wick, around Prince Edward Island, the Magdalenes, and on the Labrador coast, and am well acquainted with the inshore fishery in Lunenburg County.

2. I have fished mackerel and codfish. In fishing mackerel we took them mostly inshore, and it would not have paid us to have gone unless we could take them inshore.

3. I have fished for twenty-five years in succession on the Labrador coast, and got codfish close inshore. We got all our codfish close inshore within three miles. I have during the said time seen a number of American vessels taking codfish inshore on the Labrador coast, and this I have seen every year for the past twenty-five years. I have also, during the said time, seen many Americans catching herring inshore on the Labrador coast. So many Americans diminish the catch for Canadian vessels.

4. The Americans get bait, and ice in which to preserve it, all along our coast; and, in my experience, codfish cannot be taken without fresh bait.

5. In my opinion, it would be a great benefit to Canadian fishermen if Americans were excluded from our inshore fisheries.

DAN RISSER. Sworn to at Rose Bay, in the county of Lunenburg, this 8th day of August, A. D. 1877, before me. JAMES H. WENTZEL, J. P.

No. 90.

In the matter of the Fisheries Commission at Halifax under the Treaty of Washington.

I, JAMES W. SPEARWATER, of New Dublin, in the county of Lunen. burg, fisherman, make oath and say as follows:

1. I have been engaged in the fisheries for the past two years, and have fished on the eastern and northeastern side of Cape Breton, on the Western Banks, and on Bank Quaero, on the southern side of Cape Breton. I fished codfish.

2. I left here this year on the tenth of April, and last year about the same time. The vessel in which I went last year carried sixteen hands, and was fitted out to take fourteen hundred quintals. The vessel in which I sailed this year was fitted out to take eighteen hundred quintals. We took six hundred quintals, and were out about four months. 3. I have often seen many American vessels there engaged in taking codfish. The American vessels on the Banks take the greater part of their fish by trawling. Trawling is carried on to the bottom, and mother fish are taken.

4. This year the vessel in which I was, and which is owned here, procured her bait at Eastern Passage, in Halifax County; at Cape George, in the county of Halifax; at Cape George in the county of Antigonish; at St. Ann's and Aspy Bay in Cape Breton. While at these places I saw American vessels getting bait and ice the same as our own vessels; herring and mackerel we bought; squid we mostly jigged. Without this bait and ice it would be impossible for the Americans or for us to carry on the Bank fishing. The Americans also got ice at these places to preserve their bait. The Americans get bait when it is scarce, and their getting bait interferes with our baiting.

JAMES W. SPEARWATER.

Sworn to at New Dublin, in the county of Lunenburg, this 9th day of August, A. D. 1877, before me.

BENJ. RYNARD, J. P.

No. 91.

In the matter of the Fisheries Commission at Halifax under the Treaty of Washington.

I, WILLIAM N. ZWICKER, of Lunenburg Town, in the County of Lunenburg, merchant, make oath and say as follows:

1. I have been engaged in the buying and selling of fish for about twenty-five years, and have had a number of vessels engaged in the taking of fish for the said time. Those vessels were engaged in taking mackerel, codfish, and herring around Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, east side of New Brunswick, and the Magdalenes, and am acquainted with the inshore fishery in the county of Lunenburg.

2. The fitting out of vessels for the mackerel fishing has been almost discontinued in the county of Lunenburg. Mackerel is taken to some extent along the shore of this county in nets, and are taken inshore. There is a larger trade done in herring in Lunenburg during the past six years than any time previous. On the Banks during the past four years the catch of codfish has been good.

3. The Americans carry on the cod-fishery principally by trawling, and in my opinion this is a very injurious method of taking fish, and will eventually destroy the fishing grounds. When our men first went out fishing they caught fish with hook and line; now they practice trawling on the Banks in order to compete successfully with the Americans. The throwing over of offal on the grounds I also consider injurious to the fishery.

4. The Americans have fished inshore treaty or no treaty, and when the fishery was protected our mackerel men made better fares. Since the Treaty of Washington the Americans have fished inshore so exten sively that they have driven our mackerel men out of the business.

5. In my opinion the inshore fishery are two-thirds the value of the entire fishery.

6. Among the masters of my vessels it was a common complaint that the Americans lee-bowed them and drew away the fish off shore by throwing overboard bait.

