811 



United Sli 



itod Siiiios'iislicrmoii wns u|iwimlsof aoo fniintiil->, I'or wliich ho imid prices rnnRins from 8s. to 11». 



."'''"""■"' •'''"' l'ii''li"-^*'l " isidcnil-lu (Hiiiiilily ol' cod-oil Iroiu Uuitod Stales' lislicrmeu, 



piirticidiii-j cjI which h',' liiis nut at h.iiul." 



Also Rifliard Casliiii. pai;t; Ol), Britisli Amdavits:— 



" I'liitcd Sl.ili's' lishiTincn hiivc sold siji.dl codlish ;iiid cod-nil in lliis noi,i,'hliourhnnd. I Imvu 

 purclm.sfd codli.-iii ami (dil-oil rmm liicni. Thf |jii(vs ].aid have luiiii S.s, and ik [m cui. I'nr ^Tccn cod- 

 li.'<h, and "Ji. <',./, |j,:f guUoii lor cud uil, Ei-hty (Hiiiiudi ul' lish, uud two and ouc-huU' tiuis uf oil, id 

 what 1 imiviuijcd." 



And Uicliard Paul, page 63, British Affidavits:— 



"American h.-licnni>n liaw sold lish and i.il in this nciijliliourliond. f only know of tlicir ■idling 

 37 <niinta]s at 7*-. i^i-r iiiunnd, and 7'> -allom „[ oil at A-dollar. 1 uiidir-iaiid' from Uioir .-tatcmcnta 

 the jia.st sciuon, that hcicaficr, tlicy intend lo sell to our ncunlo all t.hu codlish they catch uudcr 

 2a iuches iu length." 



Philip Hubert, Sub-Collector of Customs, Harbour Briton, Fortune Bay, page 54 :— 



" AiM( riian (iduiniei! have .sold sni.ill codli-ih in tliis bay; some vessuld .sold 100 (luiutals, the 

 price ran^in,^' fioin 7.>'. to Iik j.er cwi., ■.Tern." 



In addition lo which llicrc tu-o numerous affidavits in support of the same fact as 

 regard.s the t;(Mn nil s;dc of small codlish. 



Previously lo ilic \Vashin;;toii Treaty there had been a duty of 1 dol. 30 c. per 

 (juinlal on lish iiujioi-tcd into .Newfoundland, whicli of course is now removed as tar as 

 concerns ihe United SlaUs. Tiie titiiii'.atioii of litis small fish is unqtieslionably an iiu- 

 porlant item of o;ain lo theni. If tliert; is a benefit to Newfoundland in a free market 

 with Ihe IJiiiled Stales, it has been reduced to its very minimum by the United Slates' 

 (lovernmeni taxing ihe tins in wiiicii salmon is put up", and by tlie refusal to admit seal- 

 oil, an article of extensive export fnnn Newfoundland, as a (ish-oil, altlumgh in their 

 own commercial language it is placed under that category. This, however, I presume, is a 

 matter over which you have no jurisdielion ; neither have you over the question of 128.18.'5 

 dollars duties paid in Ihe Uniied Stales on tish and fish products imported from New- 

 foundland, between 1871 and 1871 (referred to on page 1 73, Ih'itish evidence) when 

 the L.'^niled Slates were allowed to eujoy the benefits of the Washington Treaty 

 on Ihe distinci umh-rslanding Ihal Ihe enjoyment should be reciprocal, but which under- 

 standing was subse(|Uiiitly repudiated b\ the United Slates, and the above-mentioned 

 anioiMit of duties levied during tho.se years remains unrefunded to the present day. 



Tlu-re is a ground of defence relieil upon by my learned friends opposite, as to 

 which 1 wish to oH'er one or two remarks. They contend, as 1 understand them, that 

 the fishermen of Newfiniudland are beuelilcd by Americans coming to the coast and 

 trading with the people ; that that trading breaks down a syateiu of businesj^ which they 

 allcije lo exist between the merchant and Ihe fisherman, by which the latter is held in 

 bondage to the former; and as a proof of Ihe existence of such a .system, they put in 

 evidence a memorial from tlii' peoi)le of Placeutia, dated August lUtli, 18t)0, praying 

 for Ihe cslablishment of certain fishery regulations which then existed in St. John's, 

 The memorial will be found at page Iti". British evidence. I will not detain you by 

 reading it. It is a singular mode of proving a present condition of alfairs in 1877, to 

 produce what may or may not be a .statement in facts in ISOO. I should not have con- 

 sidered the point worliiy ot notice, had nol my learned friends brought it forward on 

 more than one occasion, in li'rms which [ conceive to bo unwarranted. I will therefore 

 only remark, that these assertions are amidy disproved by the statement of Judfjc 

 liennell, .Mr. Kraser, and Mr. Kelligrew, who have suiliciently proved the business 

 oiieralions of Ihe couiilry. Bui when I hear, on the one hand, my learned friend, 

 Mr. Dana, loud in ins a.^sertions and professions as to all the good which Americans have 

 done, and all ih.il they are going to do, visiting our coast with numey in their hands, 

 and with the best of inlenlion.'j. as he says, to improve the moral condition of our fisher- 

 men, and when 1 see on the other handwhat they have really done, and what they are 

 attempting lo do— lo lake our fisheries without an ecpiivalent — I am forcibly reminded 

 of thai line in the old Uatiu ['oel, " Tinito D<tn(ios el dona /crentvs ! " 



But I have ii|) lo the present I rented this sul)jecl from a commercial standpoint 

 only. Tliis is pn.senling it in i!s narrowest and most contracted asi)ect. I claim from 

 this' Commission a consideration of the privileges conceded by Article XVIll of the 

 Treatv of W.isliinglon, from a broad and national point of view. The United State:;, 

 witli its enormous population, ever increasing, demands extended resources from whence 



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