if: 



8 



410 



vi'nrH hnil l)ocn clicnp to the coiiKuiiicr, rose in prior. I will hIiow that the monioiit the 

 'I'rcafy i>l' |n71 — the Wasliiiiuttiii Trcafy midcrwhicli this Corimiis.si on is now sitting; — wii.s 

 jia'*sril and went into ()|)i'ration. (lie j-aiiic result a';;iin InllnWi'd. TIm- |iri('es of mackerel 

 nnd olhii fish wliieh had hvru iii;;h, (ell. What is the arLcnineiit which necessarily tlows 

 from tli.il '. It is lliaf the eoiisniner tlieiil)y nets his fish a i;reat deal I'hcupir ; there can 

 he no doiiht ahout that. Hut there is anotiier view which must he taiaii. Il it he tine, as 

 has liccii confended in evidence, that (iioncrster iiierchants eoidd not cairy on llieir 

 lishinjj diieratinns wilhout Imvinu' access fu our shores, and I think it is clear and conehi- 

 sive that they caimot carry on the niaekercl fishery, in Ihe hay, lor instance, without 

 ^oin;,' within the tlnce-mih' limit, there is an end to the (|iiesfion. They cannot carry on 

 II laru;e hnsiness in their own waters without the assistance of our li'-hcries ; they cannot 

 carry on the fishery in the Imv — the i;rcat ma-s ol the festimony shows that —unless they 

 };ct iieccss to the shore line. To concede, for the sake of art^umciit, that laiu'c schools of 

 mackerel are to he founii in the hody of flic Hay of Sf. Lawrence, and Mjinctimes taken hy 

 seines and sonu'timo hy hook and line; those scliools, in order to he availahle to the 

 (islicrincn, must h^' followed hy them, and if they undcrlake to follow the schools they 

 must make up their minds fo fjo within three inih s of the shores or lose the fish. The 

 whole cvideiici' shows that, and that thi' fi«iliermcii came into the inshore waters, even 

 when the cnltcrs were there, and ran the risk of seizure, and that was to fhcm n dreadful 

 occurrence, lor it involved the forfeiture of the vessel. Tlu y knew the (lauucr, and yet they 

 ran the risk. These men knew tlu ir husincss, and would not incur the rik to their 

 pro|)erty without ohfaininu; a return. And what was the reason? They cniild not do 

 without the inshore fisheries, and rather than ^'o home without a catch they ran tlu; risk 

 uf seizure and condemnation. 



It is said, on helialf of flic United States, that duriiif; the last few years, notwith- 

 standiii',' the American fishermen have heen free to ^'o into any portions of the bay, they 

 could not make cafches. Let me dispose of that at once. If it he true that the Ameri- 

 cans have f^oiie into the hay since the Treaty went info operafion, and failed to get Iar2;c 

 catches, it has resniled from the ruinous system of pursc-scininu;, a system which has 

 destroyed the (isherii's on their own const, and will do so everywhere else. The cH'ect, as 

 has heen jrraphically descrihed hy a inimhcr ol' witnesses, has heen such that all th<' tisli 

 which can he gathered in the net, which is swc[)t round tor a mile or more, are taken ii^ 

 that tremendous seine— thousands ol lianel.- at a time; tliey can only take out so many 

 at a time, in the interval a large portion die and are unfit for food. It is a inc st disastrous 

 and ruinous mode of carrying on any fi>hery ; and I hope, tor the sake of the l.'nited States 

 themselves, and the tisherimn who carry on the lislieiies, that the day will coiiic, and soon 

 come, when the destriictivi' purse-seine fishing will he prohihited hy legislative cnucfmcnt. 



'I'liere is one rcciuisifc, without which |)ursc-seiiiing in our own waters is an utter 

 failure — there must he deep vvater, or if there is not very deep water, there must he a 

 smooth hottom. In the gulf tiiere is not very deep water, and the hoftom is cxceediiif;ly 

 rough. Because some among Anu-rican fislurmcn got excc|)tionally largo catches with 

 purse-seines oH' the Unitecl States' shores, they persist in using purse-seines in the gulf. 

 What follows .' The fishermen do not dare to approach the siiores for the jiurpose of 

 using the seines. They would he ipiite useless near fiic shores, and are nearly so in the 

 body ol the hay. What is the result? They come back without catches, and then under- 

 take to say that there is no fish in the \h\ i<t. Lawrence. The truth is, they go with 

 appliances utterly unfit to take the fish there. 'I'hat is tlu- truth ahout the matter. 1 say 

 it is the' purse-seining that makes tin; whole ditiiculty ; and if they had stuck to hook and 

 line they would have iiad all these years liack as good fishing in the hay as they could get 

 anywhere. 



l^ut, under all the circumstances, can they get on without the right to enter the shore 

 fisheries ? The moment they get into the shore fisheries they get full lares. There is no 

 conllict of testimony n])on that point. We have shown, hy a mass of lestiniony, that there 

 are no large catches to he made without the right to go inshore. What is the evidence 

 brought lo contradict that:' It is the evidence given by incn who have not caught any 

 fish inshore because tluy never fished there. Very few have undertaken to say that they 

 have gone inshore and failed. The whole testimony has shown that the Ainericai: fisher- 

 men cannot get along without tiic inshore lislu'ries. 



in estimating the value, if it he true that their own cod-fishery cannot be carried on 

 without our bait ; if it be true they cannot suj)ply their own market with mackerel from 

 the American shores without getting a supply fiom the (JulfofSt. Lawrence; and that 

 they cannot get mackerel in the gulf w if bout going inshore, we make out t)ur case, do wc 

 not? It is not a ([ucslion as to what each lishcrinaii sailing out of (iloueester is to be 

 ehargcd ; the (|Uestion is this, whether the United States must not pay for the privilege 

 tliat enables Gloucester to maiutaiii its present state of prosperity, livery nation has said, 



'i 



