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HARVARD UNIVERSITY.

LIBRARY

OF THE

MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY

Bequest of
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REPORT

THE PRINCIPAL FISHERIES

THE AMERICAN SEAS

PREPARED FOR

THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES

LORENZO SABINE, OF MASSACHUSETTS;

SUBMITTED BY THE HON. THOMAS CORWIN, SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY,

AS A PART OF HIS ANNUAL REPORT ON THE FINANCES, AT THE

SECOND SESSION OF THE THIRTY-SECOND CONGRESS.

WASHINGTON:
ROBERT ARMSTRONG, PRINTER.

1853.

s

Extract from the report of Hon. Thomas Coricin, Secretary of the Treasury.

"Treasury Department, January 15, 1853.

" The subject of the fisheries being one of high importance, and having recently attracted
great and general attention, I transmit herewith a highly interesting and valuable report pre-
pared for this Department by Lorenzo Sabine, esq., embracing —

" 1. A report on the fisheries in the American seas of France, Spain, and Portugal.

"2. A report on the fisheries of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Ed-
ward's island, Magdelene islands, Bay of Chaleurs, Labrador, and New Brunswick.

" 3. Report on the fisheries of the United States.

" 4. Eeview of the controversy between the United States and Great Britain as to the intent
and meaning of the first article of the convention of 1818."

heport

ON THE

PRINCIPAL FISHEPxlES OF THE AMERICAN SEAS:

BY LORENZO SABINE.

Custom-house, Boston,
Collector's Office, December 10, 1852.

Sir : I transmit herewith a report on the fisheries, by Lorenzo
Sabine, esq., which he has prepared for the department.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

P. GREELY, Jr.,

Collector.
Hon. Thomas Corwin,

Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D. C.

Framingham, December 6, 1852.

Sir : I submit herewith the report which I have prepared, in ac-
cordance with your instructions of the 2d of February last.

More than twenty years have elapsed since I formed the design of
writing a work on the American fisheries, and commenced collecting
materials for the purpose. My intention embraced the whale fishery
of our flng in distant seas ; the fisheries of our own coasts, lakes, and
rivers, as well as those which we prosecute within British jurisdiction,
under treaty stipulations ; and the fisheries of the Indian tribes within
the limits of the United States. That a part of my plan has now
been executed, is owing entirely to the interest and zeal which you
have manifested in the undertaking.

Our first interview upon the subject was caused by a communication
to you from the Treasury Department, in which the Secretary con-
veyed a request that a report of limited size should be furnished from
your own office. During our conversation, you expressed a desire to
look over my collection of documents and state-papers, and they were
accordingly deposited with you for examination. On returning them
to me, you were pleased to give a favorable opinion of their value, and
to say that you would at once suggest and recommend to Mr. Corwin
the expediency of employing me to write a paper somewhat more
elaborate than he had contemplated.

Subsequendy, you announced to me that the Secretar}^ promptly
adopted your views, and submitted the whole matter to your discretion.

6

I undortook the task with all my heart, and with a determination to
complete it, if possible, in a manner to meet the expectations of the
department and of yourself. It is finished. Whatever the judgment
pronounced upon it, 1 have still to express my grateful acknowledg-
ments to Mr. Corwin for the kindness which has allowed the partial
gratification of a long-cherished wish, and to jj-ou for the original sug-
gestion, for your countenance, your S3'mpath3', and your personal super-
vision.

If I may venture to hope that, as the result of my labors, an import-
ant branch of national industry will hereafter be better understood and
appreciated by such of our countrymen as have never devoted particu-
lar attention to its histor}'-, I may venture to repeat that all commenda-
tion rightfully belongs to you.

Nor would I forget that my thanks are also due to William A. Well-
man, esq., your principal deputy collector, who, at our second inter-
view, generously relinquished his own favorite plan of writing a report
upon our cod and mackerel fisheries, and expressed a decided wish
that the duty should be transferred to me, as well as his readiness to
afford me all possible aid. His knowledge and experience have been
of material assistance. I am indebted to him for important facts which
were to be obtained of no other person, for information which has cor-
rected my views and opinions in several particulars, and for statisti-
cal matter of great value.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

LORENZO SABINE.

Philip Greely, Jr., Esq.,

Collector of the, Customs jiort of Boston and Charlesiown,

PART I.
FRANCE, SPAIN, PORTUGAL,

COD-FISHERY OF FRANCE.

The French were the first European cod-fishers in the American
seas. There is a tradition among the fishermen of Biscay that their
countrymen visited Newfoundland before the time of Columbus. It is
said, indeed, that the great discoverer was informed of the fact by a
pilot who had been engaged in the enterprises. The story, improbable
as it is, seems to have been treated with respect by some writers of the
sixteenth century, but may be dismissed now as one which rests upon
no clear and authentic testimony.

But that the Newfoundland fisheries were known to the Biscayans
and Normans as early as the year 1504, is quite certain. When
Cabot discovered our continent, Europe, including England, was Cath-
olic ; and during the fasts of the church, the pickled herring of Holland
was the principal food. The consumption of fish was immense ;* and
the Dutch, having enjoyed the monopoly of the supply, had become
immensely rich. The knowledge communicated by Cabot and the
voyagers who followed him, that the waters of America contained, not
only an abundance, but many varieties of fish, gave rise to an excite-
ment on the subject of fishing hardly less intense than is witnessed at
the present time relative to mining. Persons of the highest rank, and
not engaged in commercial pursuits, became shareholders in adventures
to the new fishing-grounds. And though the Dutch refused to abandon
the particular fishery by which they had obtained both wealth and ce-
lebrity, vessels wearing the flags of France, England, Spain, and
Portugal came annually in search of the cod — as we shall see — for
nearly a century before a single European colony was founded m
America north of the ancient limits of the United States.

Of the incidents of the French fishing voyage of 1504 I have not

* Documents which show the immense consumption of fish are to be met with by th^
students of history everywhere. The following incidents, selected from a number, will sufli-
cieutly illustrate the statement in the text :

"The bill of fare of the feast given on the marriage of Hemy IV to his Qaeen Joan, of
Navarre, at Winchester, in 1403, 'is yet in existence, written on parchment,' remarks a
chronicler of curious thingsof ' the olden time;' andthebanquet consisted of six courses — three
of flesh and fowl, and three of fish. In the ' first course of Fyshc,' were ' Salty fyshc,' and
' Breme, samoun rostyd.' ' Of the comforts of the poor,' 16th century, says an English journal,
' we may form a tolerably correct notion from the luxuries registered in the household book
of the great Earl of Northumberland.' From this document it appears that, in one of the
most noble and splendid establishments of the kingdom, the retainers and sei^ants had but
spare and uuwholsome diet — salt beef, mutton, and fish three-fourths of the year, with little or
no vegetables ; so that, as Hume says, ' there cannot be anything more erroneous than the
magnificent ideas formed of the roast beef of old England.' Nor does it seem that ' my lord
and lady' themselves fared much better than their ' retainers,' since for their breakfast they
had ' a quart of beer, as much wine, two pieces of salt fish, six red herrings, four ichite ones, and
a dish of sprats.' In England, in the same century, ' the first dish brought to table on Easter
day was a red herring riding away on horseback;' that is, it was the cook's duty to set this
fish ' iu corn sallad,' and make it look like a man riding on a horse."

8

been able to find any account; but there is mention, four years later,
of Thomas Aubert, who came from Dieppe to Newlbundland, and
who, })revious to his return, explored the river St. Lawrence. We
learn, further, that the fishery increased rapidly, and that, in 1517,
quite filty ships of different nations were employed in it.

The flag of France was probably the most numerous, since, in 1527,
an English captain at Newfoundland wrote to his sovereign, Henry
VJII, that in the harbor of St. John alone he found fisliing eleven sail
of Norman and one Breton. Francis I, at this period, was engrossed
by a passionate and unsuccessful rivalry with Charles V of Spain,
and could hardly attend to so humble an interest. "But Chabot, ad-
miral of France, acquainted by his office witli the fishermen, on
whose vessels he levied some small exactions for his private emolu-
ment, interested Francis in the design of exploring and colonizing the
new world." Jacques C artier,* of St. Malo, who was considered the
best seaman of his day, was accordingly intrusted with the command
of an expedition in 1534.

The French appear to liave had establishments on shore, for the
purposes of the fishery, in 1540; but we have no certain information
with regard to them. In 1577 they employed no less than one hundred
and fifty vessels, and prosecuted the business with great vigor and
success. After the accession of Henry IV — the first of the Bour-
bons— and under the auspicesof his illustrious minister, Sully, the New-
foundland cod-fishery was placed under the protection of the govern-
ment.

Previous to 1G09, so constant and regular was intercouise with our
fishing-grounds that Scavalet, an old fisherman, had made forty
voyages.

Without statistics in the early part of the seventeenth centur}^ we
only know, generally, that there was a material decline in this distant
branch of industry, caused, possibly, by the civil commotions at home.
But in the year 1645, though the number of vessels employed was fifty
less than in 1577, the fishermen of France were deemed by English
writers to be formidable rivals of their own. Disputes and bloodshed
had then occurred — precursors of long and distressing wars for the
mastery of the fishing-grounds.

Meantime the successes, the explorations, and the representations
of the hardy adventurers to our waters for an article of food for the
fast-days of the church had led to the most important pohtical results.
The limits of this report do not permit minute statements ; and I will
only remark that, when Cartier — already referred to — made his first
voyage, the design of the French monarch was merely to found a single
col(jny in the ncMghborhood of the fishing-banks, but that the informa-
tion of the country commiuiicated to Francis on the navigator's rclurn,
confirming as it did the descriptions of the fishermen of Normandy

* Jacques Cartier was a natives of St. Malo. Francis I sent him on his first voyage in 1534.
lie m;i<l(^ a second voyage in J 5:55 ; anil, when ready to depart from France, ho went to the
cathedra], with his whole company, to receive the bishop's benediction. Many of his com-
panions were young men of distinction. He came to the French possessions in America a
third time in J 540, as pilot, and in command of five ships, under Francois de la Ixocjue, lord of
Eoberval, who, commissioned as governor of Canada, was intrusted with the supreme au-
thority. Cartier published an accoimt of Canada after his second voyage.

9

and Biittnny, induced a more extended plan, and the possession, for
permanent colonization, of the vast region from which, after the voyages
and discoveries of Pontgi'ave, of Champlain, and others, were formed
the colonies of Canada and Nova Scotia, and, in due time. Cape Breton.
Thus it is historically true that France was directly indebted to her
fisheries for her possessions in America.

The right to these possessions was soon disputed. In an age when
kings claimed, each for himself, all the lands and seas that his subjects
saw or sailed over, and when charters and grants were framed in
perfect ignorance of the domains which they transferred, almost in
levitv, to favorites, it could not but sometimes happen that the subjects
of different crowns received patents of precisely the same tracts of
country, and that, on lines where French and English grants met, the
boundaries were so vaguely and uncertainly described as to produce
long and bitter contentions.

Such, indeed, was the case to an extent to disturb the peace of the
colonists of America for more than a century. As most of the contro-
versies from this source are connected with our subject, a notice of them
is indispensable.

The first difficulties occurred in the country known for a long time
as "Acadia," which maybe described, generally, as embracing the
whole of the preseiij; colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and
Maine between the Kennebec and the St. Croix rivers. It is suffi-
ciently definite for our purpose to say that this immense territory was
claimed by both crowns, and that the subjects of both — the one resting
on the English grant to Sir William Alexander, and the other on the
French patent to De Monts — settled upon it, and fished in its seas, as
inclination led them.

The treaty of St. Germains, in 1632, hushed f)r a while the earlier
disputes, since Charles I, who had married a French princess, re-
signed by that instrument all the plaoes in Canada, Nova Scotia, and
Cape Breton occupied by persons who owed allegiance to him; yet, as
the English people condemned the cession, and as neither lines nor
limits were defined, new contentions arose, which, as we shall see,
were terminated only with the extinction of French power in this hemi-
sphere. In fact, historians of acknowledged authority consider the
treaty of St. Germains as among the prominent causes of the American
Revolution, inasmuch as the disputes to which it gave rise disturbed,
finally, the relations between Engfand and her thirteen colonies.

Twenty-tw^o years elapsed, and Cromwell, in a time of profound
peace with France, took forcible possession of Nova Scotia, claiming
that its cession by Charles was fraudulent. He erected it into a colony,
and organized a government. It was considered highly valuable, and
Enghshmen of rank aspired to become its projDrietary lords from the
moment of its acquisition.

The French court remonstrated, without changing the purpose of the
protector. But, after the restoration of the Stuarts, and by the treaty
of Breda, in 1667, this colony passed a second time to France.* Though

* Edward Randolph, the first collector of the customs of Boston, in a Narrative to the Lords
of Trade and Plantations, in 1676, says that "The French, upon the last treaty of peace con-
cluded between the two crowns of England and France, had Nova Scotia, now called Acadie,

10

St. John, Port Ro3^al, La Heve, Cape Sable, as well as Pentagaet or
Penobscot, were specially named in the cession, the general bounda-
ries were not mentioned, and the soil and the fishing-grounds were
again the scenes of colhsions, reprisals, and fierce quarrels. A third
treaty — that of London — in 16SG, confirmed the two powers in the
possession of the American colonies respectively held at the com-
mencement of hostilities, but left the extent and limits of all as unset-
tled as before.

Sagacious men in New England had now seen for years that the ex-
pulsion of the French was the only measure that would secure peace
in the prosecution of the fisheries, and they endeavored to enlist the
sympathy and co-operation of the mother country. The war between
France and England which followed the accession of William and
Mary was no sooner proclaimed at Boston than the general court of
Massachusetts commenced preparations for the conquest of Nova Scotia
and Canada. Sir William Phips, who was born and bred among the
fishermen of Maine, was intrusted with the connnand of an expedition
against both. He reduced the first, and estabhshed a government; but
his enterprise in the St. Lawrence was disastrous. It is of interest to
add, that the first paper money emitted in America was issued by
Massachusetts to defray the expenses of these military operations.

At the peace of Ryswick, in 1697, it was stipulated that mutual res-
titution should be made of all conquests during the war ; and, much to
the dissatisfaction of the English colonists. Nova Scotia returned once
more to the undisputed possession of the French. The strife in Amer-
ica had been avowedly for the fisheries, and for territory north and
west ; and this treaty, which, with the exception of the eastern half
of Newfoundland, secured to France the whole coasts, the islands, and
the fishing-grounds from Maine to be3'ond Labrador and Hudson's
Bay, besides Canada and the valley of the Mississippi, was regarded
as dishonorable to England and wantonly injurious to colonial industry
anfl peace.

The evil consequences of the treaty of Rj'swickwere soon manifest.
A year had not elapsed before the French government promulgated a
claim to the sole ownership of the fisheries. Li 1698, a frigate bound
from France to Nova Scotia furnished the master of a Massachusetts
vessel with a translated order from the king, which authorized the
seizure of all vessels not of the French flag that should be found
fishing on the coast. General publicity of the order followed, and its
execution was rigidly enforced. Bonaventure, in the ship-of-war Enviux,
boarded and sent home every English colonial vessel that appeared on

delivered up to them, to tlie great discontent and murmuring of the government of Boston,
that his Majestie, without their knowledge or consent, should part with a place so protirablo
to them, fr(tm whence they drew great quantities of beaver and oflier peltrj', besides tiie fishing
for cod. Nevertheless," lie adds, "the people of Hostiin have continued a private trade with
the Frencli and Indians inhabiting those parts for beuvcr skins and other commodities, and
have openly ke])t on their fishing upon the said coasts."

He says further, that "Monsieur La Bourn, governor for the French king there, upon pre-
tence of some affronts and injuries offered him by the government of Boston, did strictly
inhibit the inhabitants any trade with the English, and moreover layd in imposition of finir
hundred codfish ujxm every vessel that should fish upon the coasts, and such as i-efused had
th<;ir fish and provisions seized on and taken away." By the " Boston governmeut," liandidph
means the government of Massachusetts.

11

his "cruising-ground ; while Viilabon, governor of Nova Scotia, in an
official despatch to the executive of Massachusetts, declared that in-
structions from his royal master demanded of him the seizure of every
American fisherman that ventured east of the Kenncbeck river, in Maine.
The claim was monstrous. If I understand its extent, the only fisheries
which were to be open and free to vessels of the English flag were
those westerly from the Kennebeck to Cape Cod, and those of the west-
ern half of Newfoundland. It seems never to have occurred to a single
French statesman that the supply of fish in our seas is inexhaustible,
and that, reserving certain and sufficient coasts for the exclusive use of
their own people, other coasts might have been secured to their rivals,
without injury to any, and with advantage to all. In fact, evidence that
such a plan was suggested by our fathers, or by the ministry " at home,"
does not, I think, exist. On both sides the strife was for the monopoly
and for the mastery.

Richard, Earl Bellamont, arrived in Boston in 1699,* and, having
assumed the administration of affairs in Massachusetts, pointedly re-
ferred to these pretensions in a speech to the general court, and to the
execrable treachery of the Stuart who had parted last with Nova
Scotia and "the noble fishery on its coast." But his lordship could
afford no redress.

In the first 3^ear of the reign of Queen Anne, the two nations were
again involved in war. Among its causes was the claim of France to a
part of Maine and to the whole of the fishing-grounds. The people of
New England, driven from the Acadian seas by the common enemy,
needed no solicitation from the mother country to engage heartily in the
contest. On the other hand, employing armed vessels of their own,
they were hardly restrained, in their zeal and success, from hanging
as common pirates some of the French officers who had been the in-
struments of interrupting their pursuits in the forbidden waters.

Nor was this all. They attempted the conquest of Nova Scotia, and
equipped a fleet at Boston. The enterprise failed. Promised ships
from England three years later, but disappointed, a second expedition
failed also.

At last, in 1710, Nova Scotia became an English colony. Its reduc-
tion was a duty assumed by the ministry, while, in truth, it was accom-
plished principally by colonists and colonial resources. Of the force
assembled at Boston, six ships and a corps of marines were, indeed,
sent from England; but the remainder, thirty vessels and four regi-
ments, were furnished by the four northern colonies. Strange it was
that Anne, the last of her family who occupied the throne, should have
permanently annexed to the English crown the C(/lony and the " noble
fishery " which all of her line had sported with so freely and so disas-
trously.

I have barely glanced at events which occupy hundreds of pages ot
documentary and written history. Whoever has examined the trans-
actions thus briefly noticed has ceased to wonder that the Stuarts were

* It was a new thing to see a nobleman at the head of the government of Massachusetts,
and he was received with the greatest respect. "Twenty companies of soldiers and avast
concourse of people met his lordship and the countess, and there was firework and good
di'ink all night." He died in New York in 1701. He was an enemy of the Stuarts.

12

so odious in New England. I know of nothing more disgraceful to them,
either as rulers or as private gentlemen, than their dealings with Sir
WiUiam Alexander, their own original grantee of Nova Scotia, with
the claimants under him, and with their subjects in America, who bled,
reign aiter reign, and throughout their reigns, to rid themselves of the
cahimities entailed upon them by the treaty of St. Germains, and who,
in the adjustment of European questions, were defrauded of the fruits
of their exertions and sacrifices by the stipulations in the treaties of
Breda of London, and Ryswick.

The concjuest of one French colony achieved, the ministry, yielding
to importunities from iVmerica, projected an enterprise for the reduc-
tion ot' Canada also — in which, as usual, the colonists were to bear a
large share of the actual burdens. After unnecessary, even inexcusa-
ble, delays on the part of those intrusted with the management of the
affair in England, a fleet and a land force finally departed from Boston
for the St. Lawrence. A more miserable termination to a military ope-
ration of moment can hardly be found in history. " The whole de-
sign," wrote the celebrated Lord Bolingbroke, "was formed by me ;"
and he added, " I have a sort of paternal concern for the success of
it." But how could he have thought "success" possible ?

The general appointed to command the troops was known among
his bottle-companions as ^'•honest Jucli Hill, " and was pronounced by
the Duke of Marlborough to be "good for nothing." The admiral was
so ignorant — so mefficient generall}^ — as to imagine that " the ice in
the river at Quebec, freezing to the bottom, would bilge his vessels,"
and that, to avert so fearful a disaster to her Majesty's ships, he "must
place them on dry ground, in frames and cradles, till the thaw !"

He was spared the calamity of wintering in ice one hundred feet in
thickness ! On the passage up the St. Lawrence, eight of his ships
were wrecked, and eight hundred and eighty-four men drowned. But
for this, said he, " ten or twelve thousand men must have been left to
perish of cold and hunger : by the loss of a part. Providence saved all
the rest." Of course, an expedition consisting of fifteen ships-of-war
and forty transports, of troops fresh from the victories of Marlborough,
and of colonists trained to the severities of a northern climate, and
sufficient for the service, under such chiefs, accomplished nothing but a
hasty de})arlure.

Peace was concluded in 1713. Down to this period the French
fisheries had been more successful, probably, than those conducted by
the English or the American colonists.

Their own account is, indeed, that, at the opening of the century,
their catch of codfish was equal to the supply of all continental or
Catholic Europe. By the treaty of Utrecht, in the year just men-
tioned, England obtained what she had so long contended for, as her
statesmen imagined — namely, a supremacy in, or monopoly of, the
fisheries of our seas.

On the coast of Nova Scotia, or Acadia, the French were utterly
prohibitrd from approaching within thirty leagues, beginning at the Isle
of Sable, and thence measuring southwesterly ; while the uncondi-
tional right of England to the whole of Newfoundland, and to the Bay
of Hudson and its borders, was formally acknowledged.

13

Yet, at Newfoundland, the privilege of fishing on a part of the east-
ern coast from Cape Bonavista to the northern point, and thence along
the western shore as far as Point Riche, was granted to the subjects of
Louis. It is to be observed that England reserved the exclusive use of
the fishing-grounds considered the best, and also the territorial juris-
diction ; that the French were not permitted to settle on the soil, or
erect any structures other than fishermen's huts and stages ; and that
the old and well-understood method of fishing was to be continued with-
out change.

By one party this adjustment of a vexed question was deemed fa-
vorable to England and just to France. But another part}^ insisted
that their rival, humbled by the terms of the peace in other respects,
should have been required in this to submit to her own doctrines and
to an unconditional exclusion from the American seas. The opponents
of the treaty did not view the case fairly. The cession of Acadia was
supposed to include the large island of Cape Breton ; and, this ad-
mitted, the French were to be confined to a region from which their
further, or at least considerable, interference with vessels wearing
the Enghsh flag was hardly possible : while, with regard to that very
region, it should be recollected that, though England claimed New-
foundland by the discovery of Cabot and the possession of Gilbert, no
strenuous or long-continued opposition had been made, at any time, to
all nations fishing, or even forming settlements, there; and that France
was entitled to special consideration, inasmuch as her establishments
tor conducting the fishery had been held without interruption lor more
than half a century, and had been recognised at the peace of Ryswick.
Besides, she had captured several English posts in addition, and, in
fact, was in actual possession of a large part of the island and its val-
uable appendages.

The party in opposition assailed the ministry in terms of bitter de-
nunciation. It was said that they "had been grossly imposed upon,"
that they "had directly given to France all she wanted," and that the
concessions were "universally and justly condemned." Such are some
of the words of reproach that appear in an official report. In the po-
litical ferocity of the time. Lord Oxford was impeached; and it is
among the charges against him that, "in defiance of an express act of
Parliament, as well as in contempt of the frequent and earnest repre-
sentations of the merchants of Great Britain and of the commissioners
of trade and plantations," he, Robert, Earl of Oxford, and Earl Morti-
mer,* had advised his sovereign that "the subjects of France should
have the liberty of fishing and drying fish in Newfoundland."

* Eobert Harley, Earl of Oxford, and Earl Mortimer, a distinguished minister of state in the
reign of Queen Anne, was born in 1661. "After the peace of Utrecht, the tory statesmen,
having no longer apprehensions of danger from abroad, began to quarrel among themselves
and the two chiefs, Oxford and Boliugbroke, especially, became personal and political foes.'
Soon after the succession of George I, Oxford was impeached of high treason by the House of
Commons, and was committed to the Tower. The Duke of Marlborough was among his
enemies. Bolingbroke fled to the continent. Oxford was tried before the House of Peers in
1717, and acquitted of the crimes alleged against hun. He was the friend of Pope, Swift,
and other literary men of the time. He died in 1724. His son Edward, the second Earl of
Oxford, and Earl Mortimer, was also a great and liberal patron of literature and learned men,
and completed the valuable collection of manuscripts which he commenced, and which is now
in the British Museum.

14

His lordship was committed to the Tower, and tried for high treason ;
but such has been the advance of civiHzation and ot the doctrine of
liunian l)rotherhood, that an act wliich was a, flagrant crime in his own
age has become one honoral)le to his memory. The g]-eat principle he
thus maintained in disgrace, that the seas of British America are not
to be held by British subjects as a monopoly, and to the exclusion ot
all other people, has never since been wholly disregarded by any
British minister, and we may hope will ever now appear in British
diph)macy to mark the progress of liberal principles and of "man's
humanity to man."

The loss of Nova Scotia caused but a temporary interruption of the
French fisheries. Within a year of the ratification of the treaty ot
Utrecht, fugitive fishermen of that colony and of Newfoundland settled
on Cape Breton and resumed tlieir business. I have remarked that,
as the English understood the cession of Acadia, "according to its
ancient boundaries," this island was held to be a part of it. The
French contended, on the other hand, that Acadia was a continental
possession, and did not embrace, of course, an island sufficient of itseli
to form a colony. The settlement and fortification of Cape Breton was
therefore undertaken immediately, as a government measure. Never
has there been a better illustration of the facile character of the French
people than is afforded by the case before us. Wasting no energies in
useless regrets, but adapting themselves to the circumstances of their
position, they recovered from their losses with ease and rapidity. In
1721 their fleet of fishing- vessels was larger than at any former period,
and is said to have been quite four hundred.

Reference to the map will show that Cape Breton and Nova Scotia
ai*e divided by a narrow strait. The meeting of vessels of the two flags
was unavoidable. The revival of old gi-udgcs, collisions, and quarrels,
was certain ; but no serious difficulties appear to have occurred pre-
vious to 1734.

In 1744, England and France were still again involved in war.
Among the earliest hostile deeds were the surprise of the English gar-
rison at Canseau, Nova Scotia, and the destruction of the buildings, the
fort, and the fishery there, by a force from Cape Breton, and the cap-
ture at Newfoundland of a French ship, laden with one hundred and
fifty tons of dried codfish, by a privateer belonging to Boston. These,
however, are incidents of no moment, and may be disposed of in a word.

The French fisheries had continued prosperous. They excited envy
and alarm. Accounts which are considered authentic, but which I am
compelled to regard as somewhat exaggerated, show that they emploj'ed
nearly six hundred vessels and upwards of twenty-seven thousand men;
and that the annual produce was almost a million and a half quintals
of fish, of the value of more than four and a half millions of dollars.
More than all else, the fishery at Cape Breton was held to be in viola-
tion of" the treaty of Utrecht; for, as has been said, diat island was in
the never-yet-defined country, Acadia.

Robert Auchmut}^,* an eminent lawyer of Boston, and judge of the

*R()bert Auchimity was of Scottish descent, hut was ethicated at Dublin. He came to Bos-
ton when younir, and was appointed judjje of the court of admiralty in 1703. In 1740, he was
a diiector of the "Land Ijauk," or bubble, which iuvolvod the father of Samuel Adams and

15

court of admiralty, when sent to England as agent of Massachusetts
on the question of the Rhode Island boundary, published a pamphlet
entitled "The importance of Cape Breton to the British nation, and a
plan for taking the place," in which he demonstrated that its conquest
would put the English in sole possession of the fisheries of North Amer-
ica; would give the colonies ability to purchase manufactures of the
mother country of the value of ten millions of dollars annually; would
employ many thousand families then earning nothing ; increase English
mariners and shipping ; cut off" all communication between France and
Canada by the river St. Lawrence, so that, in the fall of Quebec, the
French would be driven from the continent ; and, finally, open a corres-
pondence with the remote Indian tribes, and transfer the fur trade to
Anglo-Saxon hands. All this was to follow the reduction and possession
of a cold, distant, and inhospitable island. Such was the sentiment of
the time.

In 1745, the conquest of Cape Breton was undertaken. Viewed as
a military enterprise, its capture is the most remarkable event in our
colonial history. Several colonies south of New England were invited
to join the expedition, but none would consent to waste hfe in a project
so mad; and Franklin, forgetting that he was "Boston-born," ridiculed
it in one of the wittiest letters he ever wrote. In Massachusetts, and
elsewhere at the North, men enlisted as in a crusade. Whitefield made
a recruiting house of the sanctuar3% To show how the images in the
Catholic churches were to be hewn down, axes were brandished and
borne about; and, while Puritanism aimed to strike a blow at Catholi-
cism, the concerns of the present life were not forgotten. Fishermen
panted for revenge on those who had insulted them and driven them
from the fishing-grounds. Merchants, with Auchmuty's pamphlet in
their hands, thought of the increased sale and the enhanced price of
New England fish in foreign markets. Military officers who had served
in Nova Scotia in the previous war were ambitious of further distinction
and preferment. Such were the motives.

William Vaughan, who was extensively engaged in the fisheries, and
whose home was near Pemaquid, in Maine, claimed that, while listen-
ing to the tales of some of his own fishermen, he conceived the design
of the expedition. Governor Shirley,* of Massachusetts, embraced
his plans, and submitted them to the general court. By this body they
were rejected. Renewed by the governor, and insisted upon by the
merchants, they were finally adopted by the vote of the speaker, who
had acted previously in opposition.!

many others in ruin. He was sent to England on important service, and, while there, pro-
jected an expedition to Cape Breton. After his return, he was appointed judge of admiralty
a second time. He died in 1750. His son, Samuel, a graduate of Hai-vard University, was
an Episcopal minister in New York; and his grandson, Sir Samuel Auchmuty, a lieutenant
general in the British army, and died in 1822. The Auchmutys of the revolutionary era ad-
hered to the side of the crown.

* William Shirley, Governor of Massachusetts, was a native of England, and was bred to
the law. He came to Boston about the year 1733, and was appointed governor in 1741. In
1755, he was commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. He died in Roxbury, Mas-
sachusetts, ui 1771.

t Mr. Oliver, a Boston member, broke his leg on his way to the house, and was not present.
His vote would have caused the rejection of the plan a second time. The members deliber-
ated under the first oath of secrecy admmistered to a legislative assembly in Ameiica.

16

Instnntly Boston became the scene of bus}" preparation.

William l*epperell, of Kittery, in Mninc, and the son of a fisherman
of the Isles of Shoals, assumed command of the expedition. The
merchants of Boston furnished a large part of the armed vessels and
transports. The fishermen of Plymouth were the first troops to amve.
Those of Marblehead and Gloucester, and those who had been em-
ployed by Pepperell and Vaughan, followed in rapid succession.
Lumberers, mechanics, and husbandmen completed the force.

Louisbourg was the point of attack; for Cape Breton would fall
with its capital without another blow. This city was named in honor
of the king. Twenty-five years and thirty millions of livres were re-
quired to complete it. Its walls were built of bricks brought from
France. More than two hundred pieces of cannon were mounted to
defend it. So gi'eat was its strength that it was called the "Dunkirk
of America." It had nunneries and palaces, terraces and gardens.
That such a city rose upon a lone, desolate isle, in the infancy of
American colonization, appears incredible. Explanation is alone found
in the fishing enthusiasm of the period.

The fleet sailed from Boston in March. Singular to remark, of a
military order, Shirley's instructions required an ample supply of cod-
lines lor use on the passage, so that the troops might be fed, as much
as possible, on the products of the sea.

A more undisciplined and disorderly body of men never disem-
barked to attempt the reduction of a walled city. The squadron com-
manded by Warren, and ordered by the ministry to co-operate with
Pepperell, arrived in time to share in the perils and honors of the siege.
The colonial fleet and the ships of the royal navy kept up a close
blockade. The colonists on shore, without a regular encampment,
lodged in huts built of turf and bushes. With straps across their
shoulders, they dragged cannon in sledges over morasses impassable
with wheels. Making jest of military subordination, they fired at
marks, they fished and fowled, wrestled and raced, and chased after
balls shot from the French guns. Badly sheltered, and exhausted by
toil in mud and water, and by exposure in a cold and foggy cHmate,
fifteen hundred became sick and unfit for duty. Still the siege was
conducted with surpassing energy, with some skill, and courage seldom
equalled. Nine thousand cannon-balls and six hundi'ed bombs were
discharged by the assailants. The French commander submitted on
the f )rty-ninth day of the investment. The victors entered the " Dun-
kirk of the western world" amazed at their own achievement.

A single day's delay in the surrender might have resulted in discom-
fiture and defeat, and in extensive mortal sickness, since, within a few
hours of the capitulation, a storm of rain set in, wdiich, in the ten days
it continued, flooded the camp-ground and beat down the huts which
the colonists abandoned for quarters within the walls.

Pepperell and his companions were the most fortunate of men. Even
after the fall of the city, the French flag (which was kept flying as a
decoy) lured within their grasp ships with cargoes of merchandise
worth more than a million of dollars. The exploit was commended in
the highest and loftiest terms. Even thirty years afterwards, Mr. Hart-

17

ley* said, in the House of Commons, that the colonists "took Louisbourg
from the French single-htinded, without any European assistance — as
inettled an enterprise as any in our history — an everlastinjy memorial
to the zeal, courage, and perseverance of the troops of New England. "t

These are the mere outlines of the accounts of this extraordinary
affair4 Several of our books of history contain full details; but the
•correspondence of Shirley, Pepperell, and Warren, which is presei-ved
In the Collections of the Historical Society of Massachusetts, as well as
the letters and narratives of subordinate actors, should be read in con-
nexion.

A century has elapsed. With the present condition of Cape Breton
in view, we almost imagine that we hold in our hands books of fiction
rather than the records of the real, when we read, as we do in Smol-
let, that the conquest of Louisbourg was " the most imj)OTta?it acldevemcnt
■of the war of 1744;" in the Universal History, that '■'■ New England gave
peace to Euroi^e by raising, arming, and transporting four thousand
men," whose success ^^ proved an c(jmvalent for all the successes of the
French upon the continent ;'''' and in Lord Chesterfield, that, " in the end
it produced peace," and that the noble duke at the head of the ad-
miralty declared that, " if France was master of Portsmouth, he would hang
the men who should give Cape Breton in excJuinge.''''

The peace of Aix la Chapelle, in 174S, was dishonorable to England
at home and in her colonies. Of the adjustment of the questions which
relate to our subject, I may remark, that she Rot only restored Cape
Breton to France, and submitted to the humiliating condition of send-
ing two persons of rank and distinction to reside in that kingdom as
hostages until that island and other conquests should be actually sur-
rendered, but consented also to omit all mention of the rio-ht of English
subjects to navigate the American seas without being liable to search
and molestation, though that pretension on the part of the French was
one of the original causes of the war, as well as the basis of the attacks
made on Walpole's ministry. The results of the peace to England
were an immense debt, the barren glory of supporting the German
sovereignty of Maria Theresa, and the alienation of the affections of

* He was one of the British commissiioners of peace in 1783.

t Horace Walpole calls Sir I'etcr Warren " the conqueror of Cape Breton," aRd says that
he was " richer than Ansou, and absurd as Venion." Walpole also quotes a remark of MarshaJ.
Bellelsle, who, when he was ti-Id of the takings of Cape Breton, said, " he could believe that,
because the inJiiistiT had no hand in it." Walpole adds: "We are making bonfires for Cape
Breton, and thundering over G<?noa, while our army in Flanders is running away and dropping
to pieces by detachments taken prisoners every day."

t April 4, 1748, a committee of the House of Commons came to the followins; resolution :
** ResolceA, That it is the opinion of this committee that it is just and reasonable that the
several provinces and colonies iif Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode
Island be reimbursed tlie expenses they have been at in taking and securing to the crown of
Great Britain the island of Cape Breton and its dependencies."

Mr. Burke remarks on tliis resolution that " these expenses were immense for such colonies ;
they were above £"200,n0() sterling — money first raised and advanced on their public credit."'

William Bollan, collector of the customs for Salem and Marblehead, who married a daughter
of Governor Shirley, was sent to England to solicit the reimbursement of these expenses. He
obtained the sum of £183,649 sterling, after a difficult and toilsome agency of three years.

He returned to Boston in 1748, with six hundred and fifty-thi-ee thousand ounces of silver
and ten tons of copper. This money was lauded on Long Wharf, placed in wagons, and
carried through the streets mid much rejoicing.
2

18

the people of New England, who saw evidence thfit the notT.^c of Han*'
over, like the Stuarts, were ready to sacrifice their victories and thei?
interests as " equivalents" for defeats and disasters in Europe.

The fall of Louisbourg and the general hazards of war redwced the
number of French vessels employed in the fisheries tipwards of four
hundred in a single year — to tbllow the received accoanis ; while, of
the one hundred w^iich slill remained, nearly the whole, probably,
made their fares at Newfoundland. This branch of industry was des-
tined to a slow recovery of prosperity ; for, in 1756, we record atiM
another war between Franee and England.

Among the causes of hostilities on the part of the latter poi^'er, as an-
nounced in the ro^'al declaration, were the aggi'essions of ihe JVench in
Nova Scotia.* In that region, and on other coasts frequented by fish-
ermen, the war was attended with many distressing cireumstances.f
Without space for details, I can only give a single example at New-
foundland, where M. de Tourney, in eommand of a French loTce of foil?
ships-of-tlie-line, a bomb-ketch, and a body of troops, landed at the
Bay of Bulls, destroyed the English settlements of Trinity and Carbcv-
near, captured several vessels, destroyed the stages and implements o^
fishery of the inhabitants, and, appearing off" St. John, the capital of the
island, demanded and obtained its surrender.

Omitting notice of minor events, we come, in 1759, to the second

siege of Louisbourg. The force employed was immense, consisting c*f

twenty ships-of-the-line, eighteen frigates, a large fleet of smaller ves-

?ls, and an army of fourteen thousand men. The success of this ex-

dilion caused great rejoicings throughout the British empire. The

nch colors were deposited in St. Paul's?, London, and a form oi

ksgiving was ordered to be used in all the churches ; while in New

and, prayers and thanksgivings were solemnly offered on the do-

'C altar and in public worship.

neral Wolfe commanded a detached bodyof tw^o thousand troops,
was highly distinguished.! He sailed from Louisbourg the follow-
ing ^^ear, at the head of eight thousand men, to "die satisiied" on the
Plains of Abraham. Well might he utter these words ! He w^as the
victor in one of the decisive battles of the world ! Li the hour that the
British troops entered Quebec, the rule of America pas&ed from the
Galhc to the Anglo-Saxon race. Between the death of a Jesuit father
and the breaking up of a French settlement in Maine, and the treaty of
Paris, was just a century and a half. We have seen how large a part

* Mr. Huskisson, in a speech in Parliament in 1826, said: " Sir, the war wliieh Ix-gan in the
year 1756, conuuonly called the Seven Years' War, was, strictly speaking, so fur as relates to
this country ami to the liourbon governments of France and Spain, a irar for colonial pririlegcf,
coloniiil claims, and colonial ascendency. In the course of that war, British skill ami British
valor placed in the hands of this country Quebec and the Havana. By the capture of these
fortresses. Great Britain became mistress of the colonial destinies of the we.stern world."

t The first conquests of British arms in America in the French war were the French fort of
Beau Scjour, in the Bay of Fundy, and two other posts in the same region. Colonel M»>HcktoD,
the conqueror, gave the name of Fort Cumberland to Beau Sejour.

t" Wolfe," says Horace "VValptde, "who was no friend of Mr. Conway last year, and for
whom I consecpieutly have no atiection, has great merit, spirit, and alacrity, and shon«
extremely at Louisbourg."

19

of the period was devoted to war. The contest was at an end. The
Gaul resigned the mastery of the New World to the Briton.*

In view of the past and the future, our fathers were "satisfied."
It remains to give a summary of the exertions of the northern colo-
nists to achieve the conquest of Canada. So numerous were the sea-
men and fishermen of New England on board of the ships-ot-war, that
her merchants were compelled to navigate their own vessels with In-
dians and negroes. More than four hundred privateers were fitted out
during the contest to ravage the French West Indies and distress the
commerce of France in all parts of the world ; and it was asserted in
the House of Commons, without contradiction, that, of the seamen
emplo3^ed in the British navy, ten thousand were natives of America.
For the attack on Louisbourg and Quebec alone, the number furnished
by the single colon}^ of Massachusetts was five hundred, besides the
fishermen who were impressed.t A single example of the pecuniary
burdens of those who personally bore no part in hostile deeds will
suffice. A Boston gentleman of fortune sent one of his tax-bills to a
friend in London for his opinion, and received for answer that "he did
not believe there was a man in all England who paid so much, in pro-

* It may be said that Great Britain has hardly had a nionient's quiet with Canada since the
day when Wolfe i-(ise from a sick bed to "die hapi)y" in planting her flag on the walls of
Quebec. We cannot stop to trace the reasons for this state of things, but must confine our
remarks to the course of events immediately following the conquest. After the full of Quebec
and the reduction of the entire country, but before the final cession, there arose an exciting
controversy among some of the leading statesmen of the time, whether Canada should be re-
tained or restored to France, and the island of Guadaloupe be added to the British dominions iu
its stead. There seems to have been a prevalent fear that, if Canada were kept, the colonies, rid
of all apprehensions from the French, would increase at an alarming rate, and finally throw oif
their dependence on the mother country. A tract was published in support of this view, sup-
posed to have been written either by Edmund or William Burke, to which Franklin replied in
his happiest and ablest manner. Franklin's answer, in the judgment of Mr. Sparks, "was be-
lieved to have had great weight in the ministerial councils, and to have been mainly instru-
mental in causing Canada to be held at the peace."

In tlie course of the dispute, the charge was openlj^ made that the treaty of peace which re-
stored to France the conquests of Bellisle, Goree, Gaudaloupe, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Ha-
vana, which guarantied to her people the use of the Newfoundland fishery, and whicn re-
tained an acquisition of so doubtful value as Canada, was the result of corrupt bargaining.

Lord St. Vincent (a great naval captain, and hardly inferior to Nelson) was of the opinion,
even in 1783, that Canada ought not to be retained by England. Lord Brougham, iu his his-
torical sketches, relates that, " when Lord Shelburne's peace (1783) wa.s signed, and before
the terms were made public, he sent for the admiral, and, showing them, asked his opinion.'
' I like them very well,' said he, ' but there is a great omission.' ' In what ? ' ' In leaving
Canada as a British province.' 'How could we possibly give it up?' inquired Lord Shel-
burne. * How can you hope to keep it?' replied the veteran warrior : 'with an Englii^h re-
public just established in the sight of Canada, and with a population of a handful of English
settled among a body of hereditary Frenchmen, it is impossible ; and, rely on it, you only re-
tain a running sore, the source of endless disquiet and expense.' ' Would the countiy bear
it ? have you forgotten Wolfe and Quebec ? ' asked his lordship. ' No : it is because I re-
member both. I served with Wolfe at Quebec. Having lived so long, I have had full time for
reflection on tLis matter ; and my clear opinion is, that if this fair occasion for giving up Canada
is neglected, nothing but difficulty, iu either keeping or resigning it, will ever after be known.'"
This i-emarkable prediction hits been fulfilled, as every one who is familiar with Canadian af-
fairs will admit.

t " The Massachusetts forces," in 17.59, says Hutchin.son, " were of great service. Twenty-
five himdred served in garrison at Louisbourg and Nova Scotia, in the room of the regular
troops taken from thence to serve under General Wolfe. Several hundred served on board
the king's ships as seamen, and the remainder of the sis thousand five hundred men voted iu
the spring served under General Amherst. Besides this force, upon application of General
Wolfe, three himdred more were raised and sent to Quebec byrthe lieutenant governor, in
the absence of the governor at Penobscot."

20

portion, hr the support oi" government." I find it sffatecl that the
amount assessed, in taxes of every kind, was nearly hall' of the payer's
income.

In this rapid notice of the events ^vhich preceded and led to the ex-
tinction of French power, I have not exngirerated the importnnce at-
tached to the fisheries. Few of the tar-sighted «aw, even in the distant
future, as we really see, in New France, and that half-fabulous coun-
try, Acadia, the building of ships to pre?!erve and increase the maritime-
strength of England, wheat-lands to rival our own, the great lakes
united witli the ocean, and upon the St. Lawrence and St. John some of
the principal timber-marts of the world. Nay, among the wisest, the
Indii'.n was forever to qlide in his canoe on the water s-^iorever to roam
the dark, limitless forest. In a word, the vision of mo?t was bounded
by the fur trade on the soil, and hj the fish trade on the sea.

A single remark upon the influence of these events in producing the
Revolution, limited as is the plnn of this report, cannot be omitted. In
tiie "paper stuff" emitted by Massachusetts to pay off '*Phips's men,"
we see the germ of the "continental money." In the levying of taxes,
in the raising of troops^ and the general independence of the colonial
assemblies during periods of war, we find explanation of the wonder-
ful ease of tlie transition of these bodies into "provincial congi-esses."
In the many armies embodied and fleets fitted at Boston, we learn why
the people, fimiliar with military men and measures, almost reck-
lessly provoked collision with the troops sent by their own sovereign to
overawe and subdue them.

In truth, the prominent actors in the wars of 1744 and of 1756 were
the prominent actors in the struggle of freedom. Thus, with Pc^pper-
ell at the siege of Louisbourg were Thornton, who became a signer of
the Declaration of Independence ; Bradford, who commanded a conti-
nental regiment; and Cridley, who laid out the works on Bunker's
Hill. On the frontiers of Vnginia and in the west, in the last-mentioned
v/ar was the iUustrious Washington. Engaged in one or both of the
French wars were Lewis, Wolcott, Williams, and Livingston, who
were signers of the Declaration of Independence; and Prescott, who
commanded on the memorable 17th of June. An)ong those who became
generals in the Revolution were Montgomery, who fell at Quebec;
Gates, the victor at Saratoga; Mercer, who was slain at Princeton,
and who, in the estimation of some, was second only to Washington;
Morgnn, the hero of the "Cowpens;" Thomas, who commanded in
Canada after the fall of Montgomery; James Clinton, the father of De
Witt Clinton; Stark, the victor at Bennington; Spencer, Israel and
Rufus Putnam, Nixon, St. Clair, Gibson," Bull, Charles Lee, and
Durke. There were also Butler, the second in command at Wyo-
ming; and Campbell, a distinguished colonel; and Dyer, chief justice
o[ Connecticut; Craik, director-general of the American hospital, and
the "old and intimate friend" of Washington; Jones, the physician of
Franklin; John Morgan, diiector-general and physician-general of the
army; ;md Hynde, the medical advls(>r of AVolle, who was with him
wlien he fell, and accomj)anied Patrick Henry against Lord DunmoT-e.

It was in Nova Scotia and Canada, and oh the Ohio, then — at Port
Royal, Canseau, Louisbourg, Quebec, and in the wilds of Virginia —

21

and in putting clown French pretensions, that our fathers actjuired the
skill and expcrienc:e necessar}^ for the succesfful assertion of their own.

We pass to consider the terms of the treaty of 1763. In reply to
the propositions of the court of London, the French ministry, at the
commencement of the negotiations in 1761, consented to guaranty to .
England the possession of Canada, provided England would restore
the isLmd of Cape Breton, and confirm the right of French subjects to
take and cure fish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as M^ell as on the banks
and in the island of Newfoundland. The fortifications of Louisbourg,
the court of Versailles, however, suggested should be destroyed, and
die harbor laid open for common use. These terms seem to have been
the ultimatum of France.

In repl}^ the British ministry insisted upon the unconditional cession
of Canada,, with all its dependencies, and the cession of Cape Breton and
ail other islands in the Culf of St. Lawrence. They replied, iurther,
that the important privilege of fishing and curing cod on the coast of
Newfoundland, as provided in the treaty of Utrecht, they had not
designed to refuse, but merely to connect with stipulations relative to
Dunkirk; and that the island of St. Peter would be ceded to France
upon four indispensable conditions : first, that the island should not be
fortified, or troops be stationed upon it, under any pretext whatever;
second, that, den^ang the vessels of other nations all rights even of
shelter, France should use the island and its harbor for her own fisher-
men alone; third, that the possession of the island should not be
deemed to extend in any manner the stipulations of the treaty of
Utrecht — that is to say, "^1 loco Cap Bonavista non cvpato usque ad
extremitatem ejusdem instilce sepfe/ifrioftalem, indique at latus accideiitale
recurrendo iisque ad locuiii Fo'uitc Ric/te appellatum^'' — [From the place
called Cape Bonavista to the northern extremity of tlie said island,
and thence running westerly to the place denominated Point Riche;]
fourth, that an English commissary should be allowed to reside at St.
Peter, and the commander of the British ships-ot-war on the New-
foundland station have ]iberty, from time to time, to visit the island, to
see that these four conditions be duly observed.

With these propositions the French ministry were dissatisfied. They
desired rights of fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while, with regard
to the cession of St. Peter, they remarked that it was so small and so
near Placentia, that, as a shelier, it would prove altogether illusive, and
serve to create disputes between the two nations, rather than facili-
tate the fishery of the French subjects ; and they referred to the cession
of Cape Breton, or of the island of St. John, as at first suggested, but
expressed a willingness to accept of Canseau instead of either. Still,
if the British ministry, for reasons unknown to them, could not agree
to the cession of Canseau, then they submitted that Miqueloji, an island,
or, as they considered, a part of St. Peter, should be included in the
cession of the last-named island, for the two joined together did not
exceed three leagues in extent. They said also .that they would main-
tain no military establishment at either of the places mentioned, except
a guard of fifty men to support police regulations ; and that, as much as
possible v/ith so weak a force, they would prevent all foreign vessels
irom sheltering, as required ; while^ they would limit their fishery on the

22

coast of Newfoundland to the stipulations of the treaty of Utrecht,
provided it should b(; understood th;it they could take and dry fish on
the coast of St. Peter and Mi(]uelon. To the condition relative to the
residence of the commissary on the ceded islands they did not object.

In England, opposition to «?/.?/ concessions to France was soon mani-
fest. The fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the Banks of
Newfoundland were held to constitute a great source of wenlth to
France, and to be her principal nursery for senmen. The voluntar}'
offer of the ministry, therefore^ to continue the privileges enjoyed under
the treaty of Utrecht, was viewed with great displeasure. The fish-
eries, it was said, were worth more than all Canada. The common coun-
cil of London, as representing the commercial interest of the kingdom,
transmitted to the members of the House of Commons from the city
peremptory instructions on the subject of the treaty, and particularly
that the sole and exclusive right of fishing in the American seas should
be reserved to the subjects of the British crown. Such, indeed, were
the sentiments of a large party. But their remonstrances were disre-
garded.

The negotiations were concluded at Paris February 10, 1763. The
articles of the tt ealy which relate to our subject are the following ;

" The subjects of France shall have the liberty of fishing and dry-
ing on a part of the coasts of the island of Newfoundland, such as it is
specified in the thirteenth article of the treaty of Utrecht, which article
is renewed and confirmed by the present treaty, (except what relates
to the island of Cape Breton, as well as the other islands and coasts in
the mouth and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.) And his Britannic Majesty
consents to leave to the subjects of the Most Christian King the liberty
of fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on condition that the subjects of
France do not exercise the said fishery but at the distance of three
leagues from all the coasts belonging to Great Britain, as well those of
the continent as those of the islands situated in the said Gulf of St.
Lawrence. And as to what relates to the fishery on the coasts of the
island of Cape Breton, out of said gnlf, the subjects of the Most Chris-
tian King shall not be permitted to exercise the said fishery but at the
distance of fifteen leagues from the coasts of the island of Cape Bre-
ton; and the fishery on the coasts of Nova Scotia, or Acadia, and every-
where else out of the said gulf, shall remain on the footing of former
treaties."

" The King of Great Britain cedes the islands of St. Pierre and
Miquelon, in full right, to his Most Christian Majesty, to serve as shelter
to the French fishermen; and his said Most Christian Majesty engages
not to fortify the said islands, to erect no buildings upon them but
merely for the convenience oi' the fishery, and to keep upon them a
guard of fifty men only for the police?."

These stipulations were severely attacked in Parliament and else-
where. "Junius," in his celebratetl letter to the Duke of Bedford, does
not scruple to charge his grace with bribery. " Belleisle, Goree, Gua-
daloupe, St. Lucia, Martinicjue, the^s/<p7-?/, and the Havana," said he,
" are glorious monuments of your grace's talents f()r negotiation. My
lord, wc arc too ukU acqvaintcd with your j)ccv/iiar>j character to thinlc it
jiossiOle that so manij imblic sacrifices sliould have, been made without some

23

privafe tompe'iisations. You7' conduct carries with it an infernal evidence
bcrjond all the legal proofs of a court of justice P

Peace had hardly been concluded belbre the French were accused of
violations of the treaty, la ]764, a sloop-of-war carried intelligence to
England that they had a very formidable naval force at Newfoundland ;
that they intended to erect strong fortifications on St. Peter's; and that
the English commodore on the station was without force sufficient to
|wevent the consummation of their plans. The party opposed to the
ministry pronounced a war with France to be inevitable, unless the
British government were disposed to surrender both Newfoundland and
Canada. The alarm — which illustrates the spirit of the time, and the
sensibility of the English people — proved to be without cause, since the
French gov^ernor gave assurances that nothing had been or would be
done contrary to the letter of the treaty; that he had but a single small
cannon mounted, without a platform, designed merely to answer signals
to their fishermen in foggy weather ; that no buildings or works had
been erected ; and that his guard consisted of only forty-seven men.
It appeared, however, that tlje French naval force was considerable,
consisting of one ship of fifty guns, another of twenty-six guns, and
others of" smaller rates.

K^marking that the French emplo^^ed at Newfoundland two hundred
and fifty-niae vessels in 17G8, and about the same number five years
later, we come to the war of our own Revolution. To induce France to aid
us in the struggle, our envoys were authorized, in 1776, to stipulate that
all the trade between the United States and the French West Indies
should be carried on either in French or American vessels: and they
were speciall}^ instructed to assure his Most Christian Majesty, that if,
by their joint efforts, the British should be excluded from any share in
the cod-fisheries of America by the reduction of the islands of New-
foundland aiid Cape Breton, and ships-of-war should be furnished, at
the expense of the United States, to i-educe Nova Scotia, the fisheries
should be enjoyed equally between them, to the exclu^^i'^'i of all
other nations ; and that one-half of Newfoundland should lolong to
France, and the other half, with Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, to the
United States.

We may smile at — we can hardly commend — our fathers for claiming
s© large a share as this notable scheme devised ; but the spirit which
conceived and was prepared to execute so grand an enterprise, addi-
donal to the main purposes of their strife with the mother country, is
to be placed in strong contrast with the indifference manifested now
about preserving our rights in the domains which they thus designed to
conquer.

In 1778, the project was renewed. In the instructions to Franklin,
he was directed to urge upon the French court the certainty of ruining
the British fisheries on the Banks of Newfoundland, and consea lently
the British marine, by reducing Halifax and Quebec. Acc( iT^p-^ying
liis instructions was a plan for capturing these places, in which the
benefits of their acquisition to France and the United States were dis-
tinctly pointed out. They were of importance to France, it was said,
because "die fishery of Newfoundland is justly considered the basis of a
good marine;" and because "the possession of these two places neces-

24

sarily secures to the party and their friends tlio island and fisheries."*
Among the. benefits to the United Stales would be the acquisition of
*'two States to the Union," iind the securing of the fisheries jointly witb
France, "to the total exclusion of Great Brittdn."

An alliance with France secured, a plan to reduce Canada at least
was accordingly matured and adopted by Congress in the course of the
last-mentionud year. It was the prevalent opinion in the United States
that the French ministry not only approved of this measure, but that
one of their objects in forming an allianc-c with us was to regain a part
or the whole of the possessions in America which they had lost in, pre-
vious wars, and thus regain their former position and iniluence in the
western hemisj)here. But the fact is now well ascertained tlmt they
were averse to the design against Can:ida, and that, from the first, it
was their settled policy to leave that colony and Nova Scotia depend-
encies of England. Washington dissented from Congress, and pre-
sented that body with along letter on the sul)j(^c-t. He thought the plau'
both impracticable and unwise. Aiijong liis reasons fnr the latter opin-
ion was, that France would engross "the whole trade of Newf<)andlan(t
whenever she pleased," and thus secure "the finest nursery of seamen
in the world." The expedition was never undertaken.

The treaty of commerce between- France and the United States con-
cluded in 177S, and annulled by act of Congress in the year ISOO, con-
tained the following provisions :

"Art. 9. The subjects, inhabitants, merchants, commanders of ships^
masters, and mariners of the states, provinces, and dominions of eacb
party, respectively, shall abstain and forbear to fish in all places pos-
sessed, or which shall be possessed, by the other pauty. The Most Chris-
tian King's subjects shall not fish in the havens, bays,, creeks, roads,
coasts, or places which the said United Stales hold, or shall hereafter
hold ; and in like manner the subjects, peo^:»le, and inhabitants <.>f the
said United States shall not fish in the havens, bays, creeks, roads^
coasts, or places which the Most Christian King possesses, or shall here-
after possess. And if any ship or vessel shall be found fishing contrary
to the tenor of this treaty, the said ship or vessel, with its lading, proof
being made thereof, shall be confiscated. It is, however, understood that
the exclusion stipulated in the present article shall take place only so
long and so llir as the Most Christian King or the United States shall
not in this respect have granted an exemption to some oJ.her nation.

"Art. 10. The United States, their citizens and inhabitants, shall
never disturl) the subjects of the Most Christian King in the enjoyment
and exercise of the right of fishing on the Banks of NcwlbundJand, nor
in the indefinite and exclusive right w^hich belongs to them on that part
of the coast of that island which is designated by the treaty of Utrecht^
nor in the rights relative to all and each of the isles wliit-h belong to his
Most Christian Majesty — the whole conformable to the true sense of the
treaties of Utrecht and Paris."

Embarked in war with the greatest maritime power in the worlds
France had need of all her seamen ; and to secure for her ships-of-war
her fishermen absent at Newfoundland, her treaty of alhance with the
United States was kept secret fl)r some weeks, to give tinie lor their
return. During hostilities, St. Pierre and Mi(]uek)n, if not almost aban-
doned by fishing-vessels, were the scene of no incidents to detain us..

25

At the peace in 1783, the whole subject of the French rights of fish-
ing was examined and arranged. As will be seen, several important
changes were made, and explanations exchanged, by the two contract-
ing powers. It may be observed, further, that the new fishing-grounds
acquired were thought less valuable than those which she rehnquished,
though the privileges obtained by France, considered together, were
much greater than those provided in the treaty of 17G3. The articles
which relate to the subject in the treaty, and in the " declaration" and
" counter declaration," or separate articles, are as follows :

"Art. 2. His Majesty the King of Great Britain shall preserve
in full right the island of Newibundland and the adjacent islands, in
the same manner as the whole was ceded to him by the 13th article of
the treaty of Utrecht, save the exceptions stipulated by the 5th article
of the present treaty.

"Art. 3. His Most Christian Majesty, [of France,] in order to
prevent quarrels, which have hitherto arisen between the two nations
of England and France, renounces the ri"ht ot fisliins:, which belono-s
to him by virtue of the said article of the treaty of Utrecht, from Cape
Bonavista to Cape St. John, [Point Riche,] situated on the eastern
coast of Newf()undland, in about fifty degi'ees of north latitude ; wdiereby
the French fishery shall commence at the said Cape St. .John, [Point
Riche,] shall go round by the north, and, going down to the western
coast of the island ot Newfoundland, shall have lor boundary the place
called Cape Ra}^, situated in forty-seven degrees fifty minutes latitude.

" Art. 4. The French fishermen shall enjoy the fishery assigned
them by the foregoing article, as they have a right to enjoy it by virtue
of the treaty of Utiecht.

" Art. 5. His Britannic Majesty wnll cede, in full right, to his Most
Christian Majestv the islands of St Pierre and Miquelon.

"Art. 6. With regard to the right of fishing in the Gulf of St. Law-
rence, the French shall continue to enjoy it conformably to the 5th
article of the treaty of Paris," [1763.]

In the "declaration" on the part of Great Britain, it is said that —

"In order that the fishermen of the two nations may not give cause
for daily quarrels, his Britannic Majesty will take the most positive
measures for preventing his subjects from interrupting, in any manner,
by their competition, the fishery of the French, during the temporary
exercise of it which is gi-anted to them, upon the coasts of the island
of Newfoundland ; and he will, for this purpose, cause the fixed settle-
ments which shall be formed there to be removed.

" His Britannic Majesty will give orders that the French fishermen
he not incommoded in cutting the wood necessary for the repair of their
scaffolds, huts, and fishing-vessels. The 13th article of the treaty of
Utrecht, and the method of carrying on the fishery which has at all
times been acknowledged, shall be the plan upon which the fishery shall
be carried on there. It shall not be deviated from by either party — the
French fishermen building only their scaffolds, confining themselves to
the repo r nf their fishing- vessels, and not wintering there ; the subjects
of his Eiitann'c Majesty, on their part, not iiiolesting, in any manner,
the Fren h fi? ermen during their fishing, nor injuring their scaffolds
during tlieir absence. The King of Great Britain, in ceding the islands

of St. Pierre and Miquelon to France, regards them as ceded for the
purpose of serving as a real shelter to the French fishermen, and in fiill
confidence that these possessions will not become an object of jealousy
between the two nations, and that the fishery between the said
islands and that of Newfoundland shall be hmited to the middle of
the channeL"

In the " counter declaration" on the part of France, it is said that —

"Tlie King of Great Britain undoubledl}' places too much confidence
in the uprightness of his Majesty's intentions not to rely upon his con-
stant attention to prevent the islands of St. Pierre and Miijuelon from
becoming an object of jealousy between the two nations. As to the
fislicry on the coasts of Newlbundland, which has been the object of
the new arrangements settled by the two sovereigns upon tliis matter,
it is sufficiently ascertained by the 5th article of the treaty of peace
signed this day, and by the declaration likewise delivered this day by
his Britannic Majesty's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary ;
and his M;ijesty declares that he is fully satisfied on this head. In re-
gard to the fisherj^ between the island of Newfoundland and those of
St. Pierre and Miquelon, it is not to be carried on, by either party, but
to the middle of the channel ; and his Majesty will give the most posi-
tive orders that the French fishermen shall not go beyond this line.
His IMajesty is firmly persuaded that the King of Great Britain will
give hke orders to the English fishermen."

The fishery at St. Pierre and Miquelon, at the period of the French
revolution, was in a prosperous condition; but the confusion and distresses
of civil war soon produced a disastrous change, and the fishing-grounds
were in a great degree abandoned tor several years. In 1792, the
number of men employed both at Newfoundland and Iceland was less
than thirty-four hundred. The hostile relations with England which
followed the domestic commotions caused additional misfortunes, until
the peace of Amiens, in 1802.*

In the year 1800, by a treaty between the United States and France,
conchuled at Paris, it was stipulated that "neither party will interfere
with the fisheries of the other on its coasts, nor disturb the other in the
exercise of its rights which it now holds, or may acquire, on the coast
of NewfbuncllancI, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or elsewhere on the
American coast northward of the United States. But the whale and seal
fisheries shall be fi-ee to both in every quarter of the world." Napoleon,
at this time, was " premier consul of the French republic."

The French cod-fishery at Newfoundland was hardly re-established
at the peace of Amiens, when renewed hostilities with England occa-
sioned fresh calamities. Until the downfdl of Napoleon, in 1814, this
branch of distant industry was pursued without vigor, and with severe
losses.

*The fishing privileges which were continued to France were again the subject of complaint
at the peace of Amiens. The Eiglit Hon. W^illiam Windham, in a Kpcecii in Parliaiiu'nt, Novem-
ber 4, 1801 , said that, by the t<»rms of the proposed peace, " France gives nothing, and, excepting
Trinidad luid Ceylon, England gives everything;" and in the enumeration of cessions which
" tended only to confirm more and more the deep despair in wliich he was plunged in con-
templating th(' probable conseijuenccrs of the present treaty," he mentioned, "in North
America, St. l*ierre and Miquelon, with a right to the tishcries in the fullest extent to which
they were ever claimed."

27

At the peace, a deputation of English merchants and others con-
nected with Newfoundland entreated their government to refbse to>
France continued rights of fishing allowed under the treaties of 1713,
of 1763, and of 1783. But the British ministry, aside from general
considerations, regarded the restoration of the Bourbons as an event of
momentous consequence to Europe, and confirmed to France all her
foreign possessions exactly as they stood at the commencement of the
war. The Newfoundland colonists have never ceased to complain of
the renewed competition which this policy required them to meet.
They contend that, whatever was the opinion in 17S3, the fishing-grounds
along the shores from Cape Ray to Cape John, which are enjoyed by
the French to the exclusion of all others, are, m the judgment of every
person competent to decide, the very best at Newfoimdlfmd; and they
huther insist, by reason of the advantages possessed by France and
the United States, that the Enghsh deep-sea fishery has been aban-
doned. These and similar statements are to be found in oflScial papers
and in private letters, and are never omitted by the colonists in theu'
conversations on the subject of their fisheries.

