336 



,Mr. Josef O. Sirois tells the Commission, in his examination by myself: — 



" I am a merchaiit at flraiido liivori", County of Ciaspe. I Lave I'liiployed mnii to lisli for mo 

 round ray neifjhbnuihood. I liave lisluid ou tlui anutli side of the Hiver of St. Tiawrciii'i!, from 

 Paspebiac to Cape Caspe, a distance of about ninety miles. My tishinj,' wius done wilii small boats, 

 each liavinj; two jiien; I j,'eiieially liave six of liiieh bont.s ein))loyed lisliint;. 1 Imvc eavried on tliia 

 kind of business .uiiii|4 the last twenty year.s. It is cod we take on that coast. Cod is slightly more 

 abundant than it was twenty years a;,'o ; it may lie that each boat takes less, but the nundiet of boats 

 has consideiubly increa.seil during th:it jjeriod. I'art of the cod is taken along the coast, and the 

 remainder ou Jli.scou I'lmk. Cod is taken from one to two miles trom tlui const. They take about 

 half their catch on the coa,st within the distance mentioned, and the remaining half on ]VIi.scou l?ank. 

 They take cod with bait, consisting of caplin, berriusi, squid, .smell, and mackerel. Tlu' bait is obtained 

 at from a quarter of a mile to two miles from the coast ; it is very rarj the lishcrmen would have to go 

 out as far as thrctt niilcs to take bait. .American lishcrmen couhl no'., bring fresh bait from their homes. 

 It cannot be kejit with ice to be used advantageously for I'.iore than two days. The etiect of placing 

 bait on ice is to soften it so that it will not hold on the hooks. I have seen a immber of Amencau 

 schoonera tisliing mackerel on the coast." 



Mr. Louis Hoy, of Cape Ciiatte, testified to tlie Commission, in reply to myself, as 

 follows : — 



" Q. What ]iart of the coast of the Iiivcv St. Lawrence are you acquainted with '. — \. From Cape 

 Chatte to Cajie Ciasjie. 



"Q. AVhat is the distance between those jioints ? — A. Alumt 140 miles. 



" Q. Tliat is on the south coast >. — A. Yes. 



" l^. Do you know anything of the north coast ? — A. I have some knowledge of the north coast, 

 but am not .so faniiliar with it as with the south coast. 



"Q. Wiiat extent of coast on the north side do you know? — A. Alwit IGO. 



" Q. That would make a length of oOO miles of the river coast, that von arc acquainted with ? — 

 A. Yes. 



" Q. Is it to your knowledge tliat the Americans have been fishing on that part of the liivcr 

 St. Lawrence ? — A. ( >li, yes ; they have lishcd near my place very often. 



" (,i>. AViien did they begin to lish on that part of the river ? — A. About 185-1. 



" (j. The time of the Reciprocity Treaty >. — A. Yes. 



"(J. Until then you had never seen nmch of them ?■— A. Oh, yes. I saw many during the ten 

 years previous to that. 



"*.}. But they came in large numbers after that date ? — .\. Yes, they came in large numbers for 

 about si.\ or seven years, but after that they came in less nundiers. 



" Q. You mean during the last years ? — .V. Yes. 



" Q. At the time tliey were frecpientiug that part of the river, how many sail have you any 

 knowledge of as visiting the coast ? — A. From Cape Casjw to Cape Chatte ( 



" Q. Yes, and on the north shore also < — A. About 260 or 300 sails. 



" y. Schooners >. — A. Yes. 



" Q. AYhat w^as the general tonnage '( — A. About 70 (n' 80 tons. 



" Q. That is the average ?— A. Y'es ; there would be some 50 tons and some 120. 



"Q. You say that many visited during one .sea.son ( — A. From spring to fall. Uh, yes. 



" tj. After the Treaty of Eeciprocity ! — .V. Xot so much. 



"Q. You mean not so much after the Treaty was terminated ? — A. Yes. 



"Q. lUit during its I'xislenco ? — A. AYell. about the number I have stated. 



" Q. Were tliev fishing lur lish to trade with ?— A. Y''e.s. 



" Q. What kind of tisii was it ?— A. Cod. 



"Q. Where was the cod caught? — A. Do vou mean what distance from the shore ? 



"Q. Yes?— A, Within tlireemiles. 



"Q. Well, out of tlicse odo miles you have .spoken of, where could cod be fished for off the 

 coast ? — A. Well, for about l."i or 20 miles off the north shore. On the south shore there are none at 

 all outside. You can't catch off beyond three miles on the soutli shore. 



" Q. Where aietho.se 15 or 2t) miles? — A. From llingan. 



" Q. Have you any knowledge of the catch that one of those schooners would take, neither the 

 largest nor the smallest. Take an average ? — A. About between 500 or (iOO barrels each vessel. 



" Q. For the whole season ? — A. Yes ; because some of them made two trips and some three. 



"Q. Well, then they would not take 5iiii or GOti barrels each trip? — A. No, no ; I mean for the 

 whole season. 



"i-i . Is the cod as abundant now as it was ,'iti or 40 years ago ? Do you get as much ? — A. Oh, 

 yes, as much as .'id or 4t) vears ago. I am sure of it. 



" Q. Have you an> idea what quantity of fish is taken by the Canadians in that part of the 

 river ?— A. Oh, yes ; 1 have a nicnioraudum here. I calculate that the catch of codfish from Cape 

 Chatte to Cajie (laspe, ahjiig the coast, is about 220,001) ([uintals of dry fish, valued at 4'50 dollars a 

 quintal. 



"Q. Do ycai know if iiiuch of tliat is exported to the United States? — A. Not at all ; not any. 



" Q, Now-, as to the mackerel, is that the ih]\ for which the Americans were fishing on that jiart of 

 the rivm' ? — A. Yes. 



"Q. Where is the mackerel taken generally ? — A. It is within three miles, because always the M 

 mackerel is inside Of a mile — close bv. 



