401 



" Q. Arnund hotli sides of the bay ? — A. 'I'liiii is I)if,'by Neck sidu and Clare. 



" Q. And dciwii tin! roust, as I'liv iJs Yniinoulii < — A. IVrlmjis on the soutli sido of .St. Mary's Bay 

 on tht^ Froncli slimn uv tlu^ township of ( 'liut', it is not so extensive. 



" Q. It is not so extensively carried on, hut is lilt! fish as Rood ? — A. I could hardly sny it was as 

 good on the south side, liut still there are a number that prosecute the fisheries tlicre. It is increasing 

 annually. The iidiabitants arc turning their attention more to the iishery business." 



You will recollect that his evidence is wholly uncontradicted, and die same is 

 true of the testimony of Mr yson, on page 399. He is Fishery Overseer for Long 

 Island and Brier Island, residing at Westport, Digby County, Nova Scotia. His evidence 

 is as follows : — 



" Q. Yon are Inspector of Fisheries there >. — A. Yes, up to Tiverton and Petit Passnpc. 



"Q. What do yiMi consider to be the value of the iislieries there? — A. Lost year the fishermen 

 exported about •JiMi.ililii dollars' worth of lisli. 



"Q. What parts of the coast does that include ? — A. The two islands. 



•' (i>. From the two islands which ccaistitute about sev('n miles of iIk^ thirty miles of the Neck on 

 one side of the bay, the tish exported amounted to 12I)(),UOO dollars > — A. Yes. 



" Q. The othci ])ortion of the fishery is as -jood as youi-s >. — A. W^ell, perhaps not quite. They 

 are not as fully carried fiut. 



" Q. Fish are as ]ilenlifid ( — A. There is lishinf,' all along the coast. 



" Q. The people on those islands live almost exclusively by fishing ? — A. Pretty much altogether. 



"Q. For a number of yeara your district has been frequented by small American schooners? — 

 A. Yes. 



"Q. What kinds of fish do they catch? — A. They catch the same kinds as \vc do — cod, halibut, 

 pollock, and herring. 



" (J. Tliey catch their own bait ? — A. Tiie small vessels catch their own bait. 



"(i. besides these small American .schooners, your district is freijuenled by otiier American 

 fishing vessels? — A. A great many other vessels come in mainly for bait, .sometimes for ice, and go 

 out again. 



" Q. How often do they come in for bait ? — A. I have known some vessels to come three times in 

 a season. 



" Q. Wliere do the snuill American vessels take their fish ? — A. To where they belong, I suppose, 

 Thej come from along the coast down to Blount Desert. 



" t,>. It is a liusi]iess that is increasing '. — A. Ye.s. 



"(). Do the American vessels lish there during the season? — A. The small fishing ve.i.sels fish 

 there during the .season, and the other vessels conu^ in for bait. There are fisheries at Whale Cove, 

 and White Cove from one to three miles above Petit Tas.sage, and quite an extensive Iishery about 

 five miles above. The jieople llieiv coin]ilained of the small American vessels coming there and 

 interfering with tiie li.sherv. I told them I could not do anything l«'caus(> the .Americans are allowed 

 the same privileges as we are. I also heard complaints of the Americans triUisgri'ssing the law by 

 •Sabliath fishing and liiiowing L;iirry overboard. In two cases I issued a wai rant, but I hey got out of 

 the way and it was not served upon them. 



" (,>. Why do the .Vmcrican schooners come over to your district, and not fish on their own coast — 

 A. They said tiie lisjieiy on their own coast has frtiled,and they gave me as a rt .son thai they thought 

 it was a good deal iliie to the trawling practices. 



"(,i. During how many years have they b<>en coining there '. — A. Tlircc or lour years, 



"(i*. They gave you that as the reason why they come to your coast.' — A. 1 talk to a 

 gre.it many masters of American ves.sels. Jly son keeps an ice-lio'<se, and they come there for ice, 

 and I have talked with them about the fisheries, and they tohl me the trawling had, in a measure, 

 broken up their Hshim,'. 



"Q. How far from the shore do they catch cod, pollock, and haddock ! — A. From half-a-mile to a 

 mile. The large vessels fish mostly outside the three miles, but the small vessels fish on the same 

 ground as our fishermen. The small vessels fish within half-a-mile or a mile of the shore. They 

 anchor the ve.s.sels in the jinrbour, and go out in boats to tish; they fish close inshore." 



Now, they did not contradict that evidence at all. I do not know what the extent of 

 coast i.s from Cape Split to Digby Neck. 



Mr. FoKtrr. — What counties does it include ? 



^fr. Thomson. — Kings, Annapolis, and Digby. 



There was an attempt to contradict this evidence by the evidence of Sylvanus Smith, 

 page :\:\H of the American testimony. As tiie Counsel for the United States have not the 

 privilege of replying, it is only fair that I should cite the pai^cs of the American testimony 

 tiial were presented in attempted contradiction of the evidence of our witnesses. 



The evidence of Sylvanus Smith is as follows : — 



■<i. How near shore li anyplace have you ki.own of the halibut being (islicd '— A. I."i0 niile.=i 

 may be th.' nearest point. 



"t>. The.'je arc !>nnk.s, but haven't you l,no\vn it to be done, or attempted near .slioie .'—A. 1 have. 



" *). Where have you known ihcni ?--.V On the J^abrador coast they have (aii;,dit tiam laige near 

 the shore. I have known them catch them in tliiity miles or tweiily-live miles, aiound Cajie .^ahle. 

 I fished theie .pute a luimber of years — around Seal Island and litowns I'.aidi. 



" l^. II. .w near land there did you tsver fish ?— A. I have fished in sight of land, I could see it. 