7. In my opinion the plan of taking mackerel with purse-seines is improper and injurious to the fishery.

8. The Americans purchase bait all around our coast in the county of Lunenburg, and wherever they can get this privilege of getting bait inshore, is a great injury to the Canadian fishery, as the price of bait is thus made much greater for Canadian vessels, and also more difficult to get. The Americans get this bait and ice in which to pack it, before the mackerel and herring set in, in large quantities. By buying bait the Americans save time and expense.

9. The herring fishery on this coast is all inshore, and our vessels also catch herring inshore on the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland. The Americans purchase the inshore herring and mackerel for bait.

10. I have purchased American mackerel and found them inferior in quality to Canadian mackerel.

11. Unless the Americans were able to purchase bait or catch it, and ice in which to pack it, it would be impossible for them to carry on the

deep-sea fishery. Without ice the Americans could not preserve their bait.

12. No vessels have ever gone out of Lunenburg County to fish in American waters, because our own grounds are better and nearer.

13. So many American fishing-vessels hinder Canadians by carrying off the fish by lee-bowing them, enticing away the fish, and taking fish by improper means.

14. I have often heard from those engaged in the fisheries around our coast, that they obtained goods from the Americans in exchange for fish, thereby injuring the honest dealer, and defrauding the revenue.

15. Our fisheries are of the greatest value to us, and I know of no equiv alent which the Americans can give us; and if they were excluded it would be of great value to us.

W. N. ZWICKER.

Sworn to at Lunenburg, in the county of Lunenburg, this 6th day of August, A. D. 1877, before me.

HENRY S. JOST, J. P.

No. 92.

In the matter of the Fisheries Commission, at Halifax, under the Treaty of Washington.

I, ISAAC LOHNES, of Middle La Have, in the county of Lunenburg, fisherman, make oath and say as follows:

1. I have been engaged in the fisheries for twenty-eight years past every year down to the present time. I have fished all along the south. ern coast of Nova Scotia, around Prince Edward Island, on the eastern coast of New Brunswick, around the Magdalenes, and on the Canadian coast of Labrador, and am well acquainted with the inshore fishery in Lunenburg County. I have taken all the kinds of fish found upon the above-mentioned coasts.

2. I left the North Bay a week ago where I was engaged in cod-fishing and saw from day to day about ten American vessels engaged in taking mackerel with purse seines. About five years ago I along with Canadian and American skippers have made calculations as to the number of American mackerel men in the North Bay and we concluded there were seven hundred sail.

3. Mackerel in my experience are taken mostly all inshore, and it would not pay to fit out a vessel to take mackerel unless they can be taken inshore within three miles. The American mackerel men carry from seventeen to twenty-four men. They take from two to three hundred barrels to each vessel, on each trip, and generally make three trips each year.

4. The American vessels carry from twelve to fifteen men and take about a thousand quintals to each vessel. They make three such trips. including a trip to the Banks. At present I would say that there are upwards of fifty codfish vessels in the North Bay, which are American. 5. Mackerel in my experience has varied, being some years good and others poor. In 1872 the catch of mackerel was good and they were plentiful in the North Bay when I left. From 1871 to 1876 the cod-fishing has been as good as I ever saw it any time previous. During the past two years it has not been quite so good. Herring has always been plenty except this summer when it has not been so good.

6. The Americans within the last three years have taken mackerel

mostly by seining; previous to that time they took them mostly with hook and line. The Americans take all their codfish by trawling. They take herring in seines.

7. In my experience the Americans fished inshore when they could. When they saw the smoke of the steamer or saw a cutter they made off and returned whenever they got out of sight.

8. The inshore fisheries are more than twice the value of the off shore fisheries.

9. The purse seines used by the Americans are very injurious, as they take all kinds of fish in them, herring, squid, &c. All except the goodsized mackerel are thrown away. I never saw a Canadian vessel use or

have a purse seine.

10. The Americans from Cape Sable, in Nova Scotia, to Labrador, catch and buy bait and ice in which to preserve it in the bays and harbors of the Dominion of Canada. By buying, they save time and expense, as it would require considerable to fit them out with gear to catch bait.

11. The Americans catch codfish and haddock inshore in Canadian waters. The haddock they catch they throw away; they also catch halibut inshore. The livelihood of thousands of our people depend upon these inshore fish.

