of Newfound- 

 land, almost the sole support and sustenance of about ]GO,tlUO people inhabiting every 

 harboiu", inlet, and cove, alon^ the coast. And lliis, be it remendjered, is exclusive of 

 the lisli taken on the coast of that island, at St. Pierre and Miquelon, on the coast of 

 Labrador, and on thetlrand Hank and other Banks by the French and by the Americans, 

 as to the value of whicli we liavi^ no exact evidence before us ; and it is also exclnaivo 

 of the lar;:^e rpiantity of bait fishes exported from Newfoundland to sujiply the French 

 at St. Pierre. This result is the product of the labours of the Newfoundland fishermen, 

 taken wlioUy from waters within three miles of the shore, except, for I wish to be 

 particularly correct, the trillinp; quantity of about 8,000 or 10,000 (juintals of 

 codlihh, which Mr. Kellii^'rew and .rudj^e I^ennett say may possibly be taken outside that 

 linnt. I wisli jiarticularly to impress upon this Commission the fact of the codfish 

 beiuij so taken close inshore, because it has been repeatedly asserted, both in the United 

 Si-ates' answer and in the arguments of my learned triends on the other side, that tho 

 codfishery is a deep-sea fishery, and not carried on within territorial waters. Add to 

 this, then, the lar;;e catch ot' fish by the French vessels upon the coast, and by the 

 French and United Stales' vessels upon tlie Banks, the former, according; to the statistics 

 handed in by Professor Mind, averaj;in^', for a period of ei^ht years, 217 vessels with 

 8,72!) men ; the latter f(irmin<j: a very larjj^e portion of the entire fishing fleet of the 

 L'nited Siati s, and some ap]>roximate idea may be arrivcil at of the great wealth extracted 

 from the Newfoundland fisheries. It will no longer, tlieretbre, he a matter of surprise 

 that tliis w<ll-named Kldorado sliould have excited the cupidity of the French and of 

 the United States. 



The above includes the whole fishery of Newfoundland, Labrador, and the 

 Banks ; it will be seen what proportion of it is exclusiv( ly taken within the inshore 

 limits thrown open to United Slates' citizens by the Treaty of W.ashington, by the state- 

 ments of Judge Bennett and Mr. Fraser, whose evidence will be found on pages 134 and 

 169. .ind who testify that it amounts, according to the statistical returns of the island, 

 to G.000.000 dollars per anniun, takeni by 15,000 men, exceptino; as I before mentioned, 

 about 8,000 or 10,000 quintals, wliicli may possibly be taken outside tho three-mile limit, 

 and in some cases, as Judge Bennett tells us, the fish arc caught within hailing distance 

 of the fishermen's homes. 



I have so far given concisely the progressive results of these fisheries in the past, 

 and their present annual product, from wliich may be formed an estimate of their 

 probable yield in the tuture, and these annual results are derived from the evidence of 

 witnesses whose testimony is incontroveriible — whicli no attempt has been made to 

 assail. I would now draw attention to the evidence of scientists who have been 

 examined before this Commission. Professor Bain), called on the part of the United 

 States, says that " he, with a force of experts, naturalists, and gentlemen interested in 

 the biology of fishes, has been engaged for five years in the prosecution 'of inquiries 

 into the condition of the fisherii's, and that his principal object has been to ascertain what 

 natural, ])hysical, or moral causes infiueneed fish." " 1 think," says he, "the cod at the 

 head of fish at the present day. There is no fish thai furnishes tbod to so many people, 

 the production of which is of .so much importance, or which is applied to such a variiity 

 of purposes. The comniercial yield is vi-ry great, and its capture is the main occupation 

 of a large portion of liie inhabitants of the sea-coast renio'i of the northern lieinispli( re." 

 As far as he can ascertain, "'there is a partial migration of the cod-fish; the cod is a 

 cold water fish; ilu'y clianije lh(,ir situation in search of food, or in eouse(|uence of the 

 variation ot temperature, the percentage of salt in liie water, or some other cause; and 

 at the south of Cape Cod tlie fishery is largely ofi'-sliorc ; that is, the fish are otf the 

 shore in the cooler waters in the summer, and as the temperature falls towards autumc 

 they come in and an; taken wiliiiii a few miles of the coa.st. The fish generally go 

 ofT-shore in llit; winter, huf on the south cnnst nf Norfomulhind they maintain their .stay 

 inshore, or else eom(> in in large abundance ;'' and the Professor ri'fers to the coast of 

 Lat)ra<lor and Newfouuillaiid as spcriiilhi fmoitrvd loralilirs — as places inshore wliere, 

 among others the largest catches of cod are taken ; and, sa)s the Professor (page 478 of 



