6 Mr. J. G. B our i not m Canada s Marine and Fisheries, 



irafers. For many years after the conquest, the branch oi indusfr^- 

 was not prosecuted to any great er^tent in these waters, but durin.i; the 

 past forty rears it has rerived. Of all the possessions Prance once ovr ned in 

 America, she noTf only retains the iy.signiScant i.sltets of St. Pierre an(J 

 Alequilon, to the .juth of Newfoundland, and enjoys certain rights of 

 ^^shing. drying, and curing on a large portion cf the coast of that isJand, 

 Though thpe namber of vessels rary according as there is peace or -war 

 in Europe, yet she has not failed to send out a f?eet from year tf> 

 year to »t. Pierre, where a little colony of officials, merchants, and ii^\i^r- 

 men hiia been established. Ths official statistics for 28o5 show that 580 

 vessels were in that year employed in the cod-Osheries, with a convbined 

 capacity of 65,92D tons, and manned br nearlv ILOOOmefi, and, so ^dtt as 

 1 can learn from sources of information within my reach, th« amount of 

 tonnage at the present time must be npwnrds of gO,800, and- the value of the 

 catch may be put down at between $.Vf>0,m)0 and $4,0n9,n0&. Slight as- 

 is \.\\^ hold France now retains on the Northern half of this continent, she- 

 values it highly, and clings to it with tenacity becau-se it gives her a ■poini 

 d'uppui^ or base, for the prosecution of the fisheries, which she has for so 

 many centuries followed with such valuable results to her laaterial com- 

 mercial wealth, and her naval strength. She may colonise St. Pierre anfl 

 Mequilon, but she cannot burld fortifications or keep a large armed force ori 

 these insignificant islands. Under the same treaty with England it was 

 allowed the subjects of France "to catch fish, and to dry them on the 

 land, in that part only, and in no other besides, of the said isfand of New- 

 foundland, which stretches from the place called Bona Vista to the northerly 

 part of the said island, and from thence runninj? down by the western side, 

 reaches as far as the place called Point Riche.'' By a subsequent 

 treaty, it was agreed that the French rights should extend from 

 Cape St. John to Cape Ray. The French: have n^ore than once asserted 

 an exclusive right to the fisheries on that coast, but it is now under- 

 stood that they onh' enjoy ** a concurrent right ^ with British suhjecis. 

 These rights have long caused considerable irritation to the people of New- 

 foundlaind, and no doubt in the course of time, when the island forms apart 

 of the Confederation and the French coast is required for purposes of trade 

 and settlement, some understanding will be arrived at with the French 

 (iovernment on the subject of their cJairos. The people who have most 

 coveted the British American fisheries are the inhabitants of the Atlantic 

 States, who have long fished in our waters and drawn from thena a con- 

 siderable portion of their wealth. The importance and value of our fisheries 

 can be immediately seen from the disputes and difficulties that have for 

 more than half a century arisen between England and the United States, 

 on account of the determination of the latter country to have access to oar 

 fishing ground at all hazards. The British Government, however, have 

 never acknowledged the validity of their claims, but have excluded them 

 from the Bays of Chaleurs, Fundy, and the Straits of Causo, and from 

 tishing anywhere within three miles of the shores, harbours, and bays of 

 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape Bretin, and Prince Edward Island, 

 The Reciprocity Treaty, however, threw open all the fisheyies to the Ameri- 



