12. It is considered a great advantage to American fishermen that they are allowed to fish, land and dry their nets, and cure and transship their fish in the Canadian inshores.

13. The transshipping of cargoes by Americans has been carried on for many years and much to their advantage, as it allows them to make more trips for the fish during the season. This I think is principally done in the mackerel fishery department.

14. The Americans, while cod fishing, buy large quantities of bait from the Canadians. They only take time to catch bait when they cannot buy it to advantage.

15. It would seriously injure the American fisheries if they were prevented from using our shores to buy bait and catch it.

16. It is considered a great benefit to the American fishermen that they have the privilege of procuring ice to preserve their fish, and to procure supplies such as trawl lines and hooks, which they often lose; also to procure other articles and salt.

17. I never knew of an instance where our people fish in waters of the United States.

18. Could not say what value would accrue to American vessels by being allowed to procure bait and transship fish, but it must be very considerable, perhaps from $400 to $800 to every vessel making use of these privileges.

19. Cannot say that Americans being allowed to fish in our waters prevents our fishermen in their general operations, except that it affords larger and more valuable cargoes to be taken by the Americans thau they would get were they deprived of our fisheries; and the catch being by them large, generally reduces the price of fish, which, of course, injures our fishermen indirectly.

The foregoing statement is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

ROBERT S. EAKINS, JR. Sworn before me, at Yarmouth, in the county of Yarmouth, this 11th day of September, A. D. 1877.

ENOS GARDNER, J. P.

No. 302.

DOMINION OF CANADA,

Province of Prince Edward Island, Queen's County, to wit:

I, DANIEL ROSs, of North Rustico, in the said island and Dominion, fish-merchant, make oath and say:

1. That I reside at North Rustico, in Prince Edward Island, and have resided and carried on the fishery business there for the past eleven years, previously to which I had, for about six years, been engaged in the fishery business as an employé of Captain Marshall and others.

2. That my knowledge of the fishing business, as carried on at and near Rustico, covers a period of about twenty years.

3. That, during the past eleven years, while carrying on business for myself, I have owned each year four or five boats, and employed about thirty men each season.

4. That the average catch per season of my boats has been about one hundred barrels of mackerel each, and each boat takes a crew of about five men.

5. That I myself am a practical fisherman, and engage personally in the catching and curing as well as in the sale of the fish.

6. That the best mackerel fishing is about one mile or one mile and a half from the coast-line of the shore, and very frequently the best catches are made much closer to the shore than that.

7. That the mackerel-fishing prosecuted in boats from the shore is chiefly within the limits of two miles. At times the schools of mackerel go farther out, extending as far as three miles and and beyond that; but I have no hesitation in positively swearing that at least nine-tenths (9-10ths) of the mackerel caught by the boat-fishermen are taken within the three-mile limit.

8. I have known good catches to be taken as much as five miles from shore in the fall of the year, but that is a very rare occurrence.

9. The American fishing-fleet are frequently, during the season, fishing off Rustico shore. The fleet follow the schools of mackerel, and consequently fish within the limits of three miles, but I have never fished on board any of them. When out fishing in my boats, however, I have found the fleet frequently all round us prosecuting the work and catching the fish. With an off-shore wind they approach as closely to the shore as they can with safety, and then throw bait and drift off, catching fish all the time and drawing the fish off shore to sea. Sometimes they would drift away from the school, and then beat up to windward and again drift over the school. This practice is adopted within the three-mile limits, and it is with reference to these limits alone I am now speaking.

10. My experience has been that the presence of the fishing fleet tends to break up the schools of mackerel, and our fishing is consequently injured. I mean the boat-fishing. The boat-fishers all look upon the arrival of the fleet among them as the sigual for good fishing to cease. One cause is that too much bait is thrown from the vessels; and the boats which are anchored have to make way for the vessels which are drifting. It's universally looked upon among the shore-fishermen as a great injury and loss when the fleet arrives to fish among them.

11. In the month of May, from the opening of navigation till about the 10th of June, I prosecute with dories the herring-fishery. These herrings are all taken within about half a mile from the shore. My average catch of herrings per season would be a little over one hundred barrels. These herring are used by me for mackerel, and such is the custom all around the shores. If put up in barrels for sale they are worth about $3 a barrel.

12. As soon as the herring fishery is over we fit up our large boats for the codfish and follow them. My catch is small, averaging per season from one to two hundred quintals. This would be the catch of my five boats. The cod-fishing lasts from one month to five weeks, or until the mackerel strike, and then we at once turn our attention to mackerel, which we follow the rest of the season,

DANIEL ROSS.