12. Since 1871, in my opinion, there has been an increase in the inshore fish.

13. The Americans, since 1871, have injured the Canadian fisheries by carrying off large quantities of fish by trawling and seining.

14. Herring are taken all inshore, and are not caught out beyond 3 miles. The Americans take them in large quantities around the Magdalenes and on the Labrador coast, by seining on the shore, and make them scarce there for our men.

15. The mackerel make inshore to feed, they spawn inshore, and are taken inshore. Their principal places for spawning and breeding is around Prince Edward Island, the Magdalenes, and eastern side of Cape Breton.

16. I have often seen the Americans transshipping their cargoes at the Strait of Canso; by so doing they save time and take more fish.

17. If the Americans could not get bait in Canadian waters they could not carry on the Bank fishing. They come round the coast here when bait is not plentiful, and make it scarce for over a hundred vessels which require hait out of the River La Have every year.

18. Without ice the Americans could not preserve their bait, and they must have bait fresh.

19. I have never known nor heard of any Canadian vessels fishing in American waters, nor do I consider this right of any value to Canadian fishermen that I know of.

20. The Americans injure Canadian fishing by taking such large quantities of fish by employing improper methods in taking fish by leebowing and running into our vessels.

ISAAC LOHNES.

Sworn to at Middle La Have, in the county of Lunenburg, this 8th day of August, A. D. 1877, before me.

JAMES H. WENTZEL, J. P.

No. 93.

LAWRENCE FORTUNE, aged 57 years, fisherman, residing at Toad's Cove, Newfoundland, maketh oath and saith:

I have been practically acquainted with the Newfoundland fisheries for forty-two years, and know all about them. I have seen many United States vessels in this neighborhood. Five or six of them anchored here twice a week and sometimes three times a week last year; large numbers of them were constantly coming and going. They come for herrings, caplins, and squids for bait, and ice to preserve such bait fresh. I did not note the names of these vessels, but am satisfied they belonged to the United States of America. Our people left their own fisheries to supply them with bait. I have seen them using our people's seines hauling herrings in August, and among our fishermen jigging squids after fifteenth or twentieth of August. Newfoundland fishermen catch codfish generally within one mile of the shore. The caplin, herrings, and squids caught for bait are all taken inshore, in the coves and harbors of our bays. I never heard of a Newfoundland vessel engaging on a fishing voyage on any of the coasts or shores of the United States of America. United States fishermen have sold nets, Bank lines, ropes, and other fishing-gear in this neighborhood, and they have also sold on our shores codfish and oil, particulars of which I cannot give.

The supply of bait to the United States fishermen has certainly very much injured the supply to our local fishermen by decreasing the same. In my opinion it is as true as that the sun is shining, that the operations of United States vessels fishing on the outer Banks off our shores, well supplied with fresh bait, tend very much to reduce the catch of codfish by our local fishermen, and that the short catch of codfish along our south and west coasts the past year was, in a great measure, caused by their fishing operations as aforesaid.

The average catch per hand for 1874, 75, and '76, in this neighborhood, has not been more than fifteen quintals; previous to these years the average has been fifty-five to sixty-five quintals per hand. This reduction of catch I attribute to United States fishermen, in their operations along our shores for bait, and on the Banks off our shores, lining the ground with fresh bait which codfish will not pass.

In conversations with captains of some of these United States fish. ing-vessels, I learned from them that they consider the fresh bait procured on our shores was the means of greatly advancing their interests, by enabling them to catch much larger voyages.

Generally, there are icebergs in this neighborhood, close to shore, which United States vessels use to preserve bait, and they have said it is all-important to their fishery; that they are enabled to run into our harbors-as one of their captains told me-in fifteen hours from the Banks, procure bait to be used fresh on the Banks in from eight to twelve hours after being put on board. This is what was stated to me by a captain of one of their vessels-his name was O'Donnell or McDonell.

My opinion is that the operations of Americans baiting on our shores and fishing on the Banks with fresh bait supplied by our firshermen, is ruinous to our fisheries, and will tend every year more and more to operate against us. The value of what they pay for bait purchased from our people is not a "drop in the bucket" to the permanent benefits which would result from a steady prosecution of the cod-fishery. LAWRENCE FORTUNE.

Sworn before me at Toad's Cove, this 13th day April, 1877.

J. O. FRASER, Commissioner of Affidavits.