It may not be unkind "to reply that the French and American fisher-
men are industrious, and that there need be no other explanation of
their success.

The insertion here of the thirteenth article of the treaty of Paris in.
1814 is not necessary. As already intimated, the French were con-
firmed in the rights which they possessed previous to the war. The
eleventh article of the treaty of Paris in the following year, at the
general pacification in Eui'ope, reiterates the confirmation. Elcferen(;e,
therefore, to the articles of the treaty of 1783, to the "declaration" and
" counter declaration" recorded at length in the proper connexion, wili
afford a perfect knowledge of the present extent, limitations, and local-
ities of the fishing-grounds of France in the American seas.

With peace came prosperity. In 1816, the French tonnage at New-
foundland was nearly thirty-one thousand; the amount in 1823, how-
ever, appears to have been reduced nearly one-half. It rose suddenly,
and in a single year, to about thirty-seven thousand, and, increasing an-
nually, except in 1825, w^as upwards of fifty thousand in 1829. In
the succeeding ten years the increase was only five thousand.

The number of vessels employed in 1841 and two years later was
about four hundred; and the number of seamen in 1847 was estimated
at twelve thousand. These facts, on which I rely, afford proof that the
Newfoundland fishery is now prosecuted with energy and success. To
fjllow the statements of the English colonists which are to be met with
in official documents, the number of men engaged at St. Pierre and
Miquelon, and on various parts of the coast between Cape Ray and
Cape John, should be computed at twenty-five thousand. There is
the same authority for estimating the annual catch of fish at one rail-
lion of quintals.

I regard the views of M. D. L. Rodet, of Paris, as far more accu-
rate. He states that, ''without her colonics,'^ the cod-fishery would "ic-
coine nearhj extinct f that these colonies "owZy consume annually eighty
thousand quintals;''^ that foreign nations ''scarcely take a fijih^^ of the
catch; and that "it is by submitting to the exorbitant duties, which at

28

any momrnt may be changed into prohil^ition, that the precnrious and
ttirting market in Spain is retained." A very large proporlion, then,
of the produce of the cod-fishery is consumed in France; and it is a
sufficient refutation of the estimate of the Engfish colonists to say that
the quantity remaining after deducting the exports, as computed by
M. Rodet, is not wanted in that kingdom.

The number of vessels since the peace of 1815 has not exceeded
four hundred, except in the single year of 1829; and, assuming that
the statement in discussion is correct, these vessels employed an average
of sixty men each, or doul)le the number which, as all persons familiar
witli the business well know, is necessary on board as fishermen, or on
shore as "shoiesmen." The same fallacy exists as to the catch; for a
million of quintals lor four hundred vessels is twenty-five hundred
quintals to each, or considerably more than double th(^ mean quantity
caught by the vessels of any fiag in the world. To allow lii)eraUy ft'r
the catch of the "boat fisher}^" and to consid(>r "boat fishermen" as
included in the estimate, 1 cannot think that the figures of the Enghsh
colonial documents are accurate by quite one-half. If further evidence
of "exaggeration be wanted, it may be found in the grave assertions of
the same writers that our own vessels fishing in the waters of British
America are manned with upwards of thirty-seven thousand men, and
catch in a year one and a half miUions of (juintals of fish!

The statements thus refuted are of consequence, as will be seen in
anoth(n- part of" this report.

E([ually exaggerated are the averments that the French and Ameri-
can fisheries, "bolstered up by bounties and prohibitions," have "as
completely swept" the English flag from the Grand Bank of New-
foundland "as if Lord Castlereagh had conceded the exclusive right"
in 1S14, or as if the "combined fleets of France and America had
forced it" to retreat to "the in-shore or boat fishery;" and that the
"French and Americans, having taken possession of the Grand Bank,"
have, by so doing, "extended lines of circumvallation and contravalla-
tion round the island, preventing the ingi-ess or egress of fish to and
from the shore, and, according to the opinions of those best qualified
to judge, greatly injuring the in-shore fishery — the only fishery left to
British subjects, and that only to a portion of the island."

Deferring a full answer to these complaints until the subject of colo-
nial allegations relative to our own aggressions and violations of our
ti-eaty rights are considered in detail, the only answer necessary to be
made here is, simply, that the " ingress" and " egi^ess of fish to and from
the shore " has not entirchj ccastcd, as yet, since the export of codfish from
the English Newfoundland fisluTy amounts to nearly one million of
quintals annually! The lamentations of a people who, though "com-
pletely swept" from their own outer fishing-grounds, still show, by
their own returns of the customs, that they have sold, between 1841 and
1849, both inclusive, a mean qaaiuity of nine hundred and sLi-fij-seven
thou.mnd quintals (to be exact in the statistics) annually, may well excite
a smile.

Th It the charge against the French fidiermen of trespassing upon
the fishing-grounds reserved to British subjects is true, to a considera-
ble degree, may be admitted. Her Majesty's sliips-of-war have some-

29

times found them aggressors, not only at Ncwffjnncllanci, but on tlie
coast of Labrador. Troubles ii-om this source occurred in 1842; and
in the following year the British sloop-of-war Electra, in endeavoring
to drive off a vessel fishing on the southwesterly shore of Newfound-
land, unfortunately killed one man and wounded otliers on board of
her. It appears that the Electra was on the station for the purpose of
enforcing the treaty stipulations ; that one of her boats gave chase to
the French vessel, and, not being able to come up with her, fired across
her bows for the purpose of bringing her to; that, not having accom-
plished this object, another shot was fired over her, which, proving as
ineffectual as the first, was followed, by order of the officer in charge,
by a shot aimed directly on board, and producing the results mentioned.
The affair created much excitement at the moment. A french frigate
arrived at the capital to demand explanations, and the governor of
Newfoundland immediately sent a despatch to the ministry "at home,"
stating the facts of the case. The offence, in this instance, consisted
merely in taking bait on the shore not within the limits prescribed for
vessels of the French flag b}-- the treaties of 1713 and of 17S3. The
officer in command of the Electra's boat is said, by the colonists, to
have acted in accordance with the rules of the service; but .a contrary
opinion was expressed by the French.*

The "Buhow" system of fishing is clearly in violation of treaty
stipulations. Prior to the peace of IS 15, there is good reason to beheve
that botii French and English fished from the decks of their v(^ssels,
without coming to anchor, and without lines moored with several thou-
sand baited hooks attached thereto, as at present. There is much dif^
ference of opinion as to the degree of injury to the shore, or English
fishery, on this account; but since the question is one to be settled
entirely by the "declaration" in 1783 — namely, that "the method of

* The French fishennen suffered much at the hands of the British officers who guarded the
coasts hi \Sb2. A cohmial newspaper contained the following account :

" It appears that the Charles, under the coiuniaud of James Tobin, esq., commissioner of
fisheries, has been doing service at Belleisle, where, on the '29th idtimo, there were about one
hundred French fishennen, with about thirty batteaux, who were just commencing thtur an-
nual invasion of British rights. Mr. Tobin immediately ran down to H. M. bri«i! Sappho to ob-
tain help, as James Finlay had not then arrived with his crew. His messenger had to travel
seven miles over land on the night of that day, and by half-past eleven of the same night re-
turned with an intimation from Capt. Cochran that he would laud the required force by, day-
light on the following day in Black Joe Cove, whither Mr. Tobin then proceeded with the
Charles, and found that the Frenchmen had been already routed by the men of the Sappho,
and were running in their batteaux under reefed foresail and mainsail — the wind bk>^ving half
a gale at the time. The Charles escorted them round the island of Belleisle, and then left
them, without one fish, to make the best of their way in a pelting storm to Quirpou."

Near the close of the season, another colonial newspaper stated that —

" The Vigilance brig-of-war vessel, on the coast of Newfoundland, has damaged the French
fisheries very much. Fifty vessels of the fleet in the straits of Belleisle will I'eturn home, having
eighty thousand quintals short of last year's catch."

These proceedings, it would seem, were authorized by the ministry, under the general plan
adopted in 1852 to prevent encroachments on the fishing-grounds. Admiral Seymour, in a
letter to the governor of Newfoundland, remarks that —

"Her Majesty's goverament are so desirous that ample means should be given to check the
numerous encroachments which have been represented to have taken place in the last years at
Belleisle and the coast of Labrador, that I am further authorized to hire and employ some
small schooners, for which I am to provide officers and men, for the purjiose of carrying the
object of her Majesty's government fully into effect on the coast of Labrador, under the direc
tiou of the captain of tho ship or steamer there employed."

30

carrylnc: on the fishery which has at all times been acknowledged shall
be the plan upon which the fishery shall be carried on there," and that
*'it shall not be deviated fi-om by either party,-' — there need be no
inquiry into any other matter. The ''plan" of the "Bultow" had not
*'«f all times been, •acknovovcdgcd'^ in 1783, and it is therefore an aggres-
sion.

The last com.plaint of the English colonists which I shall notice is,
that "the exclusive right of fishing exercised by the French from Cape
Ray to Cape John is a usurpation." The "declaration" just referred
to was fi-amed expressly that "the fishermen of the tv^^o nations may
not give cause for daily quarrels ;" and different fishing-grounds were
assigned to each, to accomplish an object so desirable to both. More-
over, the British ministry engaged to remove "the fixed settlements"
of their own people within the limits prescribed to the French, and
actually issued orders for the purpose soon after the conclusion of the
treaty. The intention was, I cannot doubt, that vessels of the two
flags should never pursue the cod on the same coasts ; and unless the
words quoted convey this meaning, they mean nothing. The expe-
rience of more than a century had shown that, under any other arrange-
ment, "daily quarrels" would be inevitable. [ submit, with deference,
that the interest of all parties imperatively requires that people of dif-
ferent origin, language, and religion, and of national prejudices almost
invincible, should be kepi apart.

The French government wisely protect their fisheries by bounties —
wisely consider them of national importance.* Without its aid, they

*[TKANSLAriON.3

The National Assembly of France has passed a law of the following tenor relative to the
great inaritiine fisheries. — June 24th, yth and 22d July, 1851.

Cap. I. — CoD-FisBERY,

Fi-om tJie 1st January, 1852, to the 30th June, 1861, the bounties granted for the encourage
ment of the cod-lishery will be fixed as follows:

1st. — Boaittg om. the outfit —

Fifty francs p'r ni.'in t>f tlie crew employed at the fishery, either on the coast of Newfound-
land, at yt. Peter's and Miquelon, or on the Grand Bank, and possessing a dryiug-place.

Fifty francs per man of the crew employed in the Iceland fishery, without a drying-place.

Thirty francs per man of the crew employed at the fishery on the Grand Bank of Newfound-
land, and w itliont a drytug-place.

FiftccN francs per man of the crew employed at the Dogger Bank fishery.

2d. — IloKtittf an tlw. prodiire of the fislimj —

Twenty francs jvjr metric quintal of ary codfish, the produce of the French fishery, to be
8hii)p«'(l, fitlicr (lin'ct from the fishing settlements or from tlie p<(rtK of France, for the markets
of tlte French ccWouies <ff America and India, or for the settlements on the west coast of
Africa, and other transatlantic countries — provided, always, that the fish be landed at a ])oix
where there is a French consul.

Sixtetftt francs per metric quintal of dry codfish, the produce of the French fishery, shipped
cither direct from the fishing settlement's or from the ports of France, and destined for the
cftuntries of Europe and the foreign states on the shores of the Mediterranean, Sardinia and
Algeria being excepted.

fcjixteen francs per metric quintal of dry codfish, the produce of the French fisherj', tliat
may be inip<»rfed into the French colonies of America and India, and other transatlantic conn-
trii's, when s;iid fish are exported from the ports of France without having been there landed.

Twelve francs per metric quintal of dry codfish, the produce of the French fishery, shipped
for Sardinia and Algeria, ttithcr direct from the fishing settlements or from the poits of France.

Twenty francs per metric quintal of the hard roe of codfish, the produce of the French fish-
ery, brought into France by their fishing-vessels*

Note.—Ow kilogramme is equal to 2 lbs. 'i^ oz. ; 830^ lbs. equal io 1 quintal metrique,
(say metric quiutal.)

admit that "the cod-fishery could not exist." This fishery, says M.
Senac, "is a productive industry; and it furnishes more than ajifth juirt
of the whole tiumbcr of our seamen, and bij far the best 'portion of them.
There is no cheaper, better, or more nscftd school for the formation of seamen
for the navy, and none is more cajiable of cxtensioji and development. The
doubling of the consumption and exportation of the produce of the fisheries
would Jurnisli our fleets ivith twelve thousand more seamen.^''

We have seen that Avhen, in 1778, France embarked in our revohi-
tionary struggle, her fishermen, absent at Newfoundland, were recalled
to enter her ships-of-war. The same reliance is placed upon them
now. War was apprehended in 1841, and M. Thiers tbllowed the ex-
ample of the statesmen referred to; and M. Rodet affirmed that,
"without the resources which were found in the sailors engaged in the fish'
erics, the expedition to Algiers cot/M not have taken placed

These reasons are not only sufficient to justify, but to demand,
national encouragement. But it may be urged, in addition, that the
open or deep-sea cod-fishery differs from almost every other employ-
ment; that in war it is nearly or quite destroyed; that in peace it
cannot be pursued for more than four or five months in a year; that
often skill and industry are insufficient to insure good fares; and that,
wlien success attends severe toil and exposure, the fishermen barely
subsist. The effects of a "bad catch" are, indeed, sad and calamitous.
The disasters of 1847 afford a recent and a forcible illustration. In
that 3'ear the French cod-fishery proved a failure. The quantity offish
caught was scarcely a sixth part of that of former seasons; and the
fishermen, discouraged, abandoned the business as early as the middle
of August. The labor of the summer and the expenses of repairs and
of outfits lost, the actual want of food and clothing until another 3-ear
came round was alone prevented by the bounty allowed by the gov-
ernment.

The manner of fishing is now the only topic that need claim atten-
tion. It is to be observed that the principal fishing-grounds are three,
and that on each there is a difference in the mode of operations and in
the size of the vessels. First, the fishery on the coasts of Newfound-
land, which has always been considered the most important, as being
more certain and employing the greatest number of men. The
vessels are of all sizes — from thirty to two hundred, and even three
hundred tons. The latter size is, however, rare. When the vessel
arrives on the coast, which is generally early in June, ,she is dis-
mantled. Her boats, with two men and a boy in each, are sent out
every morning, when the weather will permit, to fish until night. On
the return in the evening, the fish taken are split, salted, and put in
"A-c«fAes" or piles; remaining in piles a few days, they are "washed
out" and dried until they are fit to ship. These processes are re-
peated from day to day until the fare is completed, or the season has
passed away. Towards the close of September, fishing is suspended,
and the vessels depart for France or the West Indies.

The Grand Bank fishery is pursued in vessels of between one and
two hundred tons burden, with two strong chaloupes, or boats, to each.
From sixteen to twenty men compose a. crew. The vessels proceed
first to St. Pierre, land the shore-fishermen and "curers," and thence

32

take position on the bnnks, anchoring in seventy or eighty fathoms of
water. Everything in readiness the chalonpes arc launched and sent
tmi at night to place the "ground-lines," to which are attached some
lour or live thousand hooks. When not too Ijoisterous, the.se lines are
examined every day, and the fish attached to the hooks split, salted, and
placed in the hold of the vessel. Meanwhile, the fish caught on board
bv the men not assigned to the boats are treated in the same way.
Tiie first fare is usual!}' secured in June, and carried to St. Pierre to
be dried. The second fare is cured at the same place; but the third —
if fintunately there be another — is commonly carried to France "green."

This fi^shing is difficult and dangerous. It requires expert and dfiring
men. It is prosecuted in an open, rough, and often a stormy sea, and
fre(iucntly involves the loss of boats and their crews.

The third fishcny, at St. Pierre and ^Nlicpielon, is similar, in some re-
spects, to that between Cape Ray and Cape John, on tlie coast of
Newfoundland. Boats, instead of vessels, are, however, employed in
it. The boats of the two islands are between three and four hundred
in number, and require two men to each. They go out in the morning
and return at night. Thus, as in all shore-fisheries, the fishermen always
sleep at their own homes. As this is the only business of the islands
nearly all the men, women, and children are engaged in catching or
curing. The season opens in April, and closes usually in October.

We have seen the importance attached by France to her immense
American domains and with what pertinacity she maintained her pre-
tensions to the monopol}^ of the fishing-grounds. It remains to speak
more particularly than has yet been done of the two lone, bare, and
rocky islands that remain to her as monuments of the vicissitudes of
hum:ni c(jndition and of national humiliation.

The situation of St. Pien-e and Miquelon commands the entrance of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The growth of wood is insufficient even
for fuel. They produce no food, and the inhabitants are dependent on
France and other countries fjr supplies. The population of St. Pierre
in 1847 was 2,030, of which about one-quarter was "lioatlng" or
non-resident. The population of ^licpielon at the same time was 625.

There are several Catholic churclies and schools, priests, monks,
and nuns. In 1848, a hospital, sufficiently commodious to receive up-
wards of one hundred sick ])ei-sons, was erected. The dwellings are
of wooch The government-house is of the same material, and plain and
old-fashioned. The streets are narrow, short, and dirty. The official
personages arc a governor, a, commissary or minister oi" mnnno, a har-
bor-master, and some inferior fimctionaries. The military, limited by
treaty to fifty men, consist of about thirty gens d'armes. Upon the sta-
tion is a single armed ship, though other armed vessels are occasional
visiters. The present light-house was erected in 1845, at a cost of
80,000 francs, and, well built of brick, is a substantial edifice.

Such are the two islands — two leagues in extent — which remain
to the power that once possessed the whole country bcjrdering on the Mis-
sissippi, the limitless regions penetrated by the St. Lawrence — Acadia,
from Canseau, in Nova Scotia,, 1o the Kenncbcck river, in Maine; the
island of Cape Breton; and the hundred othier isles of the bays of the
northern and eastern possessions.

33

French cod-Jishery.

Years.

No. of

Tessels.

Tonnage.

Number of
men.

Quintals of
fisii.

Value.

1504

1597

12
1.50
150

100
400
564
100
259
264

1577

1578

1615

1721

1744

27,500

1,441,500

1745

1768

24, 420
24, 996

9,722

10, 128

15, 137

7,000

6,000

8,108

3,655

6,672

6,311

7,088

8,238

7,957

9,428

8,174

6,243

10, 000

10, 000

200, 000

$861, 723

1773

1774 .

1786

426, 400

128, 590

1787

1816

30, 954
16,2.58
36, 999
35, 172
38,938
44,868
45, 094
50, 574
45, 036
35, 180

184
348
336
341
387
381
414
377
302

1824

1826

1828

1830

300, 000

1833

1835

300, 000

54, 995

11,499
11,900

1841

400
400

1847

12, 000

450, 000

COD-FISHERY OF SPAIN.

Participating in the excitement which prevailed in Europe on the
discovery in the American seas of varieties of fish not previously known
or used in the fasts of the Roman church, Spain was an early competi-
tor with France and England. Vessels of her flag were certainly at
Newfoundland as soon as the year 1517. Sixty years later, the num-
ber of her vessels employed in the fishery there is estimated at one
hundred. The number rapidly diminished. Sylvester Wyat, of Bris-
tol, England, who made a voyage to the St. Lawrence and Newfound-
land in 1593, found only eight Spanish ships in a fleet of upwards
of eighty sail of French and English vessels. From the remarks of
Smith — who became the father of Virginia — it would seem that in the
early part of the seventeenth century, the Spanish fishery was pursued
with greater vigor than at the time last mentioned. But the greater
wealth to be acquired in the gold regions of South America soon lured
the Spaniards from an avocation of so great toil, and of so uncertain
rewards. No controversy between Spain and England as to their re-
spective rights to the fishing grounds, ever arose.
3

34

Spain retired from our waters in peace, and at her own pleasure.
Little is heard of her in connexion with our subject for quite a century,
and until the peace of 1763. Her ckum — resting on discovery — ever
VMgue and uncertain at the north, had become almost as obsolete as
that of the King of England to the title of King of P'rance. Still, in the
definitive treaty concluded at Paris, she formally renounced " all pre-
tensions which she has heretofore formed, or might form, to Nova
Scotia or Acadia, in all its parts, and guaranties the whole of it, and
with all its dependencies," and ceded and guarantied to England, " in
full right, Canada, with all its dependencies, as well as the island of
Cape lireton, and all other islands and coasts in the gulf and river of
St. Lawrence; and, in general, everything that depends on the said
countries, lands, islands, and coasts, with the sovereignty, property,
possession, and all rights acquired by treaty or otherwise." With this
treaty the history of the Spanish fishery in America terminates.*

COD-FISHERY OF PORTUGAL.

An account of this fishery may be embraced in a single paragi^aph.
If materials exist by which to ascertain its progress and final extent, I
have not been able to find them.

Portuguese vessels were at Newfoundland as early as those of Spain;
and in 1577, the number employed there is estimated at fift^^ These
two facts comprise the substance of my information upon the subject,
except that Portugal, like Spain, soon abandoned all attention to the
claims derived from the voyages of her navigators to the northern parts
of our continent, and devoted her energies and resources to colonization
in South America, and the acquisition of wealth in the mines of Brazil.t

* Spain relinquished her rights at the peace of 1763, with rehictance, though she had long
ceased to exercise them. A letter of Sir Joseph Yorke is quoted in the correspondence of
Horace Wulpole, in which it is said: "By what I hear from Paris, my old acquaintance, Gri-
maldi, is the cause of the delay in signing the preliminaries, insisting upon points neither Francs
nor England would ever consent to grant, such as the liberty of fishing at Newfoundland ; a
point we should not dare to yield, as Mr. Pitt told them, though they were masters of the Tower
of London."

t The rivers and coasts of Portugal abound in fish. But the fisheries are neglected by the
government. The whole number of sailors and fishermen who belonged to the kingdom in
1826, was only 18,700. I find in an official document a statement which shows that during the
twewty-four years ending in 1825, the quantity of dry codfish imported into Portugal was seven
milliou five hinidred and twenty thousand quintals, of the value of more than tliirty-nine
millioius of dollars! As late as the year 1831), certainly, the govennnent pursued the ]i(ilicy of
levying a tax or duty on the produce of the domestic or coast fishery; a Ikct which enables us
to account for the miserable condition of the kingdom, as regards its maritime strength and
leeomces^

35

PART II.

NEWFOUNDLAND— NOVA SCOTIA— CAPE BRETON— PRINCE EDWARD I&lr-
AND— MAGDALENE ISLANDS— BAY OF CHALEUKS— LABK.U)OK— KEW
BRUNSWICK.

ENGLISH COD-FISHERY NEWFOUNDLAND.

Newfoundland is the oldest colony of England in America. It is
said that in the public libfary of Venice there is a map, constructed by
Andrea Bianco, in 1436, which authorizes the conjecture that it was
known to fishermen before the voyage of Cabot, in 1497. The story,
to state its substance in a word, is, that the island ScornJiTa, or Stoxa-
Jixa, on the map, and the island of Newfoundland, are identical, be-
cause the codfish is called stock-Jish in the northern languages.

The English resorted to Iceland* for the cod, previous to the year

* The Icelanders, at the present time, derive their chief subsistence and profit from the sea.
They live principally on the shores and harbors, where fish are plentiful. The fishing season com-
mences in Februaiy, and closes in May. The fishermen wear a dress of leather, rubbed over
with train-oil until it is nearly impervious to water. They fish with line and hooks, baited
with shell-fish, or pieces of flesh. They have lately become acquainted with nets, and use
them in the herring fishery. When they leave the shore they take oft' their hats, and oSer up
a petition for success, and recommend themselves to the Divine protection in a prayer or
hymn. They then row to the fishing grounds, and continue there all day. In 1804 the total
number of boats employed was twenty-one hundred and sixty-three, namely : 208, with eight
and ten oars; 1,068, with four and six oars; and 887 of smaller size. Bessestaar is the seat
ef a good academy, with a collection (in 1826) of fifteen hundred volumes, which, says Malte
Brun, " is no doubt the most northern library in the world." Iceland, he observes, " produces
no salt ; but the water of the surrounding sea is fully as saline as that of the Mediterranean.
The salt which the Icelanders obtain from it gives a bluish tint to fish."

Reikiavik, according to another writer, was selected as the seat of goverament " for the con-
venience of its harbor, and for the gravel beach — a thing of rare occurrence in Iceland." The
exports of fish from Reikiavik, in 1806, were much larger than from any other place.

Tke Dutch cod-fishery is of importance.

[Translation.]
STATE PAPER OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS.

No. 13. — Act of 6th March, 1818, for the encouragement of the Iceland cod-Jishery.

We, William, by the grace of God King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange Nassau, Grand

Duke of Luxembourg, &c.

Be it known to all those who shall see these presents, or hear them read, greeting:

Considering that the little, or Iceland, cod-fishery has been continually supported and en-
couraged by premiums out of the public treasury in behalf of those who carry on this branch
of industry, so important to the prosperity of the country ;

And that the reasons which, in former times, pleaded for the allowance of those premiums,
have still, at the present time, their full force and weight :

We have therefore heard our council of state, and, with the advice of the States General,
do hereby decree and direct :

Article I. There shall be paid out of the public treasury a premium of five hundred guild
ers for every voyage of each ship, which, for account of our subjects, is fitted out in this
kingdom, and shall sail from one of its poits during the years 1818, 1819, and 1820, for Iceland
to carry on the little fishery — that is, the cod-fishery — between the sixty fifth and sixty-sevent
degrees of north latitude.

36

1415, but there is no account ol their fisliing at Newfoundland prior to
1517. Some writers suggest that the French commenced at the same
time. But the fact, generally admitted, that ships from England,
France, Spain, and Portugal, to the number of fift}^ were employed in
15 17, is alone sufficient to sliow that the fishing grounds had been visited
for several years. Indeed, to consider that the French went to New-
foundland ibr the first time in 1504, and that in thirteen j'ears, and in
the infancy of distant and perilous voyages, their adventures had at-
tracted the attention of three other nations to the extent just stated, is
to allow an increase of flags and of vessels so rapid as to still require
explanation, without a knowledge of the fishing enthusiasm of the pe-
riod. Besides, some forty or fifty houses for the accommodation of fish-
ermen were built at Newfoundland as early as 1522.

A letter is preserved in the Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, written by
John Rut to Henry the Eighth, and dated at St. John, Newfoundland,
August 3, 1527, which seemingly warrants the conclusion that the Eng-
lish fishery, at that time, was of little consequence, since he states that
he found "eleven saile of Normans, and one Brittaine, and two Portu-
gal! barkes" in that harbor, but makes mention of no others, and pro-
poses to sail along the coast to "meete" the only vessel of liis own flag
known by him to be in that region.

An eflbrt to found a colony was made, however, in 1536, under the
auspices and at the expense of Mr. Hore, a wealthy merchant of Lon-
don. A company of one hundred and twenty persons was formed, of
whom thirty were gentlemen of education and character. They ar-
rived at Newfoundland, but accomplished nothing. Many perished of
starvation. The survivors fed on the bodies of the dead, and finally
reached England.

Twelve years later, we find that the fishery was considered of great
national importance, and worthy of legislative encouragement. Thus,
an act was passed by Parliament imposing severe penalties on persons
eating flesh on fish-da3's. The punishment for the first offence was a
fine of ten shillings, ten days' imprisonment, and abstinence from meat
during the same time; while for the second, these inflictions were
doubled. The sick and aged, to whom flesh was necessary, were ex-
empted on obtaining licenses from the ecclesiastical authorities.*

Another act, of 154S, and remarkable as the first of England which

Art. II. In cases where particular circumstances have occurred during the voyage, we re-
Bcrve to ourselves the regulation of the premium in such a manner as those circumstances
may deeui to re(iuire.

We order aiul (•(/iiiinaud that the present shall bo inserted in the State paper, and that all
ministerial depariiaents and autlioritios, colleges aud officers, are charged with the due execu-
tion of these presents.

Given in Gravenhague, (Hague,) the 6th March, in the year 1818, in the fifth of our reign.

William.
By the King: A. R. Falk.

* A license to eat meat on fish-days is too great a curiosity, in our time, to be omitted. The
following is a copy of one, granted in tlie reign of James the First, of England:

" Whereas Mr. Kichard Vcnnig, of Okehounie St. George, in the coiintye of Wiltes, Es-
quire, is a (ient. of good age, sul)ject to many sicknesses, diverse infirmities, aud in bodye of
a very weak constitution, and hath with him in his house his motht-r, Mris. Anu Young,
widowe, a tient. of great age (above four score) very sicklye, foeblo, aud subject to diuer.se
maladies, uud having others in his house sicke, aud have long bine, to whom Jish, by reason of

37

relates to America, had special reference to Newfoundland, and to the
abuses that existed there. Its preamble is quaint. "Forasmuch," it
commences, "as within these fewyeeres now last past there have bene
levied, perceived, and taken by certain officers of the admiraltie, of
such marchants and fishermen as have used and practised the adven-
tures and journeys into Iceland, Newfoundldud, Ireland, and other
places commodious for fishing, and the getting of fish, in and upon the
seas and otherwise, by wey of marchants in those partees, divers great
exactions, as summes of money, doles or shares of fish, and such other
like things, to the great discouragement and hindrance of the same
marchants and fishermen, and to no little dammage of the whole com-
monwealth, and thereof also great complaints have bene made, and in-
formations also yerely to the King's Majesties most honorable councell;
for reformation whereof," &c., &c. From this period, and in conse-
quence of the measures adopted, rewards to officers of the government
were discontinued, and the Newfoundland fishery became entirely free
to every inhabitant of the realm.

It is 'of interest to remark that the foreign trade of England was then
limited to the Flemish towns, and to the fishing grounds. To extend
commerce by still further encouragement to the branch of industry be-
fore us, a curious act of Parliament was passed in 15G3, which provided
''''that as ivell for the mahitenance of shijiping, the increase cf fishermen and
marities, and the repairing of port-towns, as for the spariiig of the fresh
victual of the realm, it shall not be lawful for any one to eat flesh on. Wed-
nesdays and Saturdays,* unless under the forfeiture of £'3 for each offence,
excepting in cases of sickness and those of special licenses to he obtained.^^
For these hcenses peers were required to pay about six dollars, knights
and their wives about three dollars, and other persons one dollar and a
half; but neither peer nor commoner could eat beef on the two prohib-
ited days. As will be remembered, this was a sort of transition period
in religion; and, fearing that the act would be considered as popish, it
was provided that "whoever shall, by preaching, teaching, writing, or
open speech, notify that any eating offish, or forbearing of flesh, men-
tioned in this statute, is of any necessity for the serving of the soul of

theire age, sicknesses and diuerse infinnities, is iudged by the skilful (as I am informed) to be
very hurtful! to their bodies, and likelye to breede and bring diuerse diseases and sicknesses
upon them : They therefore haue requeste me, theire minister, the promises cfinsidered, to
give and grant them license, this time of Lent, to eate flesh, for the better avoidinge of sick-
nesses and diseases which, by their absteyning fro flesh, might growe uppon them: Know ye,
tiierefore, that I Adam Blythe, Mr. of Arts and of Okebourue aforesaid, Viccar, duelye con-
sidering this theire so lawfuU request, and tendering the helth and wellflire of the said Mr.
Richard Young and Mris. Ann Young, his naturall and aged mother, have given and granted,
and by these presents do give and grant to the said Mr. Richard Young and Mris. Ann Young,
and to ftbure persons more, leave, power and license, (so farr as in me lieth, and by lawe safely
I may without danger, and no farther) to dresse or cause to be dressed, for them to eate, flesh
this time of Lent nowe following, pi'ohibitinge neiier the lesse, and by this ffrant forbidding them,
all manner of shamble meates iphatsoevcr. In witness whereof, to this i)resent license I have
put to my hand and seale. Dated and given at my house in Okebourne aforesaid, fiebruary
this xiiithe, 1618.

By me, Adam Blythe, the Viccar ibid."

* Palgrave, in his History of the Anglo-Saxons, observes of the origin of the names of the
days of the week iu the Saxon mythology, that " Lastly came Saeter, from whom Saturday is
named. He was represented as standing upon a fish, and he held a bucket iu his hand, so
that he appears to have been a water deity." — London ed., p. 53.

38

man, or tlint it is the service of God otherwise than as other politic laws
are and be, then such persons shall be punished as spreaders of false
news ought to be." Such were the means adopted to increase "ship-
pins:" in the infancy of English navigation.

These laws were speedily followed by others. In 1571, fishermen of
the realm were permitted to export sea-fish free of the customs ; while
the same year, and by another act, foreign fishermen anchoring on the
English coast, or interfering in waters where nets were used, were
liable to seizure and confiscation.

Meantime the Newfoundland fishery was prosecuted with great vigor.
The number of vessels employed in it, of various flags, is estimated at
three hundred and fifty or four hundred. The ships of France and
Spain, in 1577, were much more numerous than those of England, for
the reason, as is stated, that the English merchants still sent a part of
their vessels to Iceland. It appears, however, that the English ships
were the best; that they gave protection to those of other nations, and
exacted tribute or payment for the service. The whole commercial
marine consisted of only 1,232 vessels in 15S2, of which 217 were
upwards of 80 tons. To assume that the fifty then visiting Newlbund-
iand were of the latter class, is to state that nearly one quarter part of
the navigation of England, suitable for distant voyages, was employed
in fishing.

In 15S3 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, under the first charter that passed
the o^reat seal of Eno^land for colonization in America, amved at New-
foundland. He found thirt3''-six vessels in the harbor of St. John of
different nations, and was refused entrance; but on hearing that he
.had a commission from Queen EHzabeth, they submitted.

He took possession of the island with great pomp and ceremony,
and granted lands and privileges to fishermen in fee, on condition of
the payment of quit-rent. It is important to remark that the right of
England to Newfoundland and its fishing-grounds rests on the dis-
covery of Cabot, in 1497, and on the possession of Gilbert at this time.

Sir Humphrey was accompanied by smiths, shipwrights, masons,
carpenters, "mineral men," and refiners, and, to win the savages, toys,
.such as morris-dancers and hobby-horses, were provided in ample
quantities. The crews of his vessels, and, indeed, some of the arti-
sans, were desperate men. The seamen on board of his own ship,
the Swallow, were, it is said, chiefly pirates. Poorly clad, and falling
in with a French vessel returning fiom the fi^^hing-ground, they de-
termined to rob her to supply their wants. They not only executed
their purpose, by stripping their victims of their clothing and of articles
of food, but, by winding cords round their heads, produced such ex-
quisite torture as to extort the surrender of their most hidden stores.

After a short tarry at Newfoundland, Sir Humphrey sailed for Eng-
land. On the passage his vessel encountered a learful gale, and he
and all on board perished. He deserves honorable mention in our
annals. He was the first great projector of an American colony, and
a virtuous and enlightened man, and impoverislied himself and injured
his friends, and finaUy lost his life, in his endeavors to plant the Anglo
Saxon race in the western hemisplien^

Assuming full title to the island and tlie fisheries, the English seem.

39

for the moment, to have attempted to exclude the vessels of other na-
tions, or, at least, to have compelled an acknowledgment of subjection
to them as vested with proprietary rights. We find that, in 1585, a
fleet of ships under Sir Bernard Drake made prizes of several vessels
laden with fish and furs, which he sent to England.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert's voyage, disastrous as it was to himself and
lo others, v\^as still the direct means of exciting the attention of his
countrymen to adventures, which, by virtue of his patent, could be
made under the protection of the crown, as to a British possession. I
hicline to believe that the Newfoundland fishery had never yet become
the favorite of the English merchants.

By the statute-book there were one hundred and fifty-three days in
a year on which British subjects were required to abstain from flesh,
and to eat fish, and the demand for the products of the sea was, of
course, immense. But the Iceland fishery was still prosecuted ; and,
that her people might not be molested there, Queen Elizabeth conde-
scended to ask the forbearance and protection of Chistian IV of Den-
mark, who claimed the Iceland seas as his own.

The observance of the interdictions as to flesh on fish-days was
deemed of great moment, and among the tracts of the time was one
by John Erswick, who demonstrated the "benefits that grow to this
realm," by reason thereof, in terms that show he was a devoted parti-
san of the "fishmongers."

The progress of the Newfoundland fishery during the ten years end-
ing in 1593 was rapid beyond example, and Sir Walter Raleigh de-
clared in the House of Commons that it was the stay and support of
the west counties of England. Yet it was subject to interruptions.
An example occurs in the case of Charles Leigh, a merchant of Lon-
don, who, in 1597, made a voyage with two vessels, and who, while
on the American coast, was assailed by the crews of French vessels,
to the number of two hundred, who, landing pieces of ordnance, kept
up a discharge of shot until a parley was held and the difl&culty ad-
justed.

As the sixteenth century closes, we record the commencement of
hostile relations between the fishermen and the red Indians of New-
foundland.

These Indians derived their food principally from the sea. The
Europeans, in the course of their merciless warfare against them, de-
stroyed their canoes, their nets, and their villages. The Indians en-
deavored to maintain their rights of fishing, and bravely contended with
their opponents, until resistance was vain. The fish they required for
consumption could not, in the very nature of things, have diminished
the catch of their cruel rivals. Driven almost entu-ely from the sea,
finally, and unjustly deprived of all means of support, they were com-
pelled to plunder food to save themselves from starvation. Watched
and waylaid by their foes, they were shot down whenever they came
near any of the European fishing stations. In truth, whenever and
wherever they were found, and whether resisting, or imploring for food,
they were slain as men slay beasts of prey. Men, women, and chil-
dren were slaughtered without discrimination ; and even those who
were too weak to raise the hand of supplication, were not spared. In

40

a word, the natives of Newfoundland were exterminated b}' deeds as
disgracetul and as damning as any which appear in the deahngs of the
Spaniards with those of Cuba, or South America.

From the fragmentary accounts that have come down to us of the
events connected with our suljjcct, we may conchide that the habits of
the fishermen who visited the American coasts. were loose and immoral.
They could hardly have been otherwise. It was not until late in the
sixteenth century that bibles, or other printed books, were in common
use anywhere, or that the manufacture of writing-paper and time-
pieces was commenced in England ; while gentlemen who could not
write still helped the memory by notches made in sticks, and ate their
food without forks. Chimneys in dwelling-houses were rare; and even
after the accession of Elizabeth, the floor of the presence-chamber of
the royal palace was covered with hay. That, in this state of society,
the humble class of whom I speak were rude, ignorant, lawless, and
wicked, cannot excite surprise.

Our attention is now to be directed to incidents of moment. It is
estimated that two hundred English ships went annually to Newfound-
land about the year 1600, and that they employed, as catchers on
board and as curers on shore, quite ten thousand men and boys. The
vessels commonly left England in March and returned in September ;
the fishermen passing their winters at home, idly spending their sum-
mer's earnings, or " share-money." The prosperous condition of the
fishery was often spoken of in terms like the following : " To come,"
says Sir WiUiam Monson, (writing in 1610,) "to the particulars of augr
mentation of our trade, of our plantations, and our discoveries, because
every man shall have his due therein, I will begin with Newfoundland,
lying upon the main continent of America, which the King of Spain
challenges as first discoverer ; but as we acknowledge the King of
Spain the first right of the west and southwest parts of America, so
we, and all the world, must confess that we were the first who took
possession, for the crown of England, of the north part thereof, and not
above two years' difference betwixt the one and the other. And as the
Spaniards have from that day and year held their possession in the
west, so have we done the like in the north ; and though there is no
respect in comparison of the wealth betwixt the two countries, yet
England may boast that the discovery, from the year aforesaid to this very
day, hath afforded the subject, annually, one hundred and twenty thousand
^pounds, and increased the number of many a good ship, and mariners, as our
western parts can witness by their fishing in Newfoundland.^''

That in the manner of prosecuting the fishery, much time and money
were lost, is obvious to practical men without explanation. To plant a
colony, and thus afford inducements to the fishermen to live perma-
nently near the fishing-grounds, was an object highly desirable to per-
sons of broad and liberal views. The plan, postponed by the untimely
end of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and the attention bestowed upon coloni-
zation in the more genial region of Virginia, by Sir Walter Raleigh, his
kinsman and associate, was now to be renewed.

In 1610, and the year following, two charters were granted for the
purpose. The first, from the rank of several of the patentees, is de-
serving special mention. The merit of the enterprise belongs to Mr.

41

Guy, a merchant of Bristol who pubhshed several pamphlets, and in-
duced a number of commercial men of that city, and several persons of
influence at court, to join him. Among the latter class were the cele-
brated Lord Bacon,* who was then sohcitor general ; Lord Northamp-
ton, keeper of the seals; and Sir Francis Tanfield, chief baron of the
exchequer. The patent states, that "divers" of the king's " subjects
were desirous to plant in the southern and eastern parts of Newfound-
land, whither the subjects of the realm have for upwards of fifty years
been used annually, in no small numbers, to resort to fish," &c. The
patentees, nearly fifty in number, were designated as "The treasurer
and company of adventurers and planters of the citie of London and
Bristol, for the colony and plantation of NeM'foundland." The limits of
their territory were fixed between Capes St. Mary and Bonavista,
comprising that part of the eastern and southern coasts which had been
hitherto the chief seat of the fishery.

The privileges granted were as liberal as could be desired ; the only
reservation being, that all British subjects should be allowed to fish at
will, and free of tax or restraint, on the coasts.

The conception was a grand one, and connects Lord Bacon with our
annals ; but no results, such as were anticipated, followed. Yet, I sup-
pose that Whitbourne, of whom we shall have occasion to speak par-
ticularly, alludes to this colony when he says, "Divers worshipfidl citi-
zens of the city of Bristol have undertaken to plant a large circuit, and
they have maintained a colony of his Majestie's subjects there any time
these five yeares, who have builded there faire houses, and done many
other good services ; who live there very pleasantly ; and they are well
pleased to entertaine, upon fit conditions, such as will be adventurers
with them." Whitbourne also mentions by name in the same paper,
wliich I conclude was written in 1621, the "WorshipfullJohn Slany, of
London, merchant, who is one of the undertakers of the Newfoundland
plantation, and is treasurer unto the patentees of that society, who have
maintained a colony of his Majestie's subjects there above twelve years;"
but I find no other account of Slany or his associates. It appears, too,
tliat another company, having obtained a grant of land at Newfoundland,
sent out a party who wintered there in 1613 ; but soon becoming weary
of their attempts for settlement, they transferred their grant to other ad-
venturers. Among the obstacles to colonization at this period, piracy is
not to be overlooked. Whitbourne fi-equently suffered at the hands
of freebooters, and in 1612 Peter Easton, a noted pirate, with ten
well-appointed ships, made himself complete master of the seas, levied
a general contribution on the vessels employed in fishing and impressed
from those at Concepcion Bay one hundred men for his own fleet.
Pirates continued to harass and plunder the fishermen for several years.

In 1613 we notice the birth of the first child of European parents.
Two years later, Richard Whitbourne, already mentioned, who had
made many voyages to Newfoundland, arrived at that island with a
commission from the admiralty to empannel juries and correct abuses
and disorders among the fishermen on the coast. He summoned a

*Francis Bacon, Baron of Veralura, one of the most remarkable of men, was boni in Lon-
don, in 1561. He was created Lord High Chancellor of England in 1619, and died in 1626.

42

court, nnd heard the complaints of one hundred and seventy masters
of English vessels. The abuses seem to have been flagrant. The
captaiijs had been accustomed to leave their })oats and salt on tlie coast,
hoping to find them at the beginning of the next season, but in many
cases not a vestige remained of either. The bait prepared for the next
day's fishing was li-cqucnith' stolen out of the nets; the forests were
often wantonly set fire to; the large stones used in pressing the fish
were sunk at the mouth of the harbors; and little or no regard was
paid to the Sabbath. Whitbourne's courts and juries were the first,
probably, under the authority of England, in the New World.

Many thousand persons were employed as catchers and curers, and
the fisher}^ was in a flourishing condition. Besides the vessels of foreign
flags we found "then on that coast," says he, " of your Majestie's sub-
jects, two hundred and fifty sail of ships, great and small."* In the
paper from which I have cited he speaks of a settlement of the
"Worship full William Vaughan, of Tawacod, in the county of Car-
marthen, doctor of the civil law," who had "undertaken to plant a
circuit in the Newfoundland," and who " in two severall years had sent
thither divers men and women;" and he adds, that "there are many
other worth}'- persons, adventurers in the said plantations, whose names
"are not herein mentioned;" concluding with an appeal to his country-
men to sustain the colonies of which he had given an account, because
of the "great increase of shipping and mariners, and the emplo3"ment
and enriching of many thousands of poore people which now live charge-
able to the parishioners," and for other reasons.

Leaving here the Newfoundland fishery, for the present, we turn to
adventures on the coast of New England. The Englishman who made
the first direct voyage across the Atlantic was Btutholomew Gosnold,
who explored our shores in 1602, and, catching codfish near the
southern cape of Massachusetts, gave the name which it still bears.
He was followed by the celebrated John Smith in 1614, who took
"forty thousand" fish, which he dried, and "seven thousand" which
he "corned," or pickled, in the waters of Maine, and purchased a large
quantity of furs of the natives. The profits of his voyage were up-
wards of seven thousand dollars.

Four ships from London and four from Plymouth came in 1616.
They obtained full fares, and sold their fish in Spain and the Canaiy
Islands at liigh prices. The number increased rapidl}^ At the time
the I^ilgrims landed at Plymouth the island of Monhegan, in Maine,
had become a noted fishing station. In 1622 no less than thirty-five
ships from London and the west counties of England made profitable
voyages to our shores. "Where in Newfoundland," says Smith, a
common fisherman "shared six or seven pounds," in New England
he "shared fourteen pounds." This was a great difference; and it is
to be remembered that the profit of the merchant who furnished the

* Eichard Mather, who came over to Massachnsetts in 1635, kept a journal of the voyage.
When on the Bank of Newfoundhmd, "on the end of it nearer to New England," he records
seeing "niightj" fishes rolling and tumbling in the waters, twice as long and big as an ox."
He saw, too, "mighty whales spewing u]) water in the air, like tlie smoke of a chimney, and
making the sea about them white and hoary, as is said in Job : of such incredible bigness that
I will never wonder that the body of Jonas could be m the belly of a whale."

43

vessel and the outfit was increased in the same proportion. I may add
that it is of interest to learn from this remark of Smith, and fi'om others
that occur in his pamphlets, that the practice of fitting out vessels " on
shares " — to use a term well known among practical men, still so
common — was introduced more than two centuries a^o.

Abuses far greater than those which had required the correcting
hand of Whitbourne at Newfoundland soon demanded attention. Sir
Ferdinando Gorges and the quaint Hubbard both declare that the
fishermen and others taught the Indians " drunkenness, wickedness,
and lewdness;" that they "abused the Indian women openly," and
were guilty of "other beastly demeanors," to the "overthrow of our
trade and the dishonor of the government." To put an end to these
disorders, and to accomplish other purposes, Sir Ferdinando Gorges's
son Robert was commissioned, in 1G23, to come to New England as
ueutenant general over all the country known by that name. Francis
West, bearing the commission of admiral of the seas, with power to
restrain such ships as came either to fish or trade on the coast withont
license, arrived the same year. Neither were officers of the crown,
but the agents of a private corporation.

King James had granted, three years previously, to forty noblemen,
knights, and gentlemen, the vast domain embraced between the 40th
and 48th degrees of north latitude, and extending from ocean to
ocean. This company, known in popular language as the " Council of
Plymouth," claimed not only the territory within their patent, but the
seas. Assuming that the fishing-grounds from Acadia to the Delaware
were no longer free to British subjects, they asserted exclusive property
in and control over them, and were sustained in their pretensions by
the Kins:.

The controversy which followed the attempt of the council to main-
tain this monstrous claim was fierce and angry in the extreme. The
limits of this report will allow but a brief account of it. It commenced
in 1621, two years before the voyage of West, and was continued for
several years.

Sir Ferdinando Gorges's narrative of the troubles of the council from
this source and others is preserved in the Collections of the Massachu-
setts Historical Society, and contains many interesting statements. He
had been an officer in Queen Elizabeth's navy, and intimately connected
with Mason, who became the gi^antee of New Hampshire, and, with Sir
Walter Raleigh, the father of American colonization, and was as deter-
mined as either of them to leave his name in our annals. He was an
active, indeed the principal, member of the council, and after its disso-
lution, acquired Maine in his own individual right.

The council demanded that every fishing vessel should pay into their
treasury a sum equal to about eighty-three cents the ton, which, the
small size of the vessels of the period considered, amounted to a tribute
probably of more than a huncbed dollars from each English ship that
should come upon our coast. They had made no settlements upon the
land, and the tonnage money to be exacted of the fishermen constituted
the only present source of revenue fi'om their possessions.

The spirit of the English people was roused. The Dutch herring-
fishery was regarded as the " right arm of Holland," and the imagina-

44

tions of Englishmen were filled with dreams ot the fortunes which were
certiiin to be secured from a kindred pursuit in regions where Dutch
busses liad not adventured; and the prochgal act of the King in granting
to favorites of his court the seas which contained the treasures they
coveted caused the most indignant complaints. The House of" Com-
mons, obedient to the popular feeling, insisted upon the abrogation of
the obnoxious monopoly, and that every Englishman should be allowed
to fish at will, without molestation or tribute, within the limits of the
council's patent. During the debate which arose, (a sketch of which
may be found in Barcrott) the patentees were assailed with great bold-
ness. " What," said Sir Edwin Sandys, " shall the English be debarred
fi-om the freedom of the fisheries — a privilege which the French nnd
Dutch enjoy ? It costs the kingdom nothing but labor ; employs ship-
ping ; and furnishes the means of a lucrative commerce with Spain."
"Nay," replied Calvert, "the fishermen hinder the plantations; they
choke the harbors with their ballast, and waste the forests by improvi-
dent use. America is not annexed to the realm ; j^ou have, therefore,
no right to interfere."

The friends of '■^ free fishing''' prevailed in the Commons; but Parlia-
ment was dissolved before a bill embracino: and les-alizins; the fruits of the
triumph could be carried through the forms of legislation. The council,
giving no heed to the clamors of the people, and disregarding the course
of the Commons, sent over West, as we have stated. To enforce the
payment of the tribute, and to drive off" and break up the voyages of
those who refused, were the principal objects of his mission. He found
the fishermen too numerous and too stubborn ; and, accomplishing no-
thing, departed for Virginia, and thence returned to England. His pro-
ceedings and the unyielding disposition manifested by Gorges and other
members of the council, caused a renewal of the clamor, and of tlie de-
mand that the American fishing grounds should be declared free and
open to all the subjects of the realm.

On the meeting of Parliament in 1624, the pretensions of the council
Were again assailed with eloquence and power. Sir Edward Coke,*
Speaker of the Commons, one of the most eminent of English lawyers,
and now in his old age, indignantly demanded the revocation of the
odious restriction. Sir Ferdinando Gorges had been summoned and
was present. "Your patent," — thus was Gorges addressed by Coke
firom the Speaker's chair — " Your patent contains many particulars
contrary to x\m laws and privileges of the subject ; it is a monopoly,
and the ends of private gain are concealed under color of planting a
colony." "Shall none," he said in debate, " shall none visit the sea-
coast for fishing i This is to make a monopoly upon the seas, wliich
wont to be free. If you alone are to pack and dry fish, you attempt a
monopoly of tlie wind and sun."

The Commons i)rcvailed a second time ; but the bill to revoke the
cliarter did not receive the royal assent. Still, the council were for-

*He was born in 1550; he became solicitor general in 1592, and attorney general soon after.
His eondtict in the latter capacity, during the trinls of the Earl of Essex, and the celebrated
Sir Walter Kalcigh, has been severely and justly condemned. Coke, in l(il3, was appoiQt<'d
chief justice of tlie Court of King's Bench. Towards the close of his life, he devoted liiniseif
to the cause of the subject, in opposition to the pretensioas of the crown; he died in 1G34.

45

ever entirely powerless. Though protected by their sovereign, public
sentiment compelled submission; and abandoning their own plans,
they continued to exist as a corporation, merely to make grants of lands
to other companies, and to individual members of their own number.

James bequeathed the quarrel to his son. The ill-fated Charles had
hardly ascended the throne before the Commons passed a bill for the
maintenance and increase of shipping and navigation, and for the lib-
erty of fishing on the coasts of Newfoundland, Virginia, and New
England. This bill was lost in the House of Lords, but the spirit of
the Commons was not repressed. In a strong representation of griev-
ances, which they laid before Charles, they insisted that the restraint
of the subject in the matter of fishing, with all the necessary incidents,
was of national concern and required redress.

This State paper, and their refusal to grant the King a subsidy,
caused the dissolution of Parliament.

It is from this dissolution that we date the disagreements between
Charles and his people, which, in their termination, overturned a
dynasty and carried the monarch to the block. In truth, I am led to
conclude that the question of "free fishing" was the first in the series
of disputes relative to the prerogatives oi" the crown on the one side,
and the rights of the subject on tlie other.

The political consequences of the discussions so briefly considered,
might well claim further attention; but leaving them here, the results
to the fisheries next demand our notice. These, for the moment, were
disastrous in the extreme, since I know of no other explanation to the
fact, that during the five years embraced in the struggle the number
of English fishing- vessels on the whole extent of our coast diminished
much more than one-half, or fi'om four hundred to one hundred and
fifty; while it is certain that in the alarm which prevailed, the mer-
chants who had purchased the island of Monhegan, and had provided
there ample accommodations for the prosecution of their adventures,
sold their property and retired from the business.

Singular to remark, too, that on the immediate coast of New Eng-
gland — and for ships owned or entirely controlled by English merchants
— the right of " free fishing," so earnestly contended for, was of little real
value. Accounts of such ships terminate almost at the very moment
that the right was established, in the manner related.* In another
part of this report, we shall indeed find that single vessels continued

* Governor Bradford, in a letter to the " Council of New England," dated at Plymouth,
June 15, 1627, complains that the English fishermen on the coast " began to leave fishing and
to fall wholly to trading, to the great detriment of" the settlers there, and the " state of
England." In the year following, complaint was made to the coimeil against Thomas Morton,
who " had been often admonished not to trade or truck with the Indians," and against " the
fishing ships, who made it too ordinaiy a practice" to do the same thing, and over whom the
people of Plyiuouth had no control.

In a communication to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the same year, (1623,) it is said that
Englishmen, under " pretence of fishing," sold the natives all manner of anns ; that "from
the greedy covetousness of the fishennen, and their evil example, the like had began to grow
amongst some, who pretend themselves to be planters, though indeed they intend nothing less
but to take opportunity of the time, and provide themselves and begone, and leave others
to quench the fire which they have kindled," &c., »S:c.

The evil seems to have been alanning, since it is further said, that unless the colonists were
protected against these misdeeds, they must " quit the countiy." The assistance of Gorges,
to bring Morton " to answer those whom it may concern," and " likewise that such fishermen
may be called to account," is earnestly entreated.

46

to arrive at, and depart from, particular fishing stations; but these in-
stances do not change the general truth, for most of them were con-
nected with estabhshments occupied by persons who came to settle
and remain in the countr}^ We may conjecture that these merchants
withdrew, because, once interrupted, they would not adventure again;
or because they were satisfied that, in tlie long run, the Newfoundland
fishery W'ould prove the safest and most profitable ; or because some
of them became interested with their countrymen, who, meantime, had
founded the colonies of Ph'mouth, New Hampshire, and Maine, who
had set up fishing-stages at Cape Ann, and were about to undertake
the colonization of Massachusetts on an extensive plan.

The cHsasters, at most, were limited and partial. The benefits were
general, and of vast consequence. HlkI the council succeeded in their
measures the whole course of affairs would have been arrested, and the
settlement of the country postponed indefinitely. Before the dissolution
of the corporation, eight patents of soil and fisheries were granted in
Maine; and the long, expensive, and vexatious quarrels which arose
there between rival patentees, and the claimants under them, prove
conclusively that, had the seas and territory of all New England been
lotted and parcelled out in the same way, our history, for an entire
centur}"^, would have contained little else than accounts of strifes, com-
motions, an^l forcible possessions and ejections.

Several of the patents issued b}' the council previous to 1626 convey,
either by implication or in express terms, to the patentees, the exclusive
right of fishing within their domains; and in their eighth and last, to
Aldworth and Elbridge, two merchants of Bristol, England, doted in
1631, nnd known in Maine as the " Pemaquid patent," this provision
is retained. But grants to individuals to monopolize our seas disappear
ever afterward.

In the charter to Calvert, of Maryland, the freedom of the fisheries is
expressly stipulated. So, too, in the grant to Gorges, the great cham-
pion of monopoly, any subject could fish in Maine, and use the shores.
for purposes of curing and drying.

The patent to Sir Henry Koswell and others, of ^Massachusetts, de-
fines with almost tedious particularity the rights to be enjoyed by all
the inhabitants of the realm in any of the seas, arms of the sea, and
salt-water rivers, as well as those of drying, keeping, and packing fish
on the lands appurtenant.

In like manner the charter of Rhode Island, granted by Charles the
Second, expresses the royal will and pleasure to be that "our loving
subjects, and every one of them," shall "exercise the trade of fishing"
where "they had been accustomed to fish." Even after tlie expulsion
of the Stuarts, and in the second charter of Massachusetts, in the reign
of William and Mary, when our fishing grounds had been open more
than sixty years, the principles asserted by Coke in the House of Com-
mons are as carefully recognised and repeated as he himself could have
desired. In these, and in similar instruments, then, and not in the sta-
tistics of vessels and men at a particular time, we are to seek lor the
fruits of the victory obtained by the sturdy advocates of "free fisliing,
with all its incidents," in America.

We may now pause a moment to discuss a kindred topic, which

47

changes the scene from our seas to those of the mother country. I
refer to the " ship-money," levied by Charles the First, and to Hamp-
den, who won undying fame by resisting its payment. Both are more
intimately connected with our general subject than seems to be com-
monly supposed.

First, it cannot but have been remarked that the acts of Parliament
to "mcrease shipping," by encouragement to the different English
fisheries, are numerous throughout the period embraced in our inquiries.
The end desired was obtained ; and I regard it as historically accurate
to say that the earliest considerable demand for English ships of proper
size and strength to perform long and perilous voyages was for explo-
rations and fishing upon our coasts. At all events, it is certain that
down to the time of Elizabeth the foreign trade of England was in the
control of German merchants, and that there had been no employment
for many or for large ships of the realm.* British navigation in-
creased with the growth of the fisheries. Without the fleets main-
tained at Iceland and Newfoundland there would have been neither
ships nor seamen to execute the plans for the colonization of New Eng-
land, and of other parts of the continent, during the reigns of" James
and Charles.

Yet, wliile the commercial marine gained strength, the royal navy
continued small, and at the accession of James it consisted of but
thuteen vessels.

Charles succeeded to a naval force far too ^veak to cope with the
fleets of his enemies ; and after his breach with the Commons, resorted
lo the fatal levies of " ship-money" to augment it, and for a distinct
object, namely, that of brealdng up the Dutch fisheries on the British
coast. The dispute was of long standing. Complaints against the
aggressions of the industrious Hollanders had been made to Elizabeth,
and to her successor. It was said, indeed, in the time of the 1 itter,
that the Dutch not only engi-ossed the fisheries, but the entire maritime
business of the country ; and James compelled them to pay an annual
tribute for the liberty of catching herring on the coasts of his kingdom.
New disagreements arose, when they were warned off by royal procla-
mation. The Dutch were exasperated. Hugo Grotius appeare'd in
theh defence ; and in his Mare Liberum contended for the freedom of the
seas. Selden, n liis Mare Clansum, is supposed by British writers to
have refuted his arguments, and to have shown by records the first oc-
cupancy of the fishing grounds by the English, and their dominion over
the four seas which surround the British isles, to the utter exclusion of
both Dutch and French; as well as the fact that the Kings of England,
even without the authority of Parliament, had levied large sums to
maintain the sovereignty of these seas.

The Dutch, denying these conclusions, and insisting that the dominion
claimed by the Enghsh extended no further than the friths, bays, and

* In 1485 (reign of Henry VIII) Sir William Cecil, a London merchant, stated that there
were not above four merchant vessels, exceeding one hundred and tweutj' tons burden, belong-
ing to that city; and that " there was not a poit in Europe, having the occupying that London
had, that was so slenderly provided with ships." Other writers assert that at the death of
Queen Elizabeth (1603,) more than a century later, there were only four merchant ships in all
England of more than four hundred tons.

48

shores, still continued their employment in the interdicted waters. The
English required an acknowledgment of their title, and a tribute. Ne-
gotiations to adjust the difficulties between the two nations failed.
Meantime, Charles, by his exactions of " ship-money," annually in-
creased his navy.* At last he was able to lit out a fleet of sixty
sail, and the greatest ever ecjuippcd in England. This formidable ar-
mament, created lor the special purpose of driving the Dutch herring
fishers from the four "narrow seas," as they were called, was sent im-
mediately to perform that service ; and in the success of the enterprise,
th(> Dutch consented to pay a sum equal to about one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars.

Such, I think, are the conclusions to be derived fairly from the state-
ments of Hume, and other writers of English history. Dr. Johnson,
refusing to allow any influence to the religious antipathies that were
awakened in the course of the controversy between the monarch and
his people, sums up the case far more forcibly, and evidently considers
that Charles owed his ruin to his zeal in maintaining the monopoly of
the seas. In his "Introduction to the Political State of Great Britain,"
written in 1756, he says : " The Dutch, grown wealthy and strong,
claimed the right of fishing in the British seas; this claim the King,
who saw the increasing power of the States of Holland, resolved to
contest. But, for this end it was necessaiy to build a fleet, and a fleet
could not be built without expense: he was advised to levy ship-money,
which gave occasion to the civil war, of which the events are too well
known." Thus it appears that the exercise of the prerogative to ex-
clude his subjects from the fishing gi'ounds of his dominions in one hem-
isphere was among the^rs^ ; and that the imposition of taxes, without
authority of Parliament, to forcibly exclude r foreign peojile from those
in the other, was among the last of the offences that sealed the fate of
the unhappy Charles.

We return to the English fishery at Newfoundland. The first inci-
dent that invites our attention is the attempt of Sir George Calvert to
found a colony. Whitbourne says that he undertook "to plant a large
circuit," and that in 1621 he had already sent "a great number of men
and women, with all necessary provisions for them," who were build-
ing houses, clearing land, and preparing "to make salt for the preserv-
ing of fish another yeare." His grant was for a considerable ti'act,
embracing the coast from Cape St. Mary to the Bay of Bulls. He
called his plantation " Avalon." His expenditures were very large for
the time, amounting to nearly one hundred and twenty-five thousand
dollars. Sir George resided in person at "Avalon" for some time, it
is said, and endeavored to succeed where others hud failed. But the
difficulties he encountered were numerous. His riohts became im-
paired by the determined course of the Commons in asserting the free-
dom of the fisheries; and the soil and climate did not meet his ex-
pectations.

More than all, the French menaced the destruction of his property,

* It was said by the merchants of England in 1627, that "within throe years they had lort
all tlu'ir Rliippiiig ; thnt the Jisliermrn vrrr lal;en almost in their very harbors, and tU;it they
vvonld nut iittcniiif, tlit3 building of now sliips, beeause, as soon as thoy were ready, the Kiflg
[Charles the Firt^t] seized them for his own use, aguiust the will of the owners," &.C.

49

and required the mnnning of ships, at his own expense, to protect his
private interests, and the defenceless English fishermen on the coast.
ReHnquishing, finally, his plantation at Newfoundland, he turned his
thoughts to more hospitable regions, and, as Lord Baltimore, became the
father of Maryland.

Of all who sought our shores to acquire power and princely estates,
to escape persecution, or to give a home and shelter to the v/eary and
-Stricken, not one — wiiether Puritan, Episcopalian, or Quaker — was ac-
tuated by a spirit more hberal, or has left a better name, than George
Calvert,' the Catbolic*

Remarking that Winthrop records in his journal (1G47) the cccurrence
of a huiricane at Newfoundland, which wrecked many ships and boats,
and destroyed quantities offish, we come to the time of Charles the Sec-
ond. That monarch, after the restoration. In 1660, issued a long proc-
lamation fov the strict observance of Lent, assigning, as one reason there-
for, "the good it produces in the employment of fishermen." Still fur-
ther to encourage tliis branch of industry, Parliament passed on act the
same year remitting the dut}^ on salt used in curing fish, and exempting
the materials required in the fisheries from customs and excise. Three
years later, the New^foundland fishery was specially protected by an
entire exemption from levies and duties; and the home and colonial
fisheries were at the same time assisted b}^ duties imposed on products
of the sea, imported bj"" foreigners or aliens.

Yet, the number of ships employed at Newfoundland declined annu-
ally. In 1670, the merchants sent out barely eighty. The decline
was attributed to the boat fishery, carried on by the inhabitants there.
Sir Josiah Child,t the leading authority of the da^'- in matters of trade
and commerce, sounded the note of alarm, anticipating that, if the resi-
dent fishermen contined to increase, they would, in the end, carry on
the whole fishery, and that the nursery of British seamen would be
desti'oyed. The only remedy he proposed was the annihilation of the
boat fishery. Never was a more unjust expedient conceived. The
labors, the expenditures, and sacrifices, of a large number of eminent
and adventuious men, who had devoted life and fortune to ihe coloni-
zation of Newfoundland, were thus to be counted as worthless, and
even injurious to the realm. But the views of Child were adopted by
the Lords of Trade and Plantations,!: who determined to break up-

* George Calvert, Baron of Baltimore, and foinider of Maiyland, was bom i;i England ia
1582. He was appointed one of the principal secretaries of state in 1619; auv. vliile holding
office he acquired the southeastern peninsula of Newfouudl.md, which he eicctcu iul.o a prov-
ince called Avalon. In l(j24 he became a Catholic Alter his abandoument of Newfoundland
he made a visit to Virginia, but the colonists disliked Ids reiigiou, and ho relmquisheil his inten-
tion to settle among them. On his return to Englaud, Charles the First gave him a patent of
the country now Maryland. Lord Baltimore died in London in 1632, before his patent had
passed the necessary fonns ; and a new one was issued to his son Cecil, who succeeded to his
honors.

t Sir Josiah Child was a merchjint. It is said that he acquired great wealth in the "manage-
ment" of the East India Company's stock. When liis daughter married the eldest son of the
Duke of Beaufort, he gave her a portion of £5'l),000. Sir Josiah had fish-ponds in Eppmg,
forest, "many mile.s in circuit."

t The Board of Trade and Plantations was of no service to the American colonies, though
created for the special purpose of attending to their interests. Mr. Burke, in a speech in the
House of Commoas, in 1780, thus spoke of it : " This board is a sort of temperate bed of
4

50

and depopulate the colony. Sir J(jlin Berry was accordingly sent over,
with orders to drive out the fishermen, and burn their dwellings. The
extent of his devastations under this more than barbarous decree may
not be certainly known; but six 3'ears elapsed before the mandate of
destruction was revoked, and its abrogation was accompanied with in-
structions to allow of no further emigrations from England to the
doomed island. Complaints were made that emigration continued,
and various j)huis were suggested to discourage and prevent it. Mean-
time, the relations between the resident fishermen and the masters and
crews of the ships sent out by the English merchants were hostile to
an extent which, at the present day, seems almost incredible. Pre-
vious to the edict just noticed, the former had petitioned the King for the
establishment of some Ibrm of government, to protect them against
the rapacity of their own countrymen — the latter. The merchants op-
posed the measure, as injurious to the fisheries, and prevailed. The
petition of the residents was renewed from time to time, but never
with success ; and they continued to suflfer wrongs and cruelties with-
out redress.

The merchants convinced the ministry, or the Lords of Trade and
Plantations, that the appointment of a governor, and the recognition of
the full rights of the inhabittmts of Newfoundland as British subjects,
would produce the ruinous results anticipated by Child, and, strange
as it may appear, no Englishman could lawfully have a home on that
island for a long period.

il'he edict of 3 670, to burn and destroy, had the effect, possibl}^ to
increase the number of ships, since, four years afterward, two hundred
and seventy, employing, on board and on shore, ten thousand eight
hundred men, were engaged in the fishery. Yet the seas were not safe.
Some of the fishing vessels mounted from ten to twenty guns, and
carried from sixty to one hundred men, and others sailed under convoy,
and were protected, while on the coast, by ships-of-war. The price
of fish, to support this state of things, must have been enormous.

As the century closes we notice the mention of a report of the Lords
of Trade and Plantations, in Mdiich they so tar modify their former
order, relative to emigration, as to intimate that, inasmuch as a
thousand persons might be useful at Newfoundland, to construct boats
and fishing-stages, that number would be suffered to hve there, without
fear, we may conclude, of official incendiaries and legal robbers. But
the gracious privilege thus accorded still placed the resident fishermen
at the tender mercies of tlte merchants and the masters of their vessels;
for, by an act of Parliament in 1G9S, these masters, in the absence
of all law, were authorized to administer justice, and to regulate the
general concerns of the fisheries and of the colony, almost at
pleasure.

nflTiencc — a Bort of gently-ripening hot-house — where eight members of rarliament receive
salaries of a thousand a year, ior a certain given time, in order to mature, at a proper season,
a claim to two thousand, gn:nted for doing less, and on the credit of having toiled so long in
that inferior laborious department. I have known that board, off and on, for a great number
of years. ]?(ith of its pretended objects have beini nuich the objects of my study, if I have a
right to call any jmrsuits of mine by so respectable a name. I can assure the House — and I
hope that they will not think that I risk my little credit lightl}- — that, without meaning to
«onvey the least reflection upon any one of its members, past or present, it is a board wtiich
if uot miscLievous, is of uo use at all."

51

Were the inmates of British prisons to be subjected now to the
treatment received by the inhabitants at the hands oi" these masters, the
whole civilized world would join in a shout of indignant condemnation.
The first master who arrived at any particular harbor was its admiral
for the season ; the second was its vice-admiral, and the third its rear-
admiral. Thus, at the outset, no attention whatever was paid to the
qualifications — to the heads or the hearts — of these strange rulers. Ac-
cident— a long passage or a short one, a dull or a quick-sailing vessel —
determined everything. The triumph of the English merchants over
their fellow-subjects, in this lone and desolate isle, was as complete as
that of the warrior who storms a citj. In fine, the "admirals" se-
lected the best fishing stations, displaced at will the resident fishermen
who occupied them, drove the inhabitants from their own houses, took
hush-money and presents of fish in adjusting cases brought before them
for adjudication, and, in their general course, were as arbitrary and as
corrupt as the leaders of banditti. There were exceptions, it may be
admitted; but the accounts are uniform that, as a class, the "admirals"
were both knaves and tyrants. Yet the law which authorized these
iniquities bore the title of "An act to enconrage the trade of Newfound-
land."

In 1701 we have a very particular and detailed return of the con-
dition of the fishery, thus: There were 121 vessels, manned with
2,727 men, 993 boats, belonging to the vessels and to the resident
fishermen, 544 fishing-stages on the shores, and 3,581 men, women, and
children employed as curers ; while the catch was 216,320 quiMals
of fish, yielding 3,798 hogsheads of oil.*

In 1729 we record an improvement in the government of the island,
since a captain of a ship-of-war displaced the "admirals," and we find
the number of inhabitants estimated at about 6,000. Referring to the
accompanying table for the general statistics of the century ; and re-
marking that the number of ships was doubled in the six yenrs, suc-
ceeding the close of the v^^ar with France, which immediately preceded
our Revolution, we proceed to notice such events as our limited space
will allow:

The first of these is the proclamation of the King, iti 1763, in which
it is stated that, "to the end that the open and tree fishery of our sub-
jects may be extended to and carried on upon the coast of Labrador
and the adjacent islands, we have thought fit, with the advice of our
privy council, to put all that coast, from the river St. John to Hud-
son's straits, together with the islands of Anticosti and Madalene, and
all other islands tying upon the said coast, under the care and inspec-
tion of our governor of Newfoundland," while "the islands of St. John,
Cape Breton, or Isle Royale, with the lesser islands adjacent thereto,"
were annexed to "the government of Nova Scotia."

The general affairs of Newfoundland were considered at about the
same time. Though no plan was devised for the government of the
colony, such as was due by England to herself and to humanity, the

* In 1727 an act of Parliament was passed which authorized the importation of salt into
Pennsylvania, in British ships, (navigated according to the navigation acts of the realm,) and
for the curing of fish, on the same conditions as were allowed in New England and New-
foundlaiad.

52

resolution was still adopted to discontinue all further attempts to check
the resident fishermen. The task had become, indeed, hopeless. The
tonn.'ige oi" the merchants' ships h.-id fallen to less than eighteen thou-
sand, and their catch to one hundred and thirty-six thousand cjuintals.
The produce of the boat fishery, on the other hand, had risen to three
hundred and ten thousand quintals. The boat-fishers, or inhabitants,
had, therefore, overcome every obstacle, and were in the ascendency.

1 reserve a full answer to the many complaints against our country-
men who fish in the seas of British America, for another part of this
report ; that, however, which is made by the people of Newfoundland,
may be disposed of here.

The charge is, that the British flag is no longer seen upon "the
banks," and that the privileges enjoyed by the French and Americans,
])y treaty and otherwise, have caused the withdrawal of the English and
colonial merchants from that branch of the fishery. This chaige is to
be found, in substance, in an offensive form, in newspapers, in official
documeirts, and remonstrances to the home government. I submit, in
all kindness, that it is not so. The truth is, that the resident fishermen —
as Sir Josiah Child, a hundred and eighty years ago, anticipated they
would do — liave supplanted the merchants of" England, with whom they
so long contended ; that the boat fishery has taken the place of the vessel
fishery, in the common course of things. To catch fish by long, expen-
sive, and perilous voyages, when they can be taken at the fishermen's
ow-n doors, where catchers and curers can sleep in their own beds, taste
the sweets of a shore fife, and enjoy the comforts of home, is to dispense
with the steam-spiadle and go back to the distaff. There is no truth
in the complaint. The annual catch at Newfoundland, in whqle num-
bers, is one million of quintals, and, on a mean of 3-ears, equal to that of
any former period. This fact is conclusive. That the Americans dis-
turb the industry of the colonists, is not possible. The restoration of
the by-gone vessel fishery can be accomplished, not by driving these
"foreigners" fi'om "the banks," but by a new edict to hurii and destroy the
duxUmgs of British stihjects.*

* Lord DundonaW expressed his views with regard to the British fishery at Nenfouudlaud
in a communication published in the London Times, August, lf^52, in the following terms. It
will be seen that he attributes the suspension of the vessel fishery to the bounty system of
France and the United .States ; and that he considers the employment of a naval force to pre-
vent " aggressions," a mistaken policy.

To the Editor of the Times.

Sir : The loading article of the Times of the 3d inst., on the subject of the British North
American lishrries, involves a maritinie (juestion of such vital importance to the i)ennanence
of our naval power, tliut I hope you will devote the corner of a column of your paper (perused
and pondered over by civilians and statesmen) to convey, in as frw words as possible, the real
cause of the progressive decay, and now total abandonment, of that once impoitaut nursery
for seamen, with which tlie duties of my late naval conmiand required that I sjiould make
myself intimately ac((uainted.

Thv" result of authentic information derived fnnn official documents, most of which were
obligingly furnished by the zealous and indefatigable governor then presiding in Newfoundland,
(Sir O. LeMerchant,) ]»roved that the J5ritisli "bank" or deep-sea fishery formerly emph\ved
40fl i-ail of scpiare-rigged vessels and )2,()()(» seamen, and that now not <ine of these follow
their vociii ion in consequence of the ruinous effect of boimties awarded by the French and
North American governments. Tlie former ))ay their fishery ICf for every (piintal of fish
debarkc"! in the port of France, and i'A'. addirional (^n their exportation in French vessels to
jti>reign States, once cxclusivt^ly supplit'd by F.nghmd — a transfer which canm.t be viewed
eimply as a mercantile trausaction, seeing that the substitution of a greater number of foreign

53

In 1771, the number of souls at Newfotmdland was 3,449 Englisn,
arid 3,348 Irish. la 1775, merchants "at home" were encouraged to
continue their adventures, by an act of Parhament, which allowed a
bounty of =£40 to the first twent3'^-five ships, £20 to the next hundred,
and <£10 to the second hundred, that should make fares of iish before
the middle of Julv, and proceed to "the banks" for a second lading.

Lord North's bill to prohibit the people of New England Irom fishing
at Newfoundland, which was passed in the year last named, will be
noticed particularly elsewhere.

During the discussion pending these measures — the one to "encour-
age," the other to "starve" subjects of the realm — ]Martineaux Shuld-
ham, who had been governor of Newfoundland three years, was exam-
ined at the bar of the Commons. The material part of his testimony
may be thus stated: that the catch of fish in 1774 was 739,877 quin-
tals, and that 23,652 men were employed in the fishery, all of whom
became sailors.

With regard to the fishermen of New England, he said that few of
them ever entered the British navy; that he had heard great complaints
of the outrages they committed on the coast ; that they carried on an
illicit trade with the French, meeting them on the sea and selling them
not only provisions and lumber, but vessels also; and that, in the French
war, few of them had served in his Majesty's ships-of-war.

Atthepeaceof 1783, the Enghsh Newfoundland fishery — interrupted
by hostilities — was resumed with spirit, and prosecuted with success;
and three years after, the bounty act of 1775 was renewed for a speci-
fied term. The condition of the colonists remained, however, without
material change. I find it stated that a gentleman formerly connected

transatlajitic fishiag vessels, having more niiuieroas crews, constitutes a statistical differeace
amouiiting to 26,000 sailors agaiust Eugiaud, without iucludiug the United States — a fact that
«ught not, and, being known, cannot be looked ou with indifference.

Transatlantic steam-packets receive national support, amounting to hundreds of thousands
of pounds a year, without complaint being made even by the most zealous free-trade advocate,
because such vessels may prove useful in war. How, then, can the policy of granting a pre-
mium, th«s forced upon us, in order to presei^ve our nursery for seamen, be considered other-
wise than the cheapest me&ns of manning our ships-ot-\var ? Such premium, for the deep-sea
fishery vessels resorting to Europe, ought to be accompanied by immunity to our in-shore
colonial fishermen from the tax on foot, (from which the parent State is happily free,) and by
a release from other imposts, from which the French fisherman, under naval authority, m
wholly exempt.

Brevity being essential to admittance into your columns, reference may be made for im-
portant details to " Morris's Fishery of Newfoimdlaud," containing petitions and remonstrance
of inhabitants, which assuredly have never been read by our colonial administration, though
pressingly urged for consideration.

Vessels-of-v,ar are obviously not required for the protection of the deep-sea fisheiy which
has ceased to exist; nor are they necessary for the security of the undisturbed colonial punts
which fish in-shore. The stationing more vessels-of-war to guard the fisheiy is therefore a
mistake, originating in a want of knowledge of facts. Fish caught by the British subjects
cannot be sold with profit either in continental Europe or in the United States. In 1849, the
duty paid on Biitish fish m the ports of the United States was $163,000, while the premium
awarded to their own fishermen was $"243,432.

Those who desire further insight into the circumstances of our western colonies, especiafly
as regards the fisheries of Newfoundland, may consult a pamphlet published by Ridgwaj', con-
taining a statistical map, which ought to be brought to the knowledge of those who possess
the power to aveit impending national mischiefs.

I am, sir, your often obliged and obedient servant,

DUNDONALD.

LONBON. Aujrust 4.

54

with Lord North's .idministration said, in the course of his testimony
before a committee of the Commons, th;jt "?/«e island of Ncvjhvndland
had been considered, in all former times, as a great English ship, moored
near the Banls during the fishing season, for the convenience of English
fishermen'^'' that '"'■the governor ivus considered the shi]/s captain, and all
those concerned in the fishing Inisiness as his crew, and subject to naval dis-
cipliney

This quaint witness spoke in 1793. The same year, another func-
tionary, in his testimony before the same committee, declared that he
w^ould '■'■allow no woman to land on the island, and that m(Mns sliould be
adopted to remove those'''' already there. Thus do we conclude the eigh-
teenth century; barely adding, that the influence of the merchants was
yet sufficient to prevent grants of lands, and that the colonists raised
a few garden vegetables for consumption only by violations of State
papers and the statute-book.

For the twenty years preceding 1S15, the fisliery was prosperous
beyond example. The profits to merchants engaged in it were some-
limes fifty, sixty, eighty, and even one hundred thousand dollars in a
single season. Persons who commenced the business entirely destitute
of capital, shared in these enormous gains, and accumulated large for-
tunes in a short period. It would seem, however, that, as previously,
the advantages to the permanent residents were inconsiderable, since
the fishery was in the hands of English merchants, whose adven-
tures were conducted by agents, and of those who, on amassing wealth,
immediately departed Irom the island. A sudden and disastrous re-
verse occurred.

The quantity of fish exported in 1S14 was about one million tim
hundred thousand qimitals, ot" the value of more than twelve millions of dol-
lars. The quantity shipped in 1S15 was hardly less ; but the peace
produced a ruinous change in price. The decline from eight and nine
dollars the quintal, to five, four, and even to less than three dollars,
was rapid. Almost universal bankruptcy followed ; for two or three
years entire suspension of the fisher}^ was the result apprehended.
For awhile, the few merchants who escaped insolvency, utterly hope-
less in the general dismay, were bent upon closing their affairs. The
common fishermen, in the years of prosperity, had intrusted their sa-
vings to their employers, and the distress of this class would have been
diminished could these have been recovered ; but, losers by the failure
of the merchants to an amount exceeding one million of dollars, and
destitute alike of money and of employment, their condition was ex-
tremely sad, and excited deep sympathy. Thousands of persons de-
pended solely upon the hook and line for subsistence, and emigration
or starvation were considered the only alternatives.

The colonists, who rely upon the products of the sea for support,
charge the most of their misfortunes to their French and American
competitors. They did so in the case before us. Their complaints
were groundless, and may be dismissed in perfect good nature. The
people who distress them so continually, and whose appearance on
their fishing grounds spreads so general consternation, were lellow-
sufferers from the ruinous decline of prices of commodities at the gen-
eral pacification of Europe, and were involved in similar bankruptcies.

55

Besides, at the period of commercial disasters at Newfoundland, the
French and Americans had not recovered from the effects of war, and
had not, to a very alarming extent, resumed their adventures upon the
coasts or "the b;mks" of that island.

The competition between the colonists and the people just men-
tioned increased ; but the Enghsh fishery gradually revived. The an-
nual catch is now nearly a million of quintals. There have been sea-
sons of fluctuations since the years referred to : depression is an inci-
dent in every human employment. Maritime pursuits are more uncer-
tain than those of the soil or those of the work-shop. Of the fisheries,
particularly, it is entirely true to say that they never have afforded, and
never will afford, constant and continuous rewards ; for, aside from the
losses consequent upon overstocked and glutted markets, the most un-
wearied industry and the highest degree of skill are often insufficient
to insure good fares. Our colonial neighbors should take these matters
into the account, and while lamenting their calamities, remember that
the American fishermen, whose condition they consider so much pref-
erable to their own, are subject to the same reverses, and would gladly
surrender many of the privileges they are supposed to enjoy, for the
liberty of living neai- to, and of freely using, the inner or shore fishing-
grounds, of which they are now deprived, and which are reserved ex-
clusively for British subjects.

As a branch of industry, we need pursue our inquiries relative to the
Newfoundland cod-fishery no further. The table of statistics, compiled
from the best sources of information open to me, and which I think is
substantially accurate, may be referred to as affording a general view
of the subject for the last thirty years. The exports are to Portugal,
Italy, Spain, Brazil, the British West Indies, the British continental
possessions in America, to Great Britain, Ireland, and Scotland. In
some of these markets the merchants of Newfoundland have no com-
petitors. As much as they complain of us and of our policy, our ports
are open to the importation of their staple commodity, on terms which
are producing alarming changes in the property and prospects of those
of our countrymen whose position on the coast of New England, and
whose habits and general circumstances, leave them no choice of em-
ployments.

Newfoundland is connected with some of the most interesting events
to be found in our annals. Cabot saw it before Columbus set foot on
the American continent. There came the first men of the Saxon race,
under the first English charter, to found an English colon}'-. Visiters
to, or residents upon its shores, were the noble Gilbert, and Raleigh,
the father of colonization in this hemisphere; Mason and Calvert, the
founders of two of the United States. Among those who lent aid and
countenance to the enterprises to people it, in early time, were persons
of rank and wealth — and Bacon, of world-wide fame. In its waters
were the first trials by jury in America. The fi-eedom of its fisheries
was asserted by Coke, and other champions of Enghsh hberty, intones
to rouse the popular mind, and to put an end to chartered monopolists.

In some respects Newfoundland is " a great English ship moored
near the Barfks," even in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Twenty years have not elapsed since the system, which was hardly a

56

modification of that devised by heathen Carthage and Rome, for the
government of distant colonies, was aboUshed, or since captains in the
royal navy, who came to the island in the spring and returned to Eng-
land at the close of the fishing season, ceased to rule and to consider
the inhabitants as "subject to naval discipline;" and persons are now
ahve who were the victims of the merchants " at home," who, armed
with ordinances and instructions of the Lords of Trade and Plantations,
insisted upon the entire control of the business, and of" the domestic ar-
rangements of the residents.

For tin: first time, in a history of more than three hundred years, a
legislative body, similar to those of other British colonies, assembled
in Newfoundland in 1S3'3. The only material changes of previous dates
were those which related to the administration of justice, and which
allowed the people the forms and principles of jurisprudence, in place
of the decrees and the decisions of the knavish and despotic "admi-
rals" in command of fishing vessels, and the quarter-deck mandates of
their successors.

A few miles back fi-om the coast, New^foundland is almost an un-
broken wilderness. The inhabitants, as a body, are as ignorant of the
interior of the island as are others. To them, and to all ihe world, the
colony is known for its fisheries, and f{")r these alone. To enumerate
St. John, Fen-yland, Fugo, and Burin, and the settlements on the bays
of Concepcion, Trinity, Bonavista, Fortune, Bull's, Placentia, and St.
Mary's, is to recall almost every place of note. There was no free
port until 1828, and no bank until eight years later. From the dis-
covery of Cabot to the arrival of a bishop of the church, was three
hundred and forty-three years. The population in 1806 — about two
and a quarter centuries after the attempt of colonizalion by Gilbert —
was less than twenty-six thousand. It was less than seventy-four thou-
sand in 1836; and but ninety-six thousand six hundi'ed and six in 1845.
It remains to speak of the fishing gi-ounds; of the manner of catching
and curing, and of ihe habits of the persons who are emplo^^ed in the
fishery. As the vessel or "bank" fishery has been abandoned by the
English, an account of it is reserved for the third pait of this report.
The boats used for the shore fishery require from two to four men each-
The number of boats in 1838, was 6,159; and in 1845, 9,989. The
fishing is performed within the harbors, and early in the season, near
the land. The men stand while at their toil, and each is able to tend
more than one line. At times the fish fasten to the hooks so rapidly,
that the fishermen display great activity. A boat is often filled in two
or three hours. On the shores are "stages," or buildings erected on
posts, and projecting into the sea, to allow boats to come to them as to
wharves or piers. The fish are carried to these "stages," where, in
the hands of the "cut-throat," the "header," the "splitter," and the
"Salter," as four classes of the "shoresmen" are called, they are pre-
pared for the "dryer." When sufficiently salted, they are washed^and
transported on "hand-barrows" to the "flakes," where they are spread
and drienl. Once cured, they are piled in warehouses to await sale or
orders lia- shipment. 'The " Salter" and the "dryer" should be careful
and expert men ; the one to distribute the salt with a skilful hand — the
other, that damps and rains do not injure the fish while exposed in tlie

57

air. Three qualities are usually sorted for exportation, and a fourth,
consisting principally of broken and discolored lish, is retained for con-
sumption. Women and children are sometimes employed in the boats,
and very frequently assist the curers on shore. During the fishing
season there are no idlers of either sex.

The labors of the fishermen and shoresmen are almost incessant.
The time devoted to sleep, under circumstances that often occur, is
insufficient for the demands of nature; while long abstinence from
food is not uncommon.

The fishermen formerly lived in the rudest of structures ; but they
now occupy comfortable dwelhngs. Their food is coarse, and their
manners rough. Intoxicating drinks were once as common among
them as tea or water. Of late years there has been a sensiljle change
for the better; and a large class are moral and temperate. Their habits
of life are irregular, from the necessities of their position ; but in hos-
pitality and acts of kindness they are not excelled by men of the
higher walks of society. They are to be judged in mercy, for their
opportunities to improve are few, and their temptations to err are many.

English cod-fishcry — Neufo undia n d.

Year.

No. of

vessels.

Tonnage.

Number of
men.

Nmuber of

boats.

Quintals of
fisli exported.

Value.

1577

50
200
250
400
150

80
270
121
161

1603

10, 000

1615 .'

1622

1626

15,000

5,000

1670

1674

10, 800
2, 727
2,119

1701

7,991
9,193

1716

106, 9.52
111,000
210, 000

1724

1732

*

1750

283
177
354

368
369
306
254
292
280
306
389
304
259
245
276

33, 512

17, 268

4, 103
2,531

1763

493,6.54

1769

1770

1771

1772

1774

23, 652

759, 877
591,276

1785

1786

1787

1

1788

1

1789

1790

31, 644
34, 166

684, 421

1791

1792

1798

15, 838
33, 503

1,268
2, 410

1799

336

453, 337

382, 000

526, 380

1 , 200, 000

1,180,661

899,729

1800

1805

1814

$12,000,000

1815

1820

58

English codjisherij, Neufoundland — Continued.

Year.

No. of

vessels.

Tonnage.

Number of
men.

Number of
boats.

Quintals of
fish exported.

Value.

lP2fi

973, 464
760, 177
619,177
683, 536
674, 988
712, 588
724, 515
915, 795

1,009,725

1,007,980
936, 202
852,162

1, 000, 333
837, 973
920, 366

1, 175, 167

1830

1832

AflVX

L

1834

1 A'V\

1838

6,159

$2, 420, 000

1840

2, 880, 000

1841

3, 025, 000

1842

2, 805, 000

1843

2, 660, 000

1844

2, 410, 000

1845

2, 980, OOO

1847

2, 450, 000

1848

2, 455, 000

1849 ... .

9,989

2, 940, OOU

1

English herring Jishery, Newfoundland.

Year.

Ban-els pickled
exported.

Value.

1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1847

15, 276
20, 806
14, 686

9, 965
13, 839

9,649
13,410
20, 9(13

9, 907

$53, 615
69, 200
45, 180
31,805
35,595
22,850
33,325
56, 170
25,555

THE NEWFOUNDLAND SEAL FISHERY, SO CALLED.

Tliis business is of recent oriijin. The first account of it is in 1795,
but It was not prosecuted to any extent until the general peace, in 1814.

Seals frequent the coa.sts of Newfoundlnnd in the spring. They go
upon the ice in the polar seas to bring forth their young, and are swept
along by the currents to milder regions, where, still upon the ice, hun-
dreds of thousands of them are annually killed. During the passage
from the remote north, they apparently live without much food, but 3-et
ai"e quite fat when seen by those who adventure in pursuit of them.

The vessels engag(ul in catching seals are from filty to two hundred
tons, and carry trom fifteen to forty men each. They leave Newfound-
land in March, and proceed to sea until they meet the ice, and on falling
in with it, are forced into it as far as possible, by implements which are

59

ari'anged for the purpose. Fast imbedded in the vast and seemingly
limitless fields of ice, the crews disperse in every direction in search of
seals, which are ver}'- inactive, and are generally easily caught. They
are killed with fire-arms and with clubs, and olten while asleep. Oc-
casionally the large ones resist. The moans of the young during tlie
slaughter are piteous.

The flesh of seals is unfit for food, and they are only valuable for
their fat and skins. The common method is, to strip oft" the skins and
fat together, and to carry these parts to the vessels, leaving the remainder
upon the ice ; but when the weather or other circumstances will not
permit this, the carcass is transported whole, and the valuable parts are
stripped off subsequently. Seal-catching closes towards the end of
April. The most fortunate vessels make two voyages in a season.
After the arrival of the vessels in port, the fat is separated from the
skins, cut into pieces and put into vats, where, by the warmth of the
sun, the oil oozes out. The skins are spread and salted in piles, and
when properly cured, are packed in bundles of convenient size.

In the whole circle of human employments, few or none are more ex-
citing and perilous than the catching of seals. A storm of sleet and
snow in the night is terrible, and the stoutest hearts quail. While the
vessels are absent, the greatest anxiety prevails in the ports of departure,
and the most distressing rumors prevail : at times, a full month elapses
before the arrival of a single vessel, and every imaginable cause is as-
signed by alarmed families and friends for the delay of tidings from the
sealing-gi'ound. Northeast gales drive the ice towards the shore, and
frequentl}'' produce fearful disasters to both life and property. In 1843
the loss of vessels was very considerable, and several entire crews per-
ished.* Some vessels were wrecked m 1849.

The year 1827 was uncommonly prosperous. Forty-one vessels

* A similar disaster occurredi n the spring of 1852. The first account of it was as follows :
" The steamer Osprey, from St. John, Js^ewfoundland, April 23d, has arrived at Halifax,
with accounts ot the wreck of between fifty and sixty vessels in the ice, in the gale of April
20th. The Newfoundland papers state that the loss of life has been considerable, but how
great is not known. A list of eighteen vessels lost, with full cargoes of skins, is given, one of
which had five of her crew drowned, and another two. In many cases, as the vessels drifted
towards i he ice, the crews deserted theai and escaped to the shore. In some cases the aban-
doned vessels have been taken into port.

" Hundreds of the crews of the wrecked vessels are said to be on Richard Island, Bonavista
bay, in a state of destitution and starvation. The Assembly of Newfoundland has requested
the governor to appropriate £300 for their relief, and four or five vessels would sail to them
as soon as the wuid would permit. A vessel had arrived at St. John, which reported that
upwards of one thousand shipwrecked sealers had reached Greenford, but the number is proI>
ably exaggerated.

" The disaster is said to be nearly equal to that at Prince Edward Island last year."
A Newfoundland paper of later date says : " Smce our last .several sealers have arrived, and,
for the most part, with good trips. On Saturday arrived the Coquette, Captain Joseph Hou-
lahau, who was sent round by the government to the reHef of the shipwrecked men at Greens-
pond. We leai-n that Captain Houlahan's mission was quite a providential one, the poor cast-
away fellows being in extreme destitution when he arrived. It is therefore consoling to reflec-t
that, in all probability, many a life has been saved by this measure of the govennnent. Capt.
Houlahan landed a hundred men at Catalina, and brought about two hundred and fifty on here.
We understand that the Harbuiger, which was also sent round to Greonspond with the Co-
quette, had proceeded in her search further to the northward. All reports agree that, but for
the heavy weather, which has caused such destruction among the vessels, this spring's catch
of seals would be one of the largest ever known. Even as it is, we understand the average
catch at this time is equal to that of last year."

60

laden with senls arrived at St. John in a single week. They caught
69,S14 of the objects of their search. One of these vessels took up-
wards of 3,000 in six days, and another, still more successful, about
3,500 in the same time. The intense excitement which attended the
slaughter of so large numbers, in so short a space, can be readily ima-
gined.

Reference to the table of statistics will afford information as to the
general state of this branch of industry since the year 1S30. It will be
seen that the return of vessels fitted out, is from the port St. John alone.
The number from Concepcion, Trinity, and Bonavista bays, and from
other parts of the island, is known to be considerable, and in 1845 to
have exceeded that of the capital, but I have been unable to procure
accurate accounts for any other year.

Statistics of the Newfoundland seal fishery .*

Employed.

E.\ports.

Year.

Vessels.

Tonnage.

Men.

Seal-skins. Tuns of oil.

1^95

4,900
141, 374
221,334
221,510
280, 613
559, 342

1815

8,225

1820

8,224

1825

7,806

1829

1330

92

118

153

106

125

120

126

121

110

76

75

72

74

106

121

128

6, 198

8,046

11,462

8,665

11,020

11,167

1[,425

10, 648

9,300

6,447

6,190

5, 965

6,035

9, 625

11,088

11, 972

1,985
2,578
3,294
2,964
2,910
2, 912
2, 855
2,940

2, 826
2, 029
2,058
2,078
2,054
3,177

3, 775
3,938

12, 371

1831

1832

442, 683
501,436
360, 155
557. 494
381, 041
252, 910
375, 361
437, 501
631,385
417,115
344, 683
651, 370
685, 530
352, 202

10,010

1833

1834

9,030

18:i5

11,780

1836

1837

1838

1839

1840

1841

1842

1843

1844

1845

1846

1847

324
163

278

30,819
16, 444
26, 123

9,885
5,497
9,388

436,831

.521,004

306, 072

1 400, 000

1848

1849

1850

* The vessels were from the port of St. John, except in 1847, 1848, and 1849.
t Estimated from the several accounts of the catch of that year.

FISHERIES OF NOVA SCOTIA.