Sworn to at Charlottetown this 18th day of June, A. D., 1877, before

me.

No. 303.

JAMES D. IRVING,
Commissioner, &c.

I, JOHN ARTEMAS MCLEOD, of Kensington, in Prince County, in Prince Edward Island, merchant and fish dealer, make oath and say: 1. That I have been engaged in fishing since the year 1867, both in vessels and boats, and know the fishing grounds from Boone Bay, New

foundland, round this island, Cape Breton, New Brunswick shores, and up the St. Lawrence to Seven Islands Bay, and the Labrador shore, Newfoundland from Boone Bay to Cape Ray.

2. That, at the present time and for five years past, I have been engaged in fishing at New London Harbor, and there are about one hundred and fifty boats engaged in fishing out of that harbor and round the sand hills and beach, and the number is increasing fast and has doubled within the last year; and three years ago there were not more than thirty boats where the hundred and fifty are now. The boats are now larger, better built, and equipped, and, in fact, superior in every way to what they were three years ago. I should say, from my own actual knowledge as an owner and employer of boats, that the capital invested in the boat fishing has increased from fifteen to twenty fold in New London and neighborhood during the last three years. Where three years ago I could sell one hundred bushels of salt for curing fish, I can now sell five thousand bushels, and where I had five hundred dollars invested then I have ten thousand invested now. Three years ago there was only one fishing stage doing business on New London beach-doing business with three boats-and now there are eleven stages doing busi ness on the beach, giving employment to about fifty boats and about two hundred and fifty men.

3. That the causes of the increase in the boat-fishing is that men found it paid, and that they could make money easier in that than in any other way; it also gives employment to the men at home, as there is a surplus population growing up who have no lands for farming, and who are able to find remunerative employment in boat-fishing, while they would not be able to get employment in other ways without leaving the country.

4. That the average crews of the boats, taking one with another, are about four men to each boat, clear of the stage and shore men. There is generally one stageman employed for every boat. Besides these, there are also coopers, cooks, and clerks, and sometimes inspectors em. ployed, the number of whom vary, and it would be difficult to give an estimate of their number, although they are a good number.

5. That the boats, as a rule, catch about ten quintals of codfish before the mackerel come, and when the mackerel strike, the boats, taking small and large together, catch, on an average, one hundred barrels of mackerel each during the season, worth about $1,000.

6. That nine-tenths of our mackerel are caught within one and onehalf miles from the shore, and I may say the whole of them are caught within three miles of the shore. There may be an odd catch of mackerel got more than three miles from shore, but that does not often happen. The greater part of the codfish caught by hand-line are caught at from two to five miles from the shore, and all the codfish caught by the trawl or set lines are caught within three miles from the shore. There are no mackerel or codfish at all caught by the boats outside of the three-mile limit—that is, outside of a line drawn from points three miles off the headlands; while the herring are all caught close inshore, within two miles of the shore.

7. That I have fished about five years in the bay, in schooners. I fished in five British vessels in the bay, and in one American. I was master of four of the British vessels, and I was master of the American vessel after we cleared from Boston. An American had to clear her out of Boston.

8. That in the British vessels I have taken, on an average, three hundred barrels of mackerel each year.

9. That in the year 1870 I fished in the American schooner Ida E. Davis, of Harwich, in the United States, a schooner of about fifty tons burden, and carrying thirteen hands. In her we were out about two months, or about half or two-thirds of the mackerel season, and caught two hundred and thirty barrels of mackerel. Nine-tenths of these mackerel were caught within two miles of the shores of the Magdalen Islands and of this island. The Dominion cutters were round that year, and we risked the vessel and outfit in order to fish near the shore. The outfit belonged to me.

10. That it would not be worth while for vessels to fit out for the bay fishing if she could not fish within three miles of the shore. During the five years that I was fishing in schooners I never saw a schooner get a good catch more than three miles from the shore.

11. That I should put the average catch of the American schooners in the bay during the last ten years, at the least, at from three to four hundred barrels of mackerel each.

12. That the American schooners do harm to our boat-fishing, because, when they see the boats getting fish, they come in and drift down upon and lee-bow the boats, taking the fish away. They come inshore and drift down on the boats, and off the shore, throwing bait and carrying the fish off with them. The boats have often to get under way to avoid being run down by the schooners drifting. When the American fleet comes, fishermen look upon their arrival as the end of the good fishing. They break up the boat-fishing; they also do harm by cleaning their fish on the fishing grounds and throwing the offal overboard. Fish will not stay on the grounds when the offal has been thrown over. 13. That I have been engaged for seven years herring-fishing at the Magdalen Islands, Anticosti, Labrador, and Newfoundland, and the herring are all caught within one mile of the shore. That there is a large fleet of American fishing vessels getting herring at Magdalen Islands every year. They seine the herring and ship them off to the States and West Indies. At the Magdalen Islands and at Anticosti the Americans do a lot of trawling for halibut near the shore. At Labrador and Newfoundland the Americans have from one hundred and fifty to two hundred vessels fishing herring every year. These herring are all taken in the rivers and bays, and are sent to the States, to Sweden and to the West Indies. They use these herring for baiting their Georges and Bank fleets.

14. That we find that the mackerel strike in here from the northward and work up towards the south and along the shore, and towards the end of the season they work back. The Americans, and all experienced fishermen, know about the way the fish go, and are able to follow them up. 15. That the right of transshipment is a very valuable privilege to the Americans, as they save thereby about a fortnight each trip, which would amount to about a trip saved for the year. I have made a trip in the bay in eight days. They can also refit here as cheap or cheaper than they can at home, and in less time. By being able to transship they are able to watch the markets; they can send the fish in in time to get good prices when the prices are up. They can get the fish in quicker by steam than if they took them on themselves. The mackerel market is more fluctuating than any other market, and therefore it is a great advantage to be able to watch it. The fish also get worse by being kept in the hold of a vessel, as they have to be rehandled and repickled; they lose in weight, don't look so well, and they weigh less by being kept on board, and do not bring such good prices. JOHN A. MCLEOD.

Sworn to at Kensington, in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, this 14th day of July, A. D. 1877, before me.

THOMAS H. SIMS, Justice of the Peace for Prince County.

No. 304.

I, JAMES MCDONALD, of Chepstow, in King's County, Prince Edward Island, master-mariner, make oath and say:

1. That I have been engaged in fishing in one way or another ever since I was old enough to fish, in both boats and schooners; some of the schooners belonged to this Island, and the rest of them belonged to the United States. That I have been fishing in schooners for seventeen years, and have fished all round this island, from North Cape to East Point, and from Schimenac to St. Annes, on the Canada shore, and then to Seven Islands, the Labrador shore, up Bay Chaleur, Gaspé Bay, and all round the Magdalen Islands.

2. That, taking one year with another, since 1860, the average fleet of American fishermen in the bay would be fully five hundred sail; there were not so many last year, but this year they are coming down again. This year they are coming down seining. I was on board one this year, and they had seines for both deep water and for shallow.

3. That in the American schooners, in which I fished, we used to catch on an average five hundred barrels of mackerel each year. I have fished on both this shore and the American shore, and this is much better than the American fishing. That two-thirds of the fish caught in American and other schooners are caught within a mile and one-half from the shore; the best fishing is generally closeinto the shore. I was master of an American vessel about five years ago, and have sailed in Americans as fisherman at other times. I have been part of three seasons fish. ing on the American shores, and the other part fishing in the gulf, and there are more mackerel in the gulf round our shores than there are round the American shores.

4. That in the spring of the year vessels from all parts go to the Magdalen Islands to catch herring. I have been there often. It is the best herring fishery in the gulf. There are Americans, Nova Scotians, and others. There are, on an average, about two hundred sail of American vessels getting herring down there every year. The herring are all caught right close in on the beach. There are large catches made there. The Americans send a great part of these herrings to Sweden now, that being their market.

5. That in the fall of the year there are large numbers of vessels down in Newfoundland, at Boone Bay and other places, getting herring. There are about one hundred sail of American herring-fishermen which go down to the northward of Newfoundland every fall. In the winter about two hundred sail of Americans go down to Bay Fortune to get herring to freeze for the New York and other markets.

6. That the right of transshipment was of considerable advantage to the Americans, as they could send their fish on in the steamers, without having to go home in their own vessels with their fish, and they could in this way save much time. They save about four weeks in this way, which would be equal to a trip saved. They can also fit out here as cheap, or cheaper, than they can at home. The great advantage is, however, that it enables fishermen to watch and take advantage of the markets; they can find out what the prices are, and sell their fish "to arrive." In the schooners in which I fished, we several times trans