144 FISHERIES ARBITRATION AT THE HAGUE 



discoverable, to the great loss of money, and also the ill-reputation on this 

 province and the fishery of it." 



"No mackerel to be caught while fresh before first of July" 



and so on. 



That is to say, they were endeavoring to keep up the standard 

 of this great article of commerce by preventing fish being taken at 

 such time that when it was put up or preserved to be kept and dealt 

 with as an article of commerce it would be a bad article, and would 

 destroy the reputation of the commercial article of the country. 



Judge Gray: I did not quite understand one word. The 

 object was to prevent the fish after being taken from being 

 prepared for sale? 



Senator Root: The object was to prevent fish from being 

 taken at such a time that it would not be a prime article of com- 

 merce. It was to prevent its being taken in the spawning season, 

 because the fish is not a good article then. It was a kind of pure 

 food act rather than a fishery regulation. 



Massachusetts was engaged in trade, and her great stock-in- 

 trade was fish. The fish were caught and they were cured, dried, 

 salted, pickled, put up in such form that they became an article 

 of commerce. 



Now, if the fish were taken when they were spawning they were 

 a bad article of commerce, and when they were sold they destroyed 

 the reputation of the pickled fish of Massachusetts; and for the 

 preservation of that reputation, and keeping up the standard of 

 this great article of commerce, these statutes were passed. 



Then there is the same sort of statute in New Hampshire, 1687. 

 Here is the preamble: 



"Whereas much Damage hath been sustained and the Credit of the fish- 

 ing Trade is greatly impaired by the bad making of fish, and disorderly acting 

 of fishermen," etc. 



and the Act goes on to provide for the inspecting of catches and the 

 curing of all fish. Then that has the same words, "No mackerel 

 to be caught except for spending while fresh before ist July; no 

 mackerel to be caught with seines." And so that was with the 

 same purpose. 



Then there is a statute, a series of them, of New Plymouth, 