The original grantee of that half fabulous, never defined country,
Acadia, was Pierre de Gast Sieure de Monts, a protestant, and a gen-
tleman of the bed-chamber of Henry the Fourth of France. In 1G03,

61

his royal master, by letters patent, gave him the territory between the
40th and 46th degrees of latitude, and in the following year De Monts
came in person to explore and take possession of his domains. Sixteen
years before the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth, he wintered upon
an island in the river St. Croix, which, since the adjustment of the
boundary line between the United States and New Brunswick, has
been considered within the limits of Maine. This island is claimed by
the heirs of the late General John Brewer, of Robbinston. Relics of
De Monts' sojourn upon it continue to be found.

Annapolis — the Port Royal of the French — was founded befoi-e his
return, and is the oldest settlement in Nova Scotia. The "lieutenant gen-
eral of Acadia, and the circumjacent country," accomplished but little.
His patent allowed him to "carefull}'- search alter and to distinguish all
sorts of mines of gold and silver," and gave him the monopoly of the
trade in furs. He seems to have confined his attention to measures to
secure the latter ; yet fish were caught, cured, and carried to France.
A permanent fishery was established at Canscau. Acadia soon passed
from De Monts into Catholic hands, while the English grant to Sir Wil-
liam Alexander, in 1621, embraced a large part of it. As the events
connected with our subject at this time nppear in the account of the
French fisheries, there is nothing to demand our attention until after Nova
Scotia was permanently annexed to the British crown, by the treaty of
Utrecht, in 1713.

Down to the period of our Revolution, Nova Scotia w^as hardly known
■ except for its fisheries. The resident English population was so small
in 1719, that Phillips, the military governor, was compelled to select
the council required by his instructions from his garrison. Thirty-six
ycarrs later, the whole number of inhabitants was estimated at only
5,000. In ] 760, the township of Liverpool was settled by persons from
Massachusetts, who designed to prosecute the salmon fishery, and who,
successful in their labors, caught a thousand barrels in a season. They
were followed in 1763 by about one hundred and sixty fam.ilies from
Cape Cod, who selected the spot called Barrington, transported tliithcr
their stock and fishing vessels, and founded one of the most consiflerable
fishing towns at present in the colon3^ The whole value of the imports
at this period was less than five thousand dollars. In truth, the House
of Assembly asserted in 1775, that the amount of money in Nova Scotia
was .£1,200, (or $4,S00) of which one-fiiih was in the hands of farmers.
Such was the s'eneralconchtion.

The settlement of Halifax, the capital, requires a more particular
notice. Thomas Coram, a famous projector of the time, whose name
occurs often in the history of Maine, engaged in a scheme to commence
a town on the site of this city as early as the year 1718, and his peti-
tion for a grant of land received a favorable report from the Lords of
Trade and Plantations ; but the agents of JMassachusctts opposed his
plans, because they interfered with the freedom of the fisheries, and he
was compelled to abandon his puq?ose.*

* It is said, in Burke's Commoners of Englaud, that Major William Miirtham, (of the
family of Markham of Becca Hall,) who was bovu ia 16.36, built tiie fivst house in HaliiaS;
Nova Scotia.

62

At ihe restoration of Cape Breton, in 1748, the founding of a capital
for Nova Scotia was undertaken as a government measure. " As a sub-
stitute" for Louisbourg restored to France, said Mr. Hartle}^ in tlie House
of Commons, "you settled Halifax for a p/«rc^V/r»ies, leaving the limits
of the province as a matter of contest with France, which could not fail
to prove, as it did, the cause of another war. Had you kept Louisbourg,
instead of settling Halifax, the Americans* could not say, at least, that
diere would not have been that pretext for imputing the late war to their
account." The new city was named in honor of the Earl of Halifax,
the president of the Lords of Trade and Plantations, t " The site,"
says Hali burton, "about mid-way between Cape Canseau and Cape
Sable, was preferred to several others, where the soil was better, lor
the sake of establishing in its neighborhood an extensive cod-fishery,
and fortifying one of the best harbors in America." Thus, HaUfaxwas
designed as a fishing capital, and " as a substitute for Louisbourg." Lib-
eral grants of land were made to officers and men who were dismissed
from the land and naval service at the close of the war, and Edward
Cornwallis was appointed military governor. Horatio Gates, then an
officer in the British army, and subsefpicntly the victor at Saratoga,
was among the first who landed at Halifax, in 1749.

The project involved the government in serious difficulties, and the
expenditure of enormous sums of money.

The amount first appropriated was ^40,000. In a few years the cost
to the nation was nearly two millions of dollars! The fisheries were
neglected, and the colonists, unable to support themselves, petitioned
Parliament for additional relief, even after so large an amount of money
had been disbursed for their benefit.

Omitting details, we may state that five millions of dollars of public
money were expended finally in the colonization of Nova Scotia, accord-
ing to the plan devised by the Board of Trade and Plantations.

A letter is preserved in the Collections of the Massachusetts Histori-
cal Society, from a resident of Hahfax to the Rev. Dr. Stiles, which
ma\^ afford a partial explanation to this state of things. It is dated in
1760. "We have," says the writer, '■'■upwards of one hundred licensed
houses, and. perhaps as many more rvhich retail spirituous liquors icithont
license; so ihat the business of one half the town is to sill rum, and of the
other half to drink it. You man, from ^^<** single circumstance, judge of our
morals, and naturally Infer that we are not enthusiasts m religion."
Again : "Between this and Cape Sable are many fine harbors, com-
modiously situated for the cod-fishery ; and the rivers furnish great
abundance of salmon." *****' 'p he fleets and armies which
have been here during the war have enriched this town, but have given
a mortal blow to industry:" and, he adds, "we have but few people
of genius among us ; aiid not one discovers a thirst after knowledge, cither
xisiful or speculadve."

Halifix became a place of note in the war of the Revolution, and as

* This speech was in 1775.

t Ilonicti Wiilpole wrote to Sir Horace Mann, in 1749: " Half our fhouslits are taken up —
that is, Lord Halifax's are — with colonizing Nova Scotia; iny friend. Colonel CornwalliSjiJ
Hoing thitlier coniniaudcr-ia-cliief. The Methodists will scarce follow him, as they did Ogle-
tiiorpe" to Georgia.

63

the great naval station of the British government. At the peace of
1783, Nova Scotia became the home of many thousands of American
loyahsts, who, under the pohcy adopted by the winners in the strife,
were compelled to abandon their native land. Many of them were
persons of elevated moral qualities, of high positions in society, and of
great spirit and enterprise; several were natives of Massaciiuselts, and
graduates oi' Harvard University. Others had held prominent rank in
New York and New Jersey. From this period, we may date a change
in the morals of the colony, and note a partial attention to the fisheries.
Omitting the few fragmentary accounts that are to be found scattered
through the records which I have examined, we come at once to con-
sider this branch of industry as it exists in our own time. And, singu-
lar to remark, attention to the fisheries is still partial. No American
visits Nova Scotia without being amazed at the apathy which prevails
among tlie people, and without "calculating" the advantages which
ihey enjo}^, but will not improve. Almost every sheet of water swarms
with cod, pollock, salmon, mackerel, herring, and alewives ; while the
shores abound in rocks and other places suitable for drying, and in the
materials required for "flakes and stages." The coasts are every-
where indented with harbors, rivers, coves, and bays, which have a
ready communication with the waters of the interior ; scarcely any part
of which — such is the curious freak of nature — ^is more than thirty
miles distant from navigation. The proximity of the fishing grounds
to the land, and to the homes of the fishermen, — the use that can be
made of seines and nets in the mackerel fisher}^ — the saving of capital
in building, equipping, and manning vessels, — the ease and safety which
attend every operation, combine to render Nova Scotia the most valua-
ble part of British America, and probably of the world, for catching,
curing, and shipping the productions of the sea.

Yet the colonists look on and complain of us. They will neither fish
themselves nor allow us to do so. In the words of a late official report
on the "Fisheries of Nova Scotia," "From sev^en to eight hundred
[American] vessels are said annually to pass through the Gut of Canso,
which usually return home with large cargoes taken at our very doors.
There is always a great deal said about their encroachments, and ive are apt
to blame them that our Jisheries are not more 'productive than they are. and,
instead of engaging all our energies to compete with them, wears cmplirying a
host of revenue cutters, S^c, to drive them from our shores. Everj^body must
see that the Americans are placed under many disadvantages for prose-
cuting the fisheries in British waters, and that if proper enterprise were
employed, our advantageous position would aiable us not only to compete with
them succes fully, but also to drive them from our shores by underselling them
in their own markets. But we find that they almost entirely monopo-
lize our deep-sea fishery, while we look idly on and grumble at their suc-
ce55." This covers the whole ground ; and coming, as it does, from the
pen of a colonial official, is conclusive.

Judge Haliburton, in his efforts to rouse his fellow-colonists from their
lethargy, adopting as his motto, that

" The cheorful sage, when solemn dictates fail,
Conceals th« moral counsel in a tale,"

64

utters similnr sentiments. His renowned hero, "Sam Slick," the Yan-
kee clocktnaker, in the course of" his *' sayings," thus speaks of the
people of Nova Scotin, and of their advantages : "They "do nothing in
these parts," saj's Sam, " but eat, drink, smoke, sleep, ride about,
lounge at taverns. * * * They are a most idle set of Ibiks, I tell
you. * * * They are in the midst of fisheries, squire ; all sorts of
fisheries, too. River fisheries of shad, salmon, gasperause and herring ;
shore fishery of mackerel and cod ; bank fishery, and Labradore fish-
ery. Oil dear! it beats all; and they don't do nolhin with 'em, but
leave 'em to us. * * * I never seed nor heerd tell of a country
that had so many natural privileges as this. Why, there are twice as
many harbors and water-powers as we have all the way from Eastport
to New Orleans. Tliey have all they can ax, and more than they de-
sarve. * * * You've heerd tell of a man who couldn't see London
for the houses ; I tell you, if tee had this country you couldn't see the
harbors for the ship[)ing."

The cod-fishery of the shores differs so little from the shore fisheries
at Newfoundland, St. Pierre, and Miquelon, already spoken of, that we
shall not here give an account of it. The vessel fishery, both on the
coasts of Nova Scotia and at Labradore,* is also so nearly like our own,
that a description of it may be omitted to avoid repetition.

7-^he herring fishery wdll detain us but a moment. The export of
smoked-herring has declined very much. Towards the close of the
last century the quantity shipped was from 50,000 to 60,000 boxes
annually. In some j'cars, too, previous to 1819, tlie export was even
more, and from 80,000 to 100,000 boxes. At present the average is
less than half the quantity of either period. The natural advantages
possessed by the colonists of the shores of "Annapolis basin" are
unequalled in the whole world. Digby and Clements should be the

* A Halifax paper, in the spring of 1852, indulged in the following course of remark: "We
learn that no less than twenty-five vessels cleared at this port for the Labrador fishery on Sat-
urday last. We have been much gratified with the improved appearance of the schooners
compiiwng our fishing fleet this season. The class of Nova Scotiamen at present engaged in
the fisheries v.'onld do credit to any country in the world, our enterprising and energetic neigh-
bors, the Americana, not excepted. Where all arc desen'ing of praise, it vrould a]>pear almost
invidious to particularize ; but we must not omit to chronicle a very superior craft which we
observe receiving her supply of salt alongside the brig ' Wellington,' at Oxley's wharf, called
the ' Ocean Wave.' This fine vessel was recently lamiched at Jiunenburg by a Mr. Young,
and was built expressly for the fishing business. She appears to have been most carefully
cou,stnicted, and her outfit is after the most approved fiishion. There is a reasonable i)roba-
bility of this ujost iuipt»rtant branch of provincial industry proving eminently successful during
the present st^a.^on; and ivc can only iiope that the desideratum may be realized to its fullest
extent, (^ur fisliiug friends camuit be t^)0 careful in curing their catch. 'J'iic uuirkets for
their valuable products are extending on every hand. It is essential that tlie character of this,
on. staple artic'-" ^f export, sliould be established beyond the shadow of a doubt. Due attea
tiun to this ma,ttei will repay our fishermen a hundred fold fi>r any extra time, labor, or
attention bestowed on the making of their fish. Let all interested look to this all-important
juatter, and a rich luirvest ni.-iy be reaped in the future. It is satisfactory to know tliat the
parties who have this season fitted out for the fisheries are, nuuu of them, both fiirehanded
and intelligent (jualificatiens iudi.spcnsable iu the successful prosecutionoftliis valuable bnmch
uf industry."

In August, 1S52, it was again said that, "We are enabled to record the gratifying intelli-
gence, that of twenty-seven vessels fitted out from ports in Lunenburg county for the Liibra-
dor, twenty-six have retui'ued well fished — one vessel bringmg home the hauilsome fare of
l,10t) quintals. This almost unprecedented success is perhaps, iu a great measure, attributa-
ble to the vigilance of the revenue cutters stationed on the coast by the Canadian government
or the protection of the fisheries."

65

seat of the most extensive herring fishery in America. This fish, well
smoked and of approved color, is a great luxury for the forenoon lunch
and for the tea-table ; and the time has been when a herring-box branded
"Digby," or with the name of a well-known curer there, passed as
current in our markets, without examination, as coin received at the
mint. This is high but deserved praise. The whole quantity smoked
in 1850 was but 2,000 boxes. The scenery in the vicinity of the "basin"
is truly beautiful; and the "basin" itself is one of the safest shelters
for boats and vessels required for the fishery that is to be found in
America.

The mackerel fishery is in favor, and, compared with the cod and
herring fisheries, receives commendable attention. The present state
o(" this branch of industry is to be attributed to the recent change in
our tariff" of duties imposed on foreign-caught fish, and to the facilities
afforded by our warehouse system. This change, it hardly need be
said applies to dried and smoked fish as well as to pickled ; and, were
the causes just assigned the true ones, it might be concluded by those
who are not acquainted with the colonial character, that increased ex-
ertions would be ^vitnessed on all the fishing grounds. Explanation is
easy. The mackerel fishery is the least laboriou<i and the most jirofitahle.

I know something of the energy and skill of our fishermen, and
appreciate them highly; but I feel quite certain that under a system of
ad valorem duties their competitors in Nova Scotia and elsewhere in
British America will, ere long, supplant them in our own markets. As
has been already remarked, the colonists may take every kind of fish,
in any desirable .quantities, at their very homes, and without the expense
of large vessels or extensive outfits ; while the pursuit in the more dis-
tant haunts of cod and mackerel is attended with less cost than from
the ports of Massachusetts and Maine — for the reason that the labor,
timber, iron, cordage, and canvass, necessary for the construction and
equipment of vessels, and the salt, hooks and lines, for their outfits, are
much cheaper. These advantages will be acknowledged at once, and
unless the observation of many years has led me astra3^ they are too
great to allow of the present reduced scale of impost.

Severely as the late change of policy with regard to the admission
of foreign fish has been felt by all branches of our fisheries, the mack-
erel catchers have suffered the most. They still pursue the employment
in the hope of the restoration of specific duties, and because their local
position and other circumstances have not, as yet, allowed them to
adopt any other. As was said by Fisher Ames, soon alter the organiza-
tion of the present national government, when appealing for protection
to our fishermen, "they are too poor to stay — too poor to remove."

It is even so. During certain months of the yenr our vessels seek the
mackerel in the waters of Nova Scotia and other British possessions ;
but as our treaty with Great Britain requires them to keep three miles-
from the land, the fishery in the narrow straits, by the means of nets and
seines, is in colonial hands exclusivel}^ The quantities of fish which the
colonists sometimes take in nets and seines are immense. It is not long
since forty thousand barrels were caught in three harbors of Nova Scotiaj
in a single season. This ny/nitify is more than one-tcvJh cftlic zc.'icls clt:;i:ied
by all the vessels of Massadmsetts in the most jyrosjierons year. Yet these
5

v9

three harbors can be entered in sailing a distance of twelve miles. The
owners of American vessels often lose the use of their property, and the
expenses of outfits besides. The proprietors of estates in the colonies
where mackerel seines are used, receive, on the other hand, hundreds of
barrels of the fish caught in the waters appurtenant thereto for the rent
of these waters, and the privilege of dressing, salting, and packing on
the shores. To secure two, four, six, and even eight hundred barrels
at a time, it is only necessary to set a seine, to tend it, and, at the pro-
per moment, to draw it to the shore. Competition without j)rotection,
when such rewards as these await the colonial fishermen and land
owners, who expend nothing whatever for vessels, and whose whole
outlay involves little beyond the cost and wear of seines and the loss
of time for short periods in a season, is, I think, impossible. The lot
of those of our countrymen who live by the use of the hook and line
is hard enough at best. The battles which they have fought, and
which, in the course of events, they may be required to fight, ought to
prevent their utter ruin. The topic will be resumed elsewhere.

Macgregor, in his "Progress of America," published in 1S47, thus
speaks of occurrences at Crow Harbor and Fox Island, two of the
favorite resorts of mackerel in Nova Scotia. "These places," he re-
marks, "while the fishing season lasts, are generally the scenes of the
most lawless disorder and licentiousness, occasioned by the violence of
the fishermen contending for the best places to haul the seines ashore ;
the pillaging of the fish; the selling and drinking of rum ; the smuggling
of goods by the Americans; and otlen from the mere spirit of spoliation
and mischief. A ship-of-war has been occasionally sent round from
Halifax to preserve some sort of order among the multitudes of men,
boats, and schooners that resort to these harbors," &c., &c.

67

Exports.

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68

FISHERIES OF THE ISLAND OF CAPE BRETOW.

The extraordinary value placed upon this island by the French, and
by the people of New England, as well as the expenditures and exer-
tions of both — the one to fortify and retain possession of it, tlie other to
capture it — have been considered in the first part of this report. We
may here, without repeating anything there stated, give a view of the
whole subject by an extract from the " proposals " of Robert Auchmuty,
of Boston, to the British ministry while in London, in 1744, the yenT
previous to the expedition against Louisbourg under Pepperell.

Auchmuty, it will be remembered, was a distinguished lawyer and
judge of the vice admiralty court for Massachusetts and New Hamp-
shire. The communication in question is headed "The Importance of
Cape Breton to the British Nation," and commences with the following
remarkable declaration : " This island, situated between Newfoundland
and Nova Scotia, the Encflish exchanged Avith the French for Placentia
in the treaty of Utrecht; and during the late peace between the two
nations the French, by the advantage of the place, carried on an un-
bounded Jisherii, annually employing at least a thousand sail, from two hun-
dred to four hundred tons, and ticenty thousand men. hi the year 1730,
th''re was a comjmtation made of tiventy-two hujidred thousnyid quintals of
fish at Marseilles, only fur a market ; and coinmunihus annis* they ewe above
five millions of (pdntals. How dangerous a nursery of seamen this island,
therefore, has been, and ever will be, while in their possession, is too
obvious to a British constitution ; and it is as demonstrable the recovery
of a place of this consequence will entirely break up their fishery, and
destroy this formidable seminary of seamen ; for if they are happily
removed from this advantageous shelter, no protection is left fi^r them
on the fishing ground nearer than old France." Such are the exagge-
rated statements and conclusions of one of the most intellio-ent men of
New England of the last century. He, of course, did but embody and
repeat to the ministiy the opinions expressed in Boston before his de-
parture for England, and his declarations are accordingly to be con-
sidered as those common at the time. The number of quintals of fish
caught and of vessels employed at Cape Breton in 1744, which I have
placed in the table of statistics, though much less than Auchmuty's
computations, and though authorized by authentic documents, and par-
ticularly b}^ an official report of a special agent of Governor Shirley, I
consider too large.

That, however, the French fisljery was extensive at this island, can-
not be doubted. But whatever allowance should be made in the esti-
mates and figures of exasperated rivals, enough remains certain to show
that there has been a great decline in this branch of industry since
Cape Breton became a possession of the British crown.

Louisbourg, the once famous fortress, is now a heap of ruins. Even
the materials of which it was built have been carried away, to a very
considerable extent, to be used in the erection of structures hundreds
f)f miles distant. It is almost desolate. 'J'hose who visit it — with the
aid of the imagination — hesitate to believe that armies and fleets once

* One year with auother.

69

foiight with desperate valor to retain and to win it ; that the deep silence
which prevails was ever broken by crowds of busy people ; that ships
laden with rich cargoes ever anchored in waters which even fishermen
of our day seldom enter, except for shelter ; that around them were
lofty and, as was thought, impregnable walls, and nunneries, palaces,
terraces, and gardens.

The English history of Cape Breton, as connected with our subject,
is brief.

Separated from Nova Scotia by a narrow strait onl}^, it was annexed
to that colony, soon after its final cession, at the peace of 1763 ; but in
1784 was created a province, and allowed corresponding rights until
1820, when it was re-annexed to the government of Nova Scotia. The
population in 1839 was about 35,000, and in 1848 nearly 50,000.

Great as u^ere the expectations of the conquerors, its fisheries have
never been of account since the conquest. The statistics indicate no
increase, but, on the contrarj'', a considerable decline. The exports, at
the present time, are less than in 1828. In fact. Cape Breton is the
poorest part of British America.

As late as 1840, a gentleman officially connected w^ith its fisheries
gave a most lamentable description of the poverty of those who de-
pended upon them for subsistence. Having stated that, while in pos-
session of the French, tlie exports were of the immense value of
^927,577 sterling, that 564 ships and 27,000 men were employed, and
that the whole produce now was only 80,000 quintals, and 50 tuns of
oil, he proceeds as follows ^ "The fisherman is supplied at such ex-
tremely high prices, that, after his season's work is over, what he has
caught frequently does not amount to the cost of his outfits: thus he
returns to his family with a poor prospect of providing for their winter's
supply." "I have seen families," he continues, "covered with scurvy,
applying for medicine, and although they obtained it, were informed by
the doctor that it was fresh and wholesome provision they wanted most;
at which time one of the parties admitted that his stock was reduced
to some herrings and a few potatoes.'' "In like manner," he adds,
"wlien the militia muster took place, I knew of some who came seven
miles, and who, without money to purchase food, returned home fast

Had the cases related by this functionary been such as exist in every
community, they would not have been thus mentioned. It is not to be
presumed, however, that while so great destitution is prevalent, it is
gerieral among the fishermen of Cape Breton. Yet tales of their
wretchedness and poverty are common. Masters of our fishing ves-
sels, who visit the coast, have told me repeatedly that in the spring
they were beset by persons who offered to barter away almost their
last article of value, and even begged for food. To make every allow-
ance, we may still fairly conclude that those who earn their bread in
fishing boats and shallops, as a body, enjoy few comforts, a,nd often
eaifier for the absolute necessaries of life.

The seas of Cape Breton, neglected, shunned even, as if a curse
rested upon them, and as if the spirits of the slain of a by-gone genera-
tion hovered over them, are as rich as they ever were ; and as safe, too,
for the employmenl of capital, skill, and labor, as when the successful

70

adventures of the Catholic French roused all Puritan New England in
a crusade to possess them. Were these seas ours, we should soon
prove the truth of this remark. Could the descendants of those who
first won Louishourg for its present nominal owners, settle amid its
ruins, the few fishers' huts that serve to mark its site would disappear,
and a thrifty, well-built town take their place. The harbor is one of
the best on the eastern coast, and the situation such as to render access
to the fishing grounds in the waters of the St. Lawrence easy. In a
word, distant, lone, and dreaiy as is the ancient fishing capital of
France, enterprise and industry are alone wanting to restore it, in sooae;
measure at least, to importance and prosperity.

71

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FISHERIES OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

Prince Edward Island is in tlie Gulf of St. Lawrence, and is one
hundred and seventeen miles long.

Cabot, in 1497, after losing sight of Newfoundland, and on the 24th
of June, saw other Lind, to which, in honor of the day, he gave llie
name of St. John. The discovery was assumed to be this island, and
it bore the name of St. John for a long period. The French, claiming
that Verrnzani was the first discoverer, granted it — in 1663 — ^to the
Sieur Doublett, a captain in the navy, to be held by him in vassalage
of the royal company of Miscou. The Sieur's associates were two
companies of fishing adventurers from St. Malocs and elsewhere in
France, whose settlements upon the island were confined to places on
the coast suited to their pursuits.

The French from Nova Scotia and Cape Breton emigrated thither
until the government, to prevent the depopulation of Louisbourg, pro-
hibited fishing except in certain harbors.

In 1758 the isle St. John surrendered to the British ; and at the
peace of 1763, was permanently annexed to the crown of Great Britain.
The population was about 6,000. Tljere were several thousand "black
cattle" owned by the inhabitants at this time; and the cultivation of
the soil was so extensive that it was called the "granary of Canada."
Among the proprietors of land in 1775 was General Charles Lee, who
owned a tract often thousand acres, on which he had expended about
five thousand dollars. As he had been an officer in the British array,
and had served in America, it may be presumed that this estate was a
grant from the crown.*

At the peace of 1783, the isle St. John became the home of several
of the "tories" or loyalists of the Revolution, and, the following year,
was formed into a colony and called Prince Edward Island. The
population in 1806 was less than 10,000; in 1841 it was upwards of
47,000.

The north and south coasts are much indented with bays and coves,
and the waters teem with fish. But as the soil is generally good, and
owned by persons of skill and property, the fisheries are much neg-
lected. Various attempts have been made to induce greater attention
to maritime pursuits.

In 1842, it is beheved that a company was formed in England, with
a capital of several hundred thousand dollars, to promote this object.
The plan of this association was, as is said, to purchase land for a town,
erect buildings, and send over two thousand persons. Of its actual
operations and success I have no knowledge. In 1844 the governor
of the colony, "in a speech from the throne," recommended the organi-
zation of a company for the prosecution of the fisheries.

Mackerel are at times abundant. A single example will suffice: In
1848 an American schooner was dismasted, and put into Georgetown
to repair. Having refitted, she went to sea, and returned to port with

* General Charles Lee was a colonel in the British anny, and served in America in the
French war. He lost the favor of the ministry l)y his course in the n^volnlionary controversy,
and entered the service of Congress, llis dislike of Washington was the cause of kis ruia.
He died at Philadelphia in 1782.

73

eighty barrels of fat mackerel, after being absent only one week. The
fish were taken, however, in two days, the weather interfering with
operations during the remaining part of the time.

The exports of Prince Edward Island are not large, and often merely
nominal ; the catch of the various kinds of fish hardly exceeding the
demand for domestic consumption.*

Daring the season for fishing our vessels frequent the coasts in fleets ;
and as many as six or seven hundred have been seen in the vicinity of
the island in a single year.

Captain Fair, of the royal navy, in command of her Majesty's
ship the Champion, who was upon the station in 1839, passed the
number here stated, and bears honorable testimony to their good con-
duct.

The feelings of the inhabitants towards our countrymen may be
ascertained from the following resolution, which is understood to have
passed the House of Assembly unanimously during the session of 1852 :

^'■Resolved, That a committee be appointed to prepare an address to
her Majesty the Queen, praying that she will cause to be removed the
restrictions of the treaty of 1818, prohibiting American citizens from
fishing within certain prescribed limits on the shores of the island;
provided the American government admit articles the growth or pro-
duction of this island into the United States duty free, in accordance
with the act 12 Vic, cap. 3, including fish; also, vessels built on this
island to American registry ; and that the legislative council be re-
quested to join in the said address."

FISHERIES OF THE MAGDALENE ISLANDS.

The Magdalene Islands fisheries are of consequence. These islands,
seven in number, are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and about forty
miles northwesterly of Cape Breton. They originally belonged to the
French, and were first granted, I suppose, in 1663, to the Sieur Dou-
blett and his associates, as a fishing station, under the feudal tenure, as
a fief of the royal company of Miscou. After they became possessions
of the British crown they were granted to Richard Gridley, of Massa-
chusetts, who served under Pepperell at the siege of Louisbourg, who,
in 1775, laid out the works on Bunker's Hill, and who was retained by
Washington as chief of the engineer department of the continental
army.t

The Magdalene islands are thinly inhabited, at the present time, by
fishermen, many of whom are the hneal descendants of the Acadians,
who made the first permanent settlement in North America, under De
Monts, the original French grantee of Acadia, or Nova Scotia. The

* The value of the products of the sea exported in 1851, was only $38,776; while of the sin
gle agricultural article of potatoes, the value was $47,568.

t Whether Colonel Gridley retained the ownership of these islands until the Eevolution, and
lost them in consequence of the part he took in that event, is unknown to me. But the Mag-
daleues were a second time granted by the British crown. The last grantee was the late
Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, who, at his decease, is understood to have bequeathed them to
Captain John Townsend Coffin, of the royal navy, to be held by him and h s heirs male, in
strict entail. Captain Coffin leased these islands for the term of his life, it is believed, in the
spring of 1852, to Benjamin Wier, of Halifax, and John Foutana, a resident at the Magdalenee,

u

fishermen of Acadian descent retain to this day the dress, the customs,
language, and rehgion of their ancestors.

The herring fishery at these islands at times is very extensive. The
catch, in some seasons, has been from eighty thousand to one hundred
thousand batrels; and as many as one hundred and fifty vessels from
the United States have been seen there at once. The quality of the
fish is, however, poor, and the curing and packing carelessly performed.
I have seen whole cargoes that, unfit for human food, were entirely
worthless, except as dressing for grass lands.

Large seines are used in the fishery, and hundreds of barrels are
often taken at a single hauL The inhabitants welcome the amval of
our fishermen, and treat them kindly. No serious difficulties have ever
occurred, and in no part of British America, probably, have the rela-
tions of the people of the two nations been more intimate or more har-
monious.*

By a singular arrangement, these islands are included in the govern-
ment of Canada. As communication with the capital of that colony is
interrupted by ice and inclement weather nearly half of the year, and
is generally fiee with Nova Scotia, annexation to the latter is much to
be desired.

Statistics of the year 1848. — Exports.

Quintals of
dried fish.

Barrels of
pickled fish.

Boxes of
smoked fish.

Number of
seal-skins.

Gallons seal
and cod oil.

Value.

34,448

17,574

6,115

21,308

114,403

$223,796

FISHERIES OF THE BAT OF CHALEURS.

The Bay of Chaleurs was explored by Jacques Cartier, in 1534
He gave the name it bears — the "Bay of Heat." On its shores are
some of the oldest settlements in North America.

As at the Magdalene islands, many of the fishermen here are Aca-
dian French, a people whose story possesses a melancholy interest, and
whose sufferings at an eventful period of their history have been com-
memorated by the poet Longfellow, in "Evangeline." They continue
to live in villages distinct from the English settlers, and within sound
of the chapel bell. The most devout and decided Catholics, they seldom
intermarry with protestants. After the services of Sunday, they as-

* Perhaps the year 1H52 fonns an exception. There was a difficulty of some sort in the
Bpring, but the exact facts have not been ascertained. The Halitiix Sun, in i;ivin<; an account
of the trouble, says: "The Americans, not satisfied with infrinjring the provisions of the treaty
by easting their nets side by side with the British residents and subjects within the limits pre-
scribed, per force of numbers and audacity took posses.sioa of the fish in the nets of their com-
petitors. The indignant residents rallied in strong force ; an American vessel and crew were
captured in way of reprisal, and taken into liarbor. The Americans during the night following
gathered in their strength, and triumphantly 'cut the vessel out,' leaving the skipper, however,
in durance under lock and key."

75

semble for socicd enjoyment and amusement. Few of them are conupt
and vicious, but most are superstitious and ignorant. The women, hke
those of the ancient fishing-town, Dieppe, in France, from which their
ancestors came, wear calico caps or handkerchiefs tied over the head,
short petticoats of woollen stuff" striped with red, white, and blue, and
plaited in large folds at the waist, and blue stockings ; while on Sunday,
over a neat and clean attire, they throw upon the shoulders a small blue
cloak, reaching about half way down the body, and fastened at the
breast with a brass brooch. The men appear in short round jackets,
with straight collars and metal buttons set close together, blue or scar-
let waistcoats and blue trowsers, find sometimes the bonnet rouge, but
generally round hats. Individuals, however, of both sexes, dress differ-
ently. The women, or "fish-wives" — as at the fishing ports of Nor-
mandy, Piccardy, and Brittany, in France — work very hard, performing
the whole labor of curing the fish, in addition to the ordinary duties of
cooking, spinning and weaving, and the care of the children.

The cod-fishing establishments in this bay are ancient and extensive.
Of those of modern times, that of Messrs. Robin & Co., founded in
1768, is the largest, best ordered, and most prosperous. They have a
number of finished buildings, which are conveniently arranged, and kept
in excellent repair. They export about 30,000 quintals of cod annually,
besides a quantity of pickled fish and oil. Their vessels come from the
Isle of Jersey in the spring, are dismantled on arrival, and he moored
until the close of the fishing season; the masters and crews either fish-
ing in boats, or collecting the fish caught by residents, who obtain
their supplies and outfits of the firm. In the autumn the vessels are
equipped, and depart for Europe with full cargoes. It is said that the
first head of the firm, the late Charles Robin, among other rules for the
management of the business, directed in his will that no female should
reside at, or be employed at any of the fishing establishments of the
concern ; and that, in accordance therewith, the gentlemen and clerks
of the present firm of Robin & Co. leave their families in Jersey while
sojourning in the Bay of Chaleurs.

The fishery is carried on almost entirely in boats, two persons in
each, who return home every night and land the day's catch. At the
close of the season the resident fishermen settle with the merchants with
whom they deal, carrying to their storehouses all the fish not previously
collected by their agents.

The whale fishery is pursued to some extent in the Bay of Chaleurs
and the adjacent seas. " The whales caught within the Gulf of St.
Lawrence," says Macgregor, "are those called ' hump-backs,' which
yield, on an average, about three tuns of oil. Some have been taken
seventy feet long, which produced eight tons. The mode of taking
them is somewhat different from that followed by the Greenland fishers,
and the Gaspe fishermen first acquired an acquaintance with it from
the people of Nantucket. An active man, accustomed to boats and
schooners, may become fully acquainted with everything connected
with this fishery in one season. The vessels best adapted for the pur-
pose are schooners of from seventy to eighty tons burden, manned with
a crew of eight men, including the master. Each schooner requires two
boats, about twenty feet long, built narrow and sharp, and with j^ink

76

sterns ; and two hundred and twenty fathoms of line are necessary in
each boat, with spare harpoons and lances. The men row towards
the whale, and when they are very near, use paddles, w ch make
less noise than oars.

'* Whales are sometimes taken fifteen minutes after they are struck
with tlie harpoon. The Gaspe fishermen never go in quest of them
until some of the small ones, which enter the bay about the beginning
of June, appear; these swim too fas^t to be easily harpooned, and are
not, besides, worth the trouble. The large whales are taken off" the
entrance of Gaspe bay, on each side of the island of Anticosti, and up
the river St. Lawrence as far as Bique."

In Gaspe basin — I ascertain from another source — the whale fishery
is one of the chief means of support. Yet the number of inhabitants
is small. Four or five schooners of the size mentioned by Macgregor
are employed, and probably two hundred men. The produce is about
20,000 gallons annually. The basin is safe, commodious, and easy of
access. The whales are taken at and near its entrance in the spring,
and around the island of Anticosti and on the north shore of the St.
Lawrence in the summer.

The fisheries of Canada, other than those of the Magdalene islands,
Bay of Chaleurs, and Gulf of St. Lawrence generally, are too incon-
siderable to require attention. While Canada was a possession of
France, the seas were neglected. Twenty years after the conquest the
exports of fish were small. From Canada p-oper there has been no
increase, as will be seen.

Exports from Canada, (proper.)

Years.

Quintals dried
fish.

Tierces sal-
mou.

smoked
salmon.

I
Tuns oQ. 1 Value.

1783

941
2,145

5,346

885

304
221

505

1784

100

1785

438

1786

1,100

253

185

1849

$23,220

Exports from, Quebec, Gaspe, and New Carlisle, presumed to he of the pro-
duce of ihe Bay of Chaleurs fisheries.

Teara.

Quintals dried
fish.

Bbls. pickled
fish.

No. seal-
skins.

Gallons fish
oil.

Value.

1832

1838

55,924
45,116
61,448

87,137

2,962

1,618

858

3,667

4,675

27,681

9,513

28,890

34,292

$160,262
177,067

1843

192,898

1848

6,548

359,209

77

FISHERIES OF LABRADOR.

The coast of Labrador was partially explored b}'- Jacques Cartier
in 1534. He was beset with ice, and encountered many difficulties.
Little was known of the country for a long period after the voyage of
the French navigator. It has been said, however, that our cod-fishery
was extensive in this region, not only previous to the Revolution, but in
the early part of the last century. The statement I consider entirely
erroneous. As I have examined the scattered and fragmentary ac-
counts of Labrador, there is no proof whatever that its fishing grounds
were occupied b}^ our countrymen until after we became an independ-
ent people.

Li 1761 Sir Francis Bernard, who was then governor of Massachu-
setts, wrote a brief "Account of the coast of Labrador," which — found
among some of his papers — is preserved in the Collections of the Mas-
sachusetts Historical Society. After some general remarks upon the
country, and the ignorance that existed relative to the natives, he pro-
ceeds to say that, " What follows shall be a plain narration of facts,
as I received them from several persons who have been on the Esqui-
meaux coast, with now and then a digi"ession, which I hope may be
pertinent." These persons appear to have been Captain Henry At-
kins, of Boston, who made a voyage to Davis's straits in the ship Whale
in 1729, and who visited the coast a second time in 1758, and a Cap-
tain Prebble, who was sent by Atkins in 1753. The Baronet describes
the course of affhii'S between Atkins and the Indians in 1729, and adds
that he "is the more particular in this account from the captain's own
mouth, as he thinks it plainly indicates that the natives on this coast
and islands had never any trade or commerce with any civilized peo-
ple from Europe or America ; of course not with the French from Can-
ada, or the Hudson's Bay factories." This is conclusive, especially if it
be remembered that the object of Sir Francis was to collect information
" for the advantage of future navigators." His memory was remark-
able, and he himself said that he could repeat the whole of Shakspeare.
Of course, this paper embraced every thing that had been communicated
to him.

As late as 1761, then, it is not probable that fishermen of muj flag
had visited the waters of Labrador. An account of the origin of our
own fishery there will be found in the proper place.

The Enghsh whale and seal fisheries were the first, and employed
upwards of one hundred vessel, at times, prior to the year 1775. The
earliest adventures were near 1763; as at that time the Labrador
country was poUtically separated from Canada, and annexed to the
government of Newfoundland by royal proclamation, to the end that the
" open and free fishery of our subjects may be extended." The pursuit
of the cod and salmon followed. Meantime the Moravians, whose
principal settlement is at Nain, who have ever led a quiet and simple
lite, and who now annually ship furs, oils, and other productions of
that region to England, in payment for the manufactured commodities
which the}" require, had founded a colony.

The islands are so numerous and so near each other as to resemble,
and often to be mistaken for, the main land. Back from the coast, the

7^

country is still unknown. Labrador still forms a part of the colony of
Newfoundland. The natives bear the general name of Esquimeauxs.
The resident inhabitants of European origin are English, Irish, Jersey-
men, and Canadians, who are emploj'-ed either on their own account,
or as the servants of others, as furriers, seal-catchers, and cod and sal-
mon fishers.

The fishing establishments of the English and .Jersey merchants are
extensive and well conducted. They are engaged in the cod and sal-
mon fisheries, and in the taking of seals. In the year 1831, the value
of their shipments to Europe was upwards of $200,000. The number
of these commercial houses is from ten to twelve, who manage their
business at Newfoundland, either by the temporary presence of junior
partners or clerks, or b}' resident agents.

The people of Newfoundland, averring that the French and Ameri-
cans have driven them from their own " bank fishery," resort to Labra-
dor. They employ two or three hundred vessels. A part make two
voyages in a season. The first fare is commonly cured on the coast;
but the second is carried home without dr3ang. Some of the merchants
of Newfoundland ship both cod and salmon directly to correspondents
in Europe; while others order their captains to return to the island and
unlade their fish and oil at their own warehouses.

The Canadian fisheries are small. They send eight or ten vessels
to the coast, with eighty or one hundred men. They fish for cod and
salmon. They carry a pait of what they catch to Quebec, and send
a part to Europe.

The colonists of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick adventure at Lab-
rador to a considerable extent; but they do not pursue the business as
regularly and with as much system as do those of Newfoundland.
Sometimes they send more than one hundred vessels in a year ; at
others the number is much less. They engage principally in the cod
fishery, making a single fare and curing their fish at home.

The Labrador fisheries have "increased more than six-fold," says
Macgregor, "principally in consequence of our fishermen [the English]
being driven from the grounds now occupied by the French " since the
year 1814; and he estimates that about twenty thousand British subjects
are at present required during the fishing season in the catching, curing,
and transporting the various products of these remote seas.

Statistics.

Yeiff.

OS
CO

>

O

i

a

e

O

6
1^

i.

O

S 2

H

u

"a

£

a.

IS

H

Value.

1829.

608
700

9,110
11,200

678,000
720,000

1,682
2,200

1831 .

2,430

16,000

$1,450,000

79

FISHERIES OF NEW BRUNSWICK.

There were French fishing establishments in that part of Acadia now
known as New Brunswick, as early as 1638. The English succeeded
to these at the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713 ; but they do not seem to have
formed many others until after the cession of Canada, in 1763.* Among
the first, I suppose, was that of Lieut. Walker, of the royal navy, in the
Bay of Chaleurs, which was extensive, controlhng the fur and fish trade
of that region for several years. There were similar settlements on
the river St. John; but from the estimates of Mr. Grant, made in 1764,
at the request of the Rev. Dr. Stiles, the whole population of British
origin could not have exceeded one thousand.

At the peace of 1783, several thousand "tories," or loyalists, com-
pelled to abandon their native land, settled in New Brunswick, and
transferred thither the jurisprudence, the social and political institutions,
of "the old thirteen;" and, the year following, were allowed to organ-
ize a separate colonial government. Like those who went to that part
of Acadia still called Nova Scotia, many of the loyalists were gentlemen
of education, eminent private virtue, and distinguished consideration.
Some obtained offices of honor and emolument ; others adopted agricul-
tural pursuits; and another class, fixing their abodes on islands and the
shores of the main land, resolved to earn their support on the sea. Of
the latter description, several, though compelled to toil and exposure
in open fishing boats, had been persons of note and property. But,
ruined by the confiscation laws of the whigs, or by the general disasters
of a civil war, they resorted to the hook and line to relieve the pressure
of immediate want, indulging the hope of "better times," and more
congenial avocations. Few, however, abandoned the employment,
and their children, trained to it from early youth, and acquiring fisher-
men's habits, succeeded to boats, fishing-gear, and smoke-houses, as
their only inheritance, and continue it at the present day. I have often
met with common boat fishermen of this lineage, whose earnings were
hardly sufficient to procure the absolute necessaries of life.

The fisheries of New Brunswick are prosecuted with neither skill
nor vigor. The aiiparent exports, small as are the statistics, do not
indicate their real condition ; since it is certain, that of the products of
the sea shipped to other countries, a part is first imported from Nova
Scotia, and form a proportion of the exports of that colony.t The
number of vessels sent to Labrador and other distant fishing grounds
is never large, and often almost nominal. The cod-fishery in the Gulf'
of St. Lawrence and the Bay of Chaleurs is not as extensive as might be
reasonably expected from the long experience of the inhabitants there,
and the general safety and productiveness of the harbors and indenta-
tions of the coast.

'The French built two forts on the river St. John prior to the peace of Utrecht, (1713,)
which they repaired in 1754, although the countiy had been ceded to England quite half a
century.

t The imports into St. John from Nova Scotia for three months only (July 10 to October
10, 1852) of the present year, were 7,861 quintals of dried fish, 86U barrels of mackerel,
2,42"3 barrels of herrmg, and other pickled fish.

The same remarks need slight qualification when applied to the Bay
of Fund}', and its principal branch, the Bay of Passama(juodd3\ Cam^
eron's, Doggett's, Drake's, Woodward's, Money, and Whale coves;
Dark harbor, Long's eddy. Grand harbor, and Long, Duck, Nan-
tucket, and Kent's islands, which are all in the group of islands known
as "Grand INIcnan," afford excelk^nt facilities l()r catching and curing
cod, pollock, and herring, in large quantities. In the waters that sur-
round Campo Bello, Deer, and Indian islands, as well as in those that
wash Bean's, Adams's, Parkers, Minister's, Hardwood, and P'ish
islands, and along the coast between L'Etite Passage and Point Le-
preau, embracing Mace's and Back bays, Bliss's island, Seely's cove,
Crow, Beaver, and Deadman's harbors, the advantages for fishing are
very good. Every place here mentioned is within a few hours' sail of
the frontier ports of" Maine, and many of them are within cannon-shot
distance of the shores of the United States. The fishermen of both
countries meet on the same fishing grounds; borrow and lend "bait;"
ask after each other's "woman"* at home; narrate the wonderful cures
of the last-discovered remedy for the "reumatis;" complain of the
"scacity" offish, and the low price of "ile;" discourse about "flat-
hooped flour;" and generally conduct towards one another as friends
and brethren, owing allegiaix.'e to one government. Lideed, the obser-
vation of quite twenty-five years authorizes me to sa}' that the colonists
always agree far better with the Americans than with each other. Our
countr3^men are not often considered interlopers when they leave the
fishing grounds nearest home and visit those of Grand Menan ; but the
fishermen of Campo Bello, and the other islands on the British side of the
Passamaquoddy, are sometimes roughly accosted and "twitted" when
they venture to take the same liberty. Frequent attempts have been made
to disturb the friendly relations which have generally existed between the
people of the two flags, but without success. The efforts of officious indi-
viduals, and of functionaries of the colonial government, have been alike
disregarded. The captains of the British ships-of-war on the station, gen-
tlemen in their feelings, have steadily refused to stoop to wage a petty
warfare against the American boats that cross the imaginary boundary
line in the waters of the Passamaquoddy, though, of course, they have
always obeyed their instructions. Yet, in the spirit of Nelson, who looked
at the signal he meant to disobey with liis blind eye, they have never
been able to see a "Yankee," or to distinguish one from a subject of her
Majesty. Some of them — as I remember the stories of by-gone years —
admitting the necessity of driving off the aggressors, have asked, "How
are we to know them — are they marJiedf'' Others, sending their barges
into the fleet of boats, have directed that "All who say they are Amer-
icans must be told to go to their own side of the line;" but, strangely
enough, the unbrok(m silence of the fishermen to whom the question
was ])ropounded afforded proof that all were " Bluenoses." Still others,
satisfying themselves, by pe(>ring through glasses from their (juarter-
deck, that ^//^ the boats in sight must belong to the islands in Ncnv Bruns-
wick, have thought the sending of barges to inquire a needless cei^e-'
mony. One, in 1840 — the captain of the Ringdove — in his official

They thus speak of their wives.

81

report, recommended that "every British boat should have a license;"
otherwise, stiid he, "it is impossible to discriminate them from Amer-
icans."

Those who seek to put an end to this state of things, whatever their
motives, do not take into the account that the instant they shall ac-
complish their object, border strifes will follow of necessity. Before
renewing their efforts, they may be kindly asked to consider that har-
mony and good-fellowship between the inhabitants of frontier settle-
ments are indispensable, and far better securities against the marauder's "
torch and bludgeon than armed ships or bodies of troops.

The produce of the boat-fishery of the Bay of Fundy, and of the
Passamaquoddy, is not only small in value, but generally inferior in
quality. An increase of this fishery, under present circumstances, is
not desirable. The fishermen dress and cure the cod, pollock, hake,
and haddock — the kinds usually dried — in a slovenly manner.

These fish, besides being rough and dirty on the "split face," fre-
quently "slime," and thus are unfit for use. They also smoke, pickle,
and pack the herring without skill and care, and decay is the conse-
quence. There is no excuse whatever for such a course of conduct,
and every offender should be held to punishment. The gentlemen of
New Brunswick who complain of the decline of their fisheries, and who
seek to encourage them by private "associations," and by government
"bounties," should endeavor, first of all, to devise a plan to improve
the reputation of the fish of this part of that colony among dealers and
consumers.

I find it stated in an official document* that in 1850, at the different
fishng-stations mentioned as within these bays, there were employed
62 vessels of 1,268 tons, 344 open boats, 55 weirs, and 1,337 men, in
catching and curing the several kinds of fish just referred to ; and that
the value of the products of the various branches of the fishery was
^33,080t currency, or $132,320.

These facts show that the fishermen received a miserable pittance
for their toil ; since, tmthout aUoicmg for the vse and depreciation of the
capital invested in the vessels, boats, weirs, nets, and other fishivg-gear, they
earned for the year less tlian one hnndrcd dollars each. We may lament
that men who pursue their avocation both day and night, mid rains
and gales, are so poorly rewarded. We may lament, too, that the peo-
ple of Grand Menan, falling short of those of Campo Bello, West Isles,
and the parishes on the coast of the main land, earn even less than the
average. But, what then? The fault is their own ; entirely so. They
may, if they will, produce as sweet and as well-cured pollock and cod
as do their brethren of Barrington, and as good colored and flavored

* " Report upon the fisheries of the Bay of Fundy, by M. H. Perley, esq., her ISIajesty's
emigi-atioa officer at Saint John, N. B.; laid before the House of Assembly by command of his
excellency the lieutenant governor, and ordered to be prmted, 15th March, 1851." To this
minute, carefully-prepared, and valuable State paper, I am much indebted for statistics and
other information. Mr. Perley's endeavors to improve the condition and develop the re-
sources of New Bi-unswick, are entitled to the' highest commendation of his fellow-colonists.

t No statistics for Grand Menan are given. Mr. P. says a dealer estimates the value in
1849 as £12,001), which, in accordance with Mr. P.'s suggestion of bein§ too high, I assume to
have been £11,000.
6

82

smoked herring as do those of Digby, and obtain prices to correspond
with tlie quiihty.

The general poverty among them is not to be attributed entirely or
principally, as they aver, to the occasional loss of boa.ts and nets, nor
to glutted markets nnd bad seasons, nor to the interlopers who visit their
fishing grounds, but to their own want of industry, thrift, cleanliness,
and honesty. The few "who work it right," acquire property, and
enjoy the entire confidence of the dealers, command credit for sup-
plies, and high prices for their commodities when offered for sale.

It remains to speak of the fisheries of the Bay of Chaleurs, and of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The county of Restigouche borders on
Canada, and the counties of Gloucester, Northumberland, and Kent,
are favorably situated for adventures in these waters. The fishing
grounds are safe, and generally close to the shores; and those near
Caraquct, in Gloucestei*, are much frequented by boats from Gaspe,
and owned by residents of Canada. Since 1835, the catch of both
cod and herring by the fishermen of Restigouche and Northumberland
has fallen off more than half, and in Kent has nearly become extinct.
But the inhabitants of the port of Caraquet, availing themselves of the
advantages of their position, have actually produced a large proportion
of the dried cod exported from the colony ibr some years. These lour
counties are more remote from the capital of New Brunswick, and from
the markets of the United States, than the county of Charlotte, which
embraces Grand Menan, and the other islands in the Bay of Fundy,
(where the fish are so badly cured,) and the attention of the people is
divided between several branches of industry ; but fishing, as an occa-
sional and irregular employment merely, has commonly proved a source
of profit, or at least has afforded a fiiir reward for the labor and capital
devoted to it. The fish shipped at Caraquet are in much better repute
than those caught in the Bay of Fundy, and the remark is true of the
produce of the Bay of Chaleurs and St. Lawrence fisheries generally.
It may be presumed that there the herring does not " become rotten
before salting;" that, when sold as the "gibbcd" article, it is not packed
without taking out the entrails; and that the cod is washed after being
split, and not "salted and put in 'kinch' in all its blood and dirt."

This brief notice of the fisheries of New Brunswick would be incom-
plete without a description of the boat-fisherman of the Bay of Fundy,
whose professional faults I have so severely rebuked. Bred to the use
of boats from his earliest youth, he displays astonishing skill in their
management, and great boldness in his adventures. He will cross, in
the stormiest weather, from island to island, and go from passage to
passage, through frightful whirls of tides, which suddenly meet and part
with a loud roar;* and he will dive iieadlong, as it were, upon rocks
and bars, merely to show how easih^ he can shun them, or how readily
and certainly he can "go about" and "stand off on the other tack."t

* The ortliuary rise and fall of the tide is twenty-two feet. The rapidity with which it
rushes by the points of land, and tliroush the naiTow straits between the islands, creates dan-
gerous cross-tides, eddies, and whirlpo(ds.

t In retiiniinn; from a cruise to the const, says the author of "Eothcn," "You see often
enough a iislienuan's humble boat far away from all shores, with an ugly black sky above, and
an augry sea beneath ; you watch the grisly old miui at the helm, carrying his craft with

83

He is neither a landsman nor a seaman, a soldier nor a marine ; but vou
would think by his talk that he could appear to advantage in either of
these characters. He is neither a merchant nor a mechanic, and yet
he can buy and sell, mend and make, as expertly as either. In the
healing art he is wise above all others, and fancies that he possesses a
sovereign specific for every ailment which all the world beside considers
as incurable. He holds nautical instruments in high derision : for the state
of the moon and the weather predictions of the almanac, the peculiar
sound of the sea when it "moans," and the particular size or shape of
a "cat's paw" or "glin" in the sky, lead him to far surer results. He
will undertake nothing of consequence upon a Friday, and can prove
by a hundred incidents how infalfible are the signs and omens which
he believes in. He thinks to die in his bed. True it is, that he has
been overset; that his boat, loaded with fish to the "gunnel," has sunk
under him, and that a vessel has run over him; but he is still alive,
and "was not born to be drowned." His "fish stories" are without
end. In pohtics, he goes for the largest liberty. He has never heaixl
of easements and prescriptive rights ; but he occupies at will both beach
and upland, without any claim to either, and will browbeat the actual
proprietor who has the temerity to remind him of their relative positions.
Against speculators he wages perpetual war: why should he not?
since it is they who put up the price of his favorite "flat-hooped,
fine middhngs flour," and put down the price of flsh and "ile!"

And who shall do justice to his dress and to his professional gear ?
The garments which cover his upper and nether man he calls his ile
sute. The queer-shaped thing worn upon his crown is a son'' -wester;
or, if the humor takes him, a north-easter. He wears neither mittens
nor gloves, but has a substitute which he has named nippers.

When he talks about brush, he means to speak of the matted and
tangled mass which grows upon his head ; or the long, red hair under
his chin, which serves the purpose of a neckcloth; or of that in front
of his ears, which renders him impervious to the dun of his merchant.
His boots are stampeis. Lest he should lose the movables about his
person, he has them fastened to his pockets by lannairds. One of his
knives is a cut-throat, and another is a splitter. His apron, of leather or
canvass, is a barrel. The compartment of his boat into which he
throws his fish as he catches them, is a kid. The state of the moon
favorable for "driving herring," he calls darks. The bent-up iron hook
which he uses to carry his burning torch on the herring-gi-ound, is a
dragon. The small net with an iron bow and wooden handle, is a dip-
net, because it is with that that he dips out of the water the fish which
his light attracts to the surface. His set-net is differently huvg, and
much larger ; it has leads on its lower edge to sink it with in the wa-
ter, and corks upon its upper edge, at regular intervals, to buoy it up

strange skill through the turmoil of waters, and the boy, supple-limbed, yet weather-worn
already, and with steady eyes that look through the blast, you see him — understanding «om-
mandmeuts from the jerk of his father's white eye-brow — now belaying, and now letting go —
now scruuchmg himself down into mere ballast, or baling out death with a pipkin. Stale
enough is the sight; and yet when I see it I always stai-e anew, and with a kind of Titanic
exidtation, because that a poor boat, with the brain of a man and the hands of a boy ou board,
can match herself so bravely against black heaven and ocean," &c.

84

and preserve it nearly in a perpendicular direction, so tnat the herrings
may strike it and become entangled in its meshes.

Nor ends his dialect here. Chebacco-boats and small schooners are
known to him as pinJcics, pogics, and jiggos. He knows but little about
the hours of the day and night; everything with him is reckoned by
the tide. Thus, if you ask him what time he was married, he will
answer, "On the young flood last night;" and he will tell you that he
saw a certain man this morning about "low-water slack;" or, as he
case may be, "just at half-flood," "as the tide turned," or "two hours
to low water." If he speaks of the length of line required on the dif-
ferent fishing-grounds, he will compute by '■^ shots i'' and by a shot he
means thirty fathoms. If he have fish to sell, and is questioned as to
their size, he will reply that they are '■^ tivo-quintaV^ fish, by which he
means that fifty will weigh one hundred and twelve pounds.

He is kind and hospitable in his way; and the visiter who is treated
to fresh smother, duff, and jo-fioggcrs,* may regard himself as a decided
favorite. He believes in witches and in dreams. The famous pirate
Kyd buried gold and treasures in Money Cove,t Grand Menan, he is
sure; and he has dug for it many a tune. His "woman" is the "best;"
the harbor he lives in is "the safest;" and his boat is "the fastest and
will carry sail the longest." When determined upon going home,
whether he is upon the land or the sea, he says, " Well, I'll up killock
and be off'."

The man I have described is no countryman of ours, and was to be
seen playing the soldier on the easterly side of the St. Croix during
the recent very wordy but bloodless war on the Aroostook, which was
terminated by the treaty of Washington. But some oi his qualities of
character, and forms of speech, are common to most of the class to
which he belongs ; and the nets, knives, and other gear, are in general
use.

* Potpie of eea-birds, pudding, and pancakes— the fisherman's three P.'s
t So called from the popular belief that Captain Kyd buried two hogsbeadi of tressure
there.

85

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88

SALMON FISHERY OF BRITISH AMERICA."

The salmon, shad, and alewive fisheries are not embraced in the plan
of this report ; but a brief account may be given of the former, as the
most important of these, and of the rivers generally.

Canada. — This fishery, at the present time, is very small. In 1786,
however, the export was considerable. In parts of the country where,
in former years, the catch was large, a few barrels of pickled salmon
only were shipped in 1848. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence there were
once extensive establishments for the prosecution of this business; but
some have been broken up, and others have become unprofitable.
Streams that half a century ago aff()rded sufficient for domestic con-
sumption, and thousands of baiTels for export, now yield only hundreds
of barrels, and the quantity is rapidly diminishing.

Nova Scotia. — The loyalists, who went to this colony at the peace of
1783, depended very much upon this fishery, and carried it on to ad-
vantage. The quantity of salmon exported lor some years was suffi-
cient to purchase many articles of comfort, and to save them at times
from the miseries of pressing want. The salmon has entirely disap-
peared in some parts of the colony, and has ceased to be plentiful in
all of its rivers and streams. The export of salmon caught in the col-
ony is not large. The whole produce of the fishery in 1851 appears to
have been but 1,669 barrels.

Newfoundhind. — The fishery is still worthy of attention, as reference
to the accompanying statistics will show. The export in 1843 was
even larger than in 1814.

Labrador. — Captain Henry Atkins, of Boston, who made a vo3'age
to Davis's Straits in the ship Whale in 1729, and who visited the coast
a second time in 1758, found salmon very abundant. In " Salmon
river" both he and his men caught many while wading, and with their
hands. They took all thcty had salt to cure, and one that measured
four feet ten inches in length. Atkins's account, after his return, seems
to have induced no attention to the fishery on the part of his townsmen.
In 1S31 the exports amounted to 2,430 tierces of the pickled fish, of
the value of $35,650.

New Brunswick. — The loyalists and other early settlers found the
salmon in almost every river and stream in the colony.

At present it is never seen in some, is becoming scarce in most, and
is of importance as an article of export in the St. John alone.

The catch at Salmon Falls, in the St. Croix, thirty years ago was
two hundred in a day, on the average, for three months in a year. A
person standing on a "jam of logs" caught there at one time one hun-
dred and eighteen with a dip-net ; and a boy fifteen years old took
about five hundred in a season. But such has been the decline, that it is
said only two hundred were taken during the entire- year of 1S50 by all
who engaged in the business on the river. It is stated that the dams
erected across the river have produced this change in the fisliery, and
facts appear to sustain the position. The few salmon that now appeiu"
in the Oromocto, the Nashwaak, the Maduxnakeag, and the Mispech,
as well as in Emerson's and Gardner's creeks, in Great Salmon river,
and Goose creek, is attributed to the same cause. In two or three of

89

the streams of minor size, where no obstructions exist, and where the
water is not muddy, the pursuit is still attended with some success and
profit.

In some other places the fishery, but for the wanton and lawless de-
struction of the fish, without reference to its condition or the season of
the year, might be carried on advantageously.

To the people of the city of St. John the annual catch of salmon is a
source of gain. The fisheries of the harbor, by a provision in the city
charter, belong to the citizens, or "freemen." The fishing grounds or
stations are lotted out, and sold at auction every year for the benefit of
those who are entitled to them under the charter. The practical fish-
ermen are the purchasers. The lots are of unequal value, and some
merely nominal. The number of salmon taken at St. John in 1850 was
estimated at 32,000, which sold, whether large or small, at the con-
tract price of one dollar each — except a small part for city consump-
tion— to be packed in ice and sent to Boston. Drift-nets and weirs are
used in the fishery, though the former are prohibited by law. Fisher-
men deprecate the use of torch and spear; but both are sometimes seen
in the hands of lumberers and gentlemen sporters. The salmon is found
on the St. John, two hundred miles from the sea, and on several of its
tributaries nearer to the ocean. On the Nerepis, one of its branches,
on which no mill-dams have been erected, there is a fishery of note—
from 1,500 to 2,000 being taken annually.

It will be seen that the exportation of cured salmon from New Bruns-
wick ceased entirely in 1848 — the whole catch, not required for con-
sumption, having been packed in ice, and shipped fresh.

Statistics of the salmon fishery,
EXPORTS, CANADA.

Tear

Pickled.

Smoked.

Tierces.

Barrels.

Kits.

No.

1783

304
221

1784

1786

1,100

348

249

268

70

253

18:^2

193

111

120

28

47

1838

1843

1848

90

Statistics of salmon fishery — Continued.
EXPORTS, NEWFOUNDLAND.

Year.

Pickled

1814

1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1847
1848,
1849
1850^

2,000
4,408
2, 922

3, 396
3,642
4,715

4, 058
3,753
3,545
4,917
3, 822
5,911
1,950

148, 000
66, 550
58, 460
64,695
61,510
68,390
61,080
59, 725
63,970
43, 910

* From St. John alone.
EXPORTS, LABRADOR.

Year.

Pickled.

Tierces.

Value.

1831

2,430

$35, 650

CAPE BRETON, PRODUCE.

Year.

Barrels.

1847.

1848.

335

295

91

Statistics of salmon fishery — Continued.
EXPORTS, NEW BRUNSWICK.

Year.

1819
1822

1827

1828

1829

1830

1831

1832

1833

1834.

1835.

1836,

1837.

1838.

1839.

1840.

1841

1842

1843

1844 .

1845,

1846,

1847.

1848.

1849.

ia50.

Pickled.

Barrels.

362

504

295

489

,776

,199

692

652

160

88

30

,843

930

, 400

,804

,825

,879

,155

,479

621

,311

,426

,175

Kits.

2,271

2,692
1,725
2,721
2,635
2,597
2,947
2,151
1,965
5,278
4,650
1,120
8,261
5,600
2,276
2,653
1,232

855
6,419
1,261
1,529

170

Smoked.

No.

2,655
2,531
5,795
5,350
4,812
4,897
3,708
4, .596
9,476
6,964
6,073

10,201
1,059
4,853

1,858

900

406

80

20

2,243

5,460

Fresh.

No.

'32,oeo

* A proportion of the annual catch has been exported fresh for some years, but the quan-
tity can only be conjectured.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS, NOVA SCOTIA.

Year.

Imports.

Exports.

Barrels.

Tierces.

Barrels.

Tierees.

1785

2,850
8, 053
6,118
5,586
2,011
5,055
*6, 412

1845

4,251
4,745
3,716
3,219

1846

1847

208

82

538

1848

49

1849

1850

340

*From Halifax alone.

93

PART III.

UNITED states;

PLYMOUTH COLOKY,

From 1620 until the union with Massachusetts by the charter of William

and Mary, 1692.

After long and patient inquiry, I am convinced that the whole truth
as to the motives which induced the Pilgrims to remove from Holland
to America has not been told by our historians.

The sweet poetess asks, "What sought they thus afar?" and herself
replies, not "the wealth of seas," but "a faith's pure shrine." She
has expressed the sentiments of all. But is it so certain that they
"sought" not both? Of the men of their time, were they alone exempt
from the influence of the fishin_;^ mania which prevailed throughout
maritime Europe? Weary, striclcen, homeless exiles, could they have
lived unmoved by the spirit around them, when the Dutch fisheries*
were at the highest point of prosperity, and when every one's thoughts
in their own country were turned to the planting of fishing colonies at
Newfoundland and on the shores of New England? Our continent was
discovered in 1497, by Cabot; and from the moment that the chron-
icler of his voyage made known to the people of England that our
waters teemed with fish — that here "were great seals, and those which
we commonly call salmons ; and also soles above a yard in length, but
especially there is a great abundance of that kinde which the sauages
call baccalos or codfish" — down to the year 1620, as we have seen in
the first and second parts of this report, the intercourse of the French
and English with the northerly seas of America was constant; and ot
all this were not the Puritans as well informed as others? Were they
ignorant ol what transpired in the New World in the ten years immedi-
ately preceding their flight from England, and during the ten years of

' It is said, by writers of authority, that in the year 1560 the Dutch employed one thou-
sand vessels in their herring fishery; that the number in 1610 was fifteen hundred; and that,
at the time the Pilgrims embarked for America, it was quite two thousand. These estimates
are extravagant enough, surely. What shall be thought of Sir Walter Raleigh, who set the
value of this fishery annually at £10,000,000, (or nearly fifty millions of dollars;) or of De
Witt, who said that every fifth person in Holland earned his subsistence by it ? Yet such
statements were believed at the time, and their truth is contended for now.

Nor was this the only fishing excitement of the Pilgrims' day. In 1612, the Dutch sent
•whale-ships to the Greenland seas, but the British considered them interlopers, and compelled
them to retire. The year after, French, Dutch, and Spanish ships at Spitzbergen were for-
bidden to fish, by the same " lords of the seas." British whalers, as is stated, went armed afc
this period. In 1613, the British Russia Company received a monopoly of the whale fishery,
and the year following a company in Holland obtained the same exclusive right. In 1618, the
controversy between the British and Dutch, on the subject of the fisheries, terminated in a
general war.

94

their residence in Holland? While among the Dutch they were neg-
lected, if not unkindly treated, and became poor and unhappy. Many
places to Avhich to emigrate were mentioned, and the advantages and
disadvantages of each were amply discussed. As soon as the decision
of the little flock was made, some were dissatisfied and withdrew. The
question arises, why did they decide to come to America?

I have no space to argue a question which involves so many inqui-
ries, but cannot ibrbear to state, in a few words, some of the principal
incidents which attended their coming to their "wilderness home."
Omitting to notice the accounts of Amidas and Barlow, who explored
the southern coast of the United States in 15S4, under the auspices of
Sir Walter Raleigh, and what is said of Sir Richard Grenville's expe-
dition to the same region the year Ibllovving, as well as the various
other enterprises which, in several particulars, are pertinent to the sub-
ject, we come at once to the voyage of Gosnold, in the year 1602. He
was the first Englishman who sailed directly across the ocean, and the
first who attempted to make a settlement within the limits of New
England. The story of his adventures was written by two of his
associates. Archer and Brereton, and published in London* immedi-
ately after his return. Of Brereton little seems to be known ; but Gos-
nold and Archer were subsequently prominent among the early settlers
of Virginia, and between the latter and the celebrated Smith there was
a long and a desperate quarrel. From Brereton's narrative, as well as
from the tracts appended thereto, it appears that Raleigh was the
patron, perhaps the original mover, of the enterprise. As containing
the earliest information of Massachusetts printed in England, these
papers are of great value. The attention of merchants, of fishermen,
and of those interested in colonization, hitherto, and for nearly a cen-
tury, directed exclusively to Newfoundland, was now to be diverted, in
some measure, to New England. The results will appear as we pro-
gress.

Arrived on our coast, Gosnold anchored near land which he called
"Shoal Hope;" but, catching a "great store of codfish," he changed
the name to Cape Cod.t While there, says Archer, "we saw sculls
of herring, mackerel, and other small fish, in great abundance." Bre-
reton, whose account is more exact and definite, remarks with much
earnestness upon most matters connected with our inquiries. " Surely,
I am persuaded," he observes, "that, in the months of March, April,
and May, there is upon this coast better fishing, and in as great plenty, as
in Newfoundland; for the sculls of mackerel, herrings, cod, and other
fish, that we daily saw as we went and came from the shore, were
wonderful; and, besides, the places where we took these cods (and
might in a few days have laden our ship) were but seven fithoms
water, and within less than a league of the shore, when in Newfound-
land they fish in forty or fifty fathoms water, and far off!"

To pass the observations which were recorded as they continued
their explorations, we find in the tracts appended to Brereton the pre-

*Ropuljlisho(l in Colleetions of Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. 8th of 3d series,
t Prince ('liarles changed the name to "Cape James," in huuor of his father; but Go8-
nold's ajipellatiou has beeu preserved to the ]ireseut time.

95

diction that, ^^ forasmuch as merchants are diligent inquisitors after gains,
theij willsoon remove their trade from Ncufoundland''^ to New England, where
tliere is a better climate, greater security agauist the depredations of
pirates, and less expense for outfits, shorter voyages, and safer harbors.
The writer, anticipating that a colony would soon be founded, predicted
further, that the ships of all the nations that "have been accustomed to
repair unto the Newfoundland for the commodity of fish and oils alone,
will henceforth forsake" that island, "when once we have planted
people in these parts ; by whose industry shall be provided, for all com-
merce," the products of the sea, "and many commodities besides, of
good importance and value." Eighteen years elapsed; the Pilgrims
anchored off the same "Shoal Hope," and settled this very country.

Pring followed Gosnold, and explored the waters of Maine, in 1603.
He saw and named the Fox islands, in Penobscot bay, and found good
mooring and fishing. Like Gosnold, he considered the fish which he
took there superior to those of Newfoundland. He made a second
voyage three years later; and Gorges remarks that his discovery of
the eastern part of New England was perfect, and his account of it
accurate.

Waymouth, under the patronage of several English noblemen, and
other persons of rank, came in 1605. "A True Relation" of his ad-
ventures was written by James Rosier, "a gentleman employed in the
voyage," and printed in London in the same year. He agrees with
those who had preceded him in every essential particular. As they
departed for England, they caught very large fish; and he says that
those on board of the ship, who. were familiar with the business, "would
warrant, (by the help of God,) in a short voyage, tiJ^VA afcwgoodfshers,
to make a more profitable return from hence than from Ncivfoundland ; the
fish being so much greater, hetter fed, and ahmdance loith train,'''' &c.*

Two years after Waymouth's return, Lord John Popham, chief jus-
tice of England, George Popham, his brother. Sir Ferdinando Gorges,
Sir John Gilbert, his brother Raleigh Gilbert, (who were nephews of
Sir Walter Raleigh, and, I suppose, sons of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the
original patentee of Newfoundland,) with other gentlemen of consid-
eration, determined to plant a colony in Maine, and near the fisiiing
grounds which, in the judgment of Pring and Rosier, promised so great
rewards to adventurers. George Popham was appointed the president,
and Raleigh Gilbert admiral of the expedition. The original design
was to settle in the immediate vicinity of the island of Monhegan, in
Penobscot bay; but, abandoning this plan, a small island was selected
at the mouth of the Kennebec, where Popham and his associates
landed and commenced a settlement. Soon removing, however, to
the main land, they built a fort, and erected a storehouse and dwellings.
The death of the two Pophams and of Sir John Gilbert, the return of
Raleigh Gilbert to England, the loss of the storehouse by fire, and
other disappointments, discouraged the colonists, and put an end to the
enterprise.

* "With larger livers — of course affording more oil.

96

The next voyage that claims our attention is that of Smith,* (so often
mentioned as the father of \'iroinia,) who came to Maine in 1614,
caught forly-seven thousand fish within twenty leagues of ^lohegan,
and explored the coast from Penf)bscot to Cape Cod. The result of
his observations was published in London, in 1616. This work, "writ
"with his oune hand," was of greater pretensions than the tracts of the
associates of Gosnold and Waymouth. He devotes whole pages to
the subject of fishing, and argues, as the previous voyagers had done,
that the seas of New England were far preferable to those of New-
foundland; and he labors the point, and repeats it even to tediousness.
He institutes comparisons between the fishing grounds of the two re-
gions; and all the details respecting the necessary wood, iron, pitch,
tar, nets, leads, salt, hooks and lines, and articles of provision, are given
with great minuteness. Smith perceives, indeed, that he must excuse
himself to his readers, and thus apologises: "But because 1 speak so
much of fishing, if any one take me for such a devout fisher, as I dream
of naught else, they mistake me."

In reading the accounts of Archer, Brereton, Rosier, and Smith, the
thought has often occurred to me that, for some reason or other, the
writers owed Newfoundland a sort of spite, and were determined to write
that island down, and to write their favorite country up. Smith, I think,
especially strives to accomplish this end. He was a man who left his
mark everywhere. He had roved over Europe, and had fbuglit on the
side of Austria against the Turks ; and he was now fresh fn;m James-
town, and the preservation of his life by the beautiful Pocahontas still
excited the public mind. His romantic adventures, his chivalrous
character, and his energy of purpose, gave him commanding influence.
He had set his heart on founding a colony in "North Virginia," (as
New England was called until his voyage in 1614,) and seems to have
thought that he could best accomplish his design by dwelling upon the
superior advantages of its coasts for fishing. "If NewfouncUand," he
reasons, "doth yearly freight near eight hundred sail of ships with a
silly, lean, skinmj, ijoor-john, and cor-Jish,'''' and those who adventure
there "can gain, though they draw meat, drink, and clothes," and all
the necessary gear and outfits, from "second, third, fourth, or fifth
hand, and from so many parts of the work), ere they come togetlier to
be used in this voyage;" and if "Holland, Portugale, Spaniard, French,
or other, do much better than they," why doubt of success in going to
New England, "where there is victual to feed us, wood of all sorts to
build boats, ships, or barques, the fish at our doors, pitch, tar, masts,
and yards V" " Oi' all the four parts of the ivorld that I have yet seeii,^^ he
observes, ^^not inhabited, I should rather live here than anywhere.^'

His publications on the subject of New England were numerous. The
third, or fourth, was printed in 1620, and treated of the "successe of
twenty-six ships" employed in fishing there "within these sixyeares;"
and the last, published in 1631, (the year of his death,) gave an ac-

*Captain John Smith was born in Lincohishire, England, in 1579. He was an adventurer in
almost (ncry part oi" the world. His several works on American colonization are of great
value. For his s<!rvices and suffeiings in the New World he received no recompense. He died
in Loudon, in 1031.

97

€ount of "the ycarclv proceedings of this counlrv in fishing and plant-
ing," from 1G14 to 1G30.

What conclusions may we fairly draw fi-om these facts? In the
second part of this report we have seen that at the very time the Pil-
grims embarked, a company chartered by James claimed the sole
ownership of the American seas, and that a great excitement existed
in England in consequence of this monopoty; and we have here seen
that accounts of Gosnold's voyage had been printed eighteen, and of
Waymouth's fifteen years. Is it possible to escape the conviction that
our fathers knew and acted upon a knowledge of all these things?
That they were in possession of Smith's map, and some of his books,
we have his own express declaration ; while in his last work, published
eleven years after their settlement at Plymouth, he speaks of their
''^thinking to finde'''' matters '•'' better than he had adciscd tJtem ;''"' and he
evidently plumes himself upon the idea that he had been an efficient
instrument in directing their emigration to the land he had praised so
much, and had striven so hard to people. In the chapter headed
"New England's yearly trials — The planting new PJimouth — Sup-
prisals prevented — Their wonderful industry and fishing," he dis-
courses about the English ships that had made "exceeding good voy-
ages" on the coast; and adds, seemingly, as the results produced by
their success, that "at last, upon these inducements, some well-disposed
Brounists,* as they are tearmed, with some gentlemen and merchants
of Layden and Amsterdam, to save charges, would try their oune con-
clusions, ihounh with 2;ieat losse and much miserie, till time had taught
them to see their oune error; for such humorists wnll never beleeve
well, till they bee beaten with their oune rod." In the next chapters
he refers to their prosperous condilion, (1G24,) and says: "Sin-ce they
have made a salt worke, wherewith they preserve all the fish they
take, and have fraughted this yeare a ship of an hundi^ed and four score
tun, living so -well, they desire nothing but more company; and what-
ever they take, returne commodoties to the value." The declarations
of this distinguished pioneer of civilization in this hemisphere are en-
titled to respect, and in almost any olher case would be considered as
conclusive.

But there is other evidence. Weston, an English merchant engaged
in the fisheries, who soon after the settlement of Pl3'mouth attempted
to found a rival colony at Weymouth, and who came in person to New
England to correct the irregularities of his fishermen, had much influ-
ence in directing the affairs of the Pilgrims, and in selecting the place
to which they shc;uld remove from Holland. He made them an ad-
vance in money, engaged to provide vessels for their vo3'age, and ad-
vised them to come to that part of America with which he kept up an
intercourse, "as for other reasons, so cJiiefiy for- the hope of present profit
to he made by fishing.'" And, besides, we know that they entered into
a sort of copartnership indenture with merchants, who, like Weston,
made them advances, and agreed to allow these merchants a share ot
the fruits of their industry. "This indenture provides in terms for the
prosecution of the fisheries and the employment of fishermen; and the

* One of tlie names of the Puritans.

98

Speedwell — that crazy, leaky hnrk — was bouglit for the purpose of
complying with this stipuialion.*

Siill furlher. And to settle the question, we may refer to "A brief
Narnitive ol' the true grounds and causes of the first planting of New
Enghmd," by Edward Winslow, one of ihe most distinguished of their
number, and who succeeded Bradford as their governor. i\o original
copv of this tract is supposed lo be in America; but a few years since
the Rev. Mr. Ellis, of Charlestown, Ibund one in a printed volume in
the British museum, copied it for the Rev. Dr. Young, who has placed
it in the "Chronicles of the Pilgrims."

Winslow, in this narrative, speaks of an interview between King
James and the agents pf the Puritans who went over to England from
Leyden in 1G18 to solicit his consent to their going to America. The
monarch asked them, " What profit might arise''"' He was answered
in a single word — "Fishing." Whereupon James replied: " So God
have my s(jul, 'tis an honest trade ; 'twas the Apostle's own calling."!

Can anything be more conclusive?

Having arrived in the country which thej' had sacrificed so much
to reach, (though north of the place of their destination on leaving Hol-
land,) what did the Pilgrims do?

* The partners of the Pilgrims in England were nnmorons. They made a conditional saler
Off their interest in the property at Plymouth in October, ]()2G, which was completed in 1627.
The contract was between Isaac Allerton, agent of the PivTiionth f-«ttlers, and forty-two per-
sons, who style themselves " adventurers to New Plymouth, in New England, in America.'*
Governor Bradford, in commenting upon the terms of the bargain, says that " \;e were bound
thereby to forfeit thirty shillings a week for orery week that we failed of due pajanent" at the
times specified. The purchase money was £1^00 sterling, iu instalments of £200 auimally,
" on the feast day of St. Michael."

tThe " Mysteries, Moralities, Farces, and Sotties" of the Roman church conld not haTe
been unknown to King James. Some account of them is preserved in the " Curiosities of
Literature."

"It appears," says D'Tsraeli, " that ths Pilgrims introduced these devout spectacles. Thoso
who returned from the Tlcdy Land, or other consecrated places, composed canticles of their
travels, and amused their religious fancies by interweaving scenes, of which Christ, the Apos-
tles, and other objects of devotion, served as the themes." He remarks further, that " these
spectacles served as the amusement and the instruction of the people. So attractive wcKe
these gross exhibiti(ms in the dark ages, that they fonued one of the principal ornaments of
the reception which was given to princes when they entei'ed towns. When the mysteries were
performed at a more improved period, the actors were distinguished characters, and fre-
quently consisted of ecclesiastics of the neighboring villages, who incorporated themselvee
tinder the title of Confreres dr. la Passio7i."

John Bonchet informs us that he saw one of these mysteries performed at Poitiers in great
triuni[)h and splendor, and that most of the ladies and gentlemen of the ncighlmriug countries
were present. It was called "TheNaiivity, Passion, and Kesurrection of Christ." Another
of the luystevie.s had for its subject the election of an apostle to supply the place of the
traitor Judas. In this, Anne and Caiaphas are introduced, conversing about St. Peter and St.
John :

"Anne. I remember them once very honest people. They have often brought their fish to
my house to sell."

" Caiapluis. Is this true?"

"Anne. By God it is true: my servants remember them veiy well. To live more at their
ease they left off the business ; or perhaps they were in want of customers. Since that time
they have followed Jesus, that wicked heretic, wlio has taught them magic: the fellow under-
stands necn.iuancy, and is the greatest magician alive, as far as Kome itself"

According to Lord Woodhonselee, (late ])roless()r of civil history, and (ireek and Hebrew
antiiiiiities, in the I'niversity of Edinburgh,) these mysteries were the first dramatic represent-
taions known in Europe. They were acted, he says, in his Universal History, by the monks
in their churches. They originated in the 12rh century, and C(uitinued to be i)erfonned in
En'-slaud even to the lOth century. In the reign of Ileniy th 8th, the Bishop of LonuoH
proiiibiled the performance of any plays or interludes in churches or chapels.

99

The records of llieir sojourn at Cape Cod — the "Shoal Hope" of
Gosnold — show that they were not only anxious to settle on the coast,
but on such particular parts of it as would afford them the surest re-
wards for searching the seas.*

Nothing in our history is more certain than this; but I have not roora
to go into the evidence. Their good pastor, Robinson, who was the
soul of the undertaking, never joined th(^.m; but his sons did; and as
one of them settled at Cape Ann, and another fixed his abode at Scitu-
ate, we may conclude that they designed to follow the "honest trade"
of fishing. We may close the discussion with the sentiment that our
fisheries should be dear to the American people because of the hallowed
names connected with their origin, and should be thought woithy of
national protection for this reason alone.

True to their indenture with the English merchants, we are now to
find that the Pilgrims embarked at once in the fisheries.

Singular to observe, early in the spring after their arrival an Indian,
to their "no small amazement," came boldly in among them, and said:
" Welcome, Englishmen," in their own language. His name was
Samoset. He was f)llowed in a few da3's by another, who was called
Squanto, or Tisquantum. Both had been acquainted wnth the Enghsh
who had fished on the coast, and could even tell the names of the mas-
ters and fishermen of the ships. The latter, indeed, had been carried
to England by a vessel that fished at Monhegan, and had lived with
a London merchant two years. S(]uanto served them faithfully till
the end of his life. He instructed them in the manner of taking fish,
of planting corn, and of manuring the ground w'ith alewives ; and acted
a^ their guide in their journeys.

In the spring of 1622, the settlers were in a famishing condition.
Fortunately a boat from one of Weston's fishing vessels (the Sparrow)
came into the harbor, and gave information that thirty English ships
were then engaged in making fares at Monhegan. Edward Winslovf
departed immediately for that island to procure a supply of provisions.
The fishermen had no food to spare, and refused to sell, but freely gave
sufficient to relieve the pressing wants of their Plymouth brethren;
regretting, says Winslow, that their store was small, and that they
could not express their love by a more liberal contribution. He re-
turned with all convenient speed. "I found," he remarks, "the state
of the colony much weaker than when t left it; for till now we were
never without some bread, the want whereof much abated the strength
and Hesh of some, and swelled others." To answer the charge of
negligence in suffering extreme destitution in a country represented to
abound with fish and fowl, he adds: '■'■For though our hay and crceAs
were full of bass and other fish, yet, for want of ft and strong seines and
other netting, they, for the most yart, hrake through, and carried all away
before them. And though the sea were fall of cod, yet we had neither tack-

* After the Pilgrims had held a solemn coosultation respecting their final settlement, a part
of theiii were disposed to select a place which they called Cold Harbor, (between Truro and
Wellfleet, Cape Cod;) becanse, amcmg other things, "i« seemed to offer some afhantages both,
for whale and cod-fisher ij." Others " insisted that they should proceed about twenty leases
further, to a pla'-e called Agawam, (now Ipswich,) « harbor ickkh was known to fislicrmen wita
bad beeu on tlie coast.^'

100

ling nor halscrs for mir shallops. And, indeed, had we not been in a
place where divers sort ol" shell-fish are, that may be taken with the
hand, we must have perished, urdess Cod liad raised some unknown
or extraordinary means lor our preservation." These are interesting
facts, and afford us accurate knowled/^e of what was passing on the
CshiniT grounds of Maine, as well as allow us to chronicle an instance
of praiseworthy humanity on the part of the fit^hermen, and explairs
llje causes of the distress for food wliicli prevailed at Plymouth.

While thus destitute, the Charity and the Swan, two other of Wes-
ton's ships, entered the harbor, with some fil't}^ or sixty men, who, re-
lates Winslow, "were received into our town with whatsoever cx)urtesy
our mean conrlition Avould afford."

The cidamilies of the Pilgrims were not at an end. In 1623, with-
out relief from abroad, they were reduced to a single boat ; " and that,"
writes the quaint Hubbard, "none of the best." Yet "?V wns the jirin-
cipal sv.j)port of their lives," for "it helped them to improve the net
wherewith they took a multitude of bass, which was their livelihood
all that year." "Few countries," he continues, "have this advantage.
Sometimes fifteen hundred of them have been stopped in a creek, and
taken in a tide. But when these failed, they used to repair to the
clam banks, digging on the shores of the sea for these fish." Neal's
account is similar. It is certain that they possessed but one boat, and
one net. Such were their resources to prevent absolute starvation;
and as they spread a part of the fish they caught upon their corn lands
as manure, the}' were compelled to watch these fields at night, during
seed time, to preserve them from the depredations of wolves.

The only people near them were Weston's fishermen at Weymouth.
But in the course of the year, the colony there was abandoned. Some
perished of hunger; one exhausted his little strength in crawling to a
clam bank, and died upon it. Of the survivors, a part subsisted by
stealing from the Indians, and others endeavored to reach Monhegan,
thence to embark for England. Weston, hearing of these disasters,
and anxious to ascertain the condition of his affairs, came over in one
of his own fishing vessels, disguised as a blacksmith. He was ship-
wrecked, stripped by the Indians, and barely escaped with his life.
Strange are the vicissitudes of human condition: he, the English mer-
chant, who, in the day of his prosperity, had been the adviser and
patron of th(^ wear}" and stricken Pilgrims, now presented hunself be-
fore them at Plymouth, in garments borrowed to cover his nakedness,
a broken and ruined man!

The period of extreme need soon passed away. In 1624 they sent
a ship to England laden with fish, cured with salt of their own manu-
fw.cture, and the year fallowing despatched two others with fish and
furs; but one, wlu n near the English coast, was captured by the Turks.
In 1626 they opened atrude with the fishing vessels at Monhegan, and
commenced voyages to different parts of Maine to procure fish and
'furs; and two years later, we find them selling both corn and the pro-
ducts of the sea to the Dutch on Hudson's river. Meantime, the
irregular and licentious course of the English fishermen upon the coast
liad been slated in terms of earnest complaint by Covernor Bradford,
in a letter to the council that claimed the country and its fishing

lOI

grounds. Meantime, too, West, commissioned by this council to levy
a tax upon vessels that were found fishing or trading within the limits
of their domains, had appeared at Plymouth to execute his duties; but
unable either to collect tribute money, or to obtain a recognition of the
rights of his principals, he had departed the seas, insulted and dis-
comfited.

The Pilgrims may have built their first vessel in 1641. Their cir-
cumstances considered, this was an affiiir of greater moment than the
construction of a first-class packet- ship at the present time. This
barque was of but forty or fitly tons, and the cost was estimated at
only c£200 ; yet there were thirteen owners and a building-committee
of four. The name has not been preserved. The same year, Mr.
John Jenny was allowed certain privileges at Clarke's island, to make
salt, which he was to sell to the mhabitants at two shilhngs the bushel ;
and "the herring wear was let for three years to three persons, who.
are to deliver the shares of herrings, and to receive one shilling and
sixpence the thousand for their trouble." Still further to promote the
manuficture of salt, the use of thirty acres of land, at the island, was
granted, in 1642, "to the five partners, for twenty-one years;" and^
about the same time, leave was given to WiUiam Paddy and John
Hewes to erect fi.shlng-stages at a place which yet retains the name of
"Stage Point."

Previous to 1650 the people of Hull were allowed to seine fish at,
Cape Cod; but some irregularities having occurred, the Plymouth
court passed an order of interdiction, and linfted the fishery there to
persons belonging to the towns of Plymouth, Duxbury, and Nauset,,
under restrictions intended to insure an "orderly course in the manage-
ment of it."

Subject to continual annoyance and interruption by the fishermen of
Massachusetts, the court, in 166S, directed that a communication shouldi
be sent to the goverrnnent of that colony "to request them to take some
effectual care for the restraint of this abuse, as much as may be." The
property at Plymouth was "rated" the same year. All persons "en-
gaged about fishing" were "valued at twenty pounds estate." This
was high; inasmuch as Edward Gray, whose stock in trade was the
most valuable, was rated only "six score pounds."

In 1670, a valuation was made of the "fish-boats," and four were
estimated at twenty-five pounds each. Though called boats — and
I suppose without decks — many, probably, were of several tons bur-
den, and could be safely employed at a distance from shore. The
fisheries, at this period, were considered as well established, and were
steadily and profitably pursued.

Fifty years had now elapsed since the settlement of Plymouth. The
country, back firom the sea, was yet a wilderness. A generation, bon>
in tlie colony, had attained manhood. Religious worship was main-
tained in all the towns, but there were no public schools. Few of the
Mayflower Pilgrims were then alive; and the number of educated per-
sons was small. A proposition had been made, as appears by the pro-
ceedings of the court, to provide schoolmasters "to trciin up children to
reading and writing;" but without results. The profits of the mackerel,
bass, and herring fisheries at Cape Cod, were now granted to found a

102

FREE school; and in 1071, under John Morton as teacher, and Thomas
Hinckley as steward of the fund, such ;i school was opened in tlie
colony. This is a most interesting incident: the C?,pe which aflfbrded
the first shelter to the fathers, supported the first public seminary for
the education of the cljildren!

Morton, who was a nephew of the secretary of the colony, proposed
merely to teach the youth of one town "to read, write, and to cast ac-
counts." But a gi'ammar-school was soon established in Plymouth;
and several were actually in operation in other places as early as the
year IGSO.

The fisheries, I conclude, were considered public property, and were
generally leased to individuals for the benefit of the colon}', or of par-
ticular towns. The subject of "rents" and of "profits" is continually
referred to in the records, and orders to grant leases to petitioners, or
to protect lessees in the enjoyment of the privileges stipulated in the
covenants with ihem, are of frequent occurrence. An ordinance of the
latter description of e?vtreme severity was passed in 167S — the court
directing that all fishing vessels not "belonging to the colony should be
seized for public use by warrant from the governor, or one of his as-
sistants, and that the lessees of the colony fisheries should be entitled
to damages, to be paid them out of the proceeds of the vessels seized
and confiscated. The people of Massachusetts w^ere alone exempted
from the penalties of this extreme measure.

Randolph, the first collector of the customs of Boston, gave a general
account of the different New England colonies at this period, and said
of "New Plymouth" that the people were principally "farmers, gra-
ziers, and fishermen ;" that there were "very few merchants, they being
supplied with all l()reign comraodoties from Boston;" and that "they
have no ships of burden, but only small ketches and burkes, to trade
along the coast, and take fish."

The colony of Plymouth was united witli Massachusetts b}"- the
charter of William and Mary in 1G92, and a separate notice of its fish-
eries accordingly ceases at that date.

John Aid en, the last of the Pilgrim band, died only five years pre-
viously. He lived in America sixty-seven years ; and in every admin-
istration during the whole time he participated in public afiiurs.

To regard his connexion with our subject as merely official, his re-
lations commenced with the first, and terminated only \\'ith the last, of
the incidents that I have here recorded. But we know, besides, that
his private interest in the " wealth of seas " and in general trade was
often extensive.

Sufficienl has now been said to show the general course of affairs
among our fiithcrs, and to connect the branch of industiy under notice
with some of the most hallowed names in our annaL;. Alark Antony,*

* The Romans, like the Egj-ptians, carried the art of rearing fish to great perfection ; and
atmoKt every rich citizen had a tish-pond. At some of their feasts a thousani) of the choicest
fi«l.:es were set upon Uicir tallies; iiud at a 8upi>cr jjivcn to Vitellius by his brother, tli(;re was
double tliat number jirovided lor the gtiests. It was a cu.-^toni, at one time, to carry the dol-
phin to their eating-rooms alivt% in order to i(h)t their eyes with the changes of its et>lor when,
dying. They were, perhaps, the most sensual and luxurious people who have ever lived-
Their gormaudizing habits may be seeu from the clrcuuLstauce of Jiiliiw Caisai-'s having takea

o

10?

who was a keen fisher, was told by Cleopatra to "leave fishmg to us
petty princes of Pharos and Canopus." Leave it, is the senthnent of too
many of our countrjanen, to "the ignorant, the superstitious, and the
improvident;" and a single remark more ma}^ not, therefore, be ill-
timed.

Bradford and Winslow, both of whom were governors, with Alden,
Stnndish, Brewster, AUerton, and Howland, as associates, were not
only lessees of fisheries, but of the whole commerce of the colony for a
tei'in of years.

These were all Mayflower Pilgi'ims, and all signers of the compact
at Cape Cod, before the landing, in which the great principle that the
*' majority shall govern" is recognised. Of AUerton, indeed, we may
speak as of a regular dealer in fish and furs, since we find that he owned
vessels, conducted a fishery at Marblehead, made voyages to different
parts of Maine, established a trading-house far within territory claimed
as Acadia, and in Connecticut received products of the sea for sale on
a share of the profits. In fine, he was one of the most active and en-
terprising men of his day, and, though devoted to trade, was employed
in arranoino^ the most difficult concerns of the colonv both at home and
in England. To cross the ocean two centuries ago was a matter of
vast moment, but AUerton visited the country of his birth no less than
five times in the brief spa.ce of lour years.

Such, in conclusion, were some of the men who devoted time and
talents, to a business fit only for "the ignorant, the superstitious, and
tlie improvident."

a vomit before snppiupj with Cicero, the better to make an enormous meal. When one of the
Sr^ies saw the worlvs of Lucuihis on the soacoast — the immense celhxrs and vaults, fish-ponds
and reservoirs, which he had constructed — he called him " Xerxes in a go\vii." And Cato, tho
censor, in complaining of his comitrymeu, said, " It was a hard matter to save Rome from ruin,
when a fish was sold for more than an ox." The Eomau emperor Elagabalus, according to
Gibbon, " would never eat sea-fish except at a great distance from the sea. He then would
distribute vast quantities of the rarest sorts, brought at an immense expense, to the peasants
of the inland countrj." Marc Ajitouy is said to have given the house of a Roman citizen to a
(v>ok who prepared for him a good supper.

Some of the most eminent warriors and statesmen were extravagantly fond of fishing. An-
tony was one of these. The remark quoted in the text is to be foimd in I'lutarch, who relates
the following story : " He was fishing one day with Cleopatra, and had ill success ; which, in the
presence of his mistress, he looked upon as a disgrace. He therefore ordered one of his assist-
ants to dive, and put on his hook such as had been taken before. This scheme he put in prac-
tice three or four times, and Cleopatra perceived it. She affected, however, to be surprised
at his success, expressing her wonder to the people about her; and, the day following, invited
tliem to see fresh proofs of it. V/hen the day followmg came, the vessel was crowded with
people; and as soon as Antony had let down his line, she ordered one of her divers immedi-
ately to put a salt-fish on his hook. When Antony found he had caught his fish, he drew up
his line; and this, as may be supposed, occasioned no small mirth among the spectators. 'Go,
General,' said Cleopatra, 'leave fishing to us petty princes of Pharos and Canopus: your
game is cities, kingdoms, and provinces.' "

Travellers in modern times find the ruins of Roman fish-ponds. At Agrigentum is seen an
artificial lake, about a quarter of a league in circumference, dug out of solid rock by the Car-
thageniim captives, and to which water was conveyed from the liills. It was thirty feet deep;
and great quantities of fish were kept in it for the' public feasts. The fish-ponds of Nero weso
numerous ; and the Coliseum is said to have been erected on the site of one of them. Fishing
nets, some of them quite entire, have been foimd in great numbers in Herculaneum, as well as
la Pompeii.

104

MAINE,
From 1G07 to the Revolutionary Coniroversy\

We have elsewhere seen that, ns the Frencli claimed the entfrf?
country between the Kennebec and the St. Croix, the ancient limits of
Maine embraced hardly more than one third of iis present terrilorj.
As, too, mention has been made of the most di.stinLniished English
voyagers who followed Gosnold to explore the coast, the first incident
to demand our attention is the mission estabhshed by the Fathers Baird
and Masse, in 1609, at a place which they called St. Saviour, on the
island of Mount Desert. They were Jesuits, and were soon joined bj
Father Du Thet, of the same order. In 1613, Sir Samuel Argai, who
was subsequently governor of Virginia, while on a fishing vo3'age to
the waters in the vicinity, was v/recked at Penobscot, and was in-
formed bv the natives of the fjunding of this mission ; and on his re-
turn to Virginia, measures were immediately adopted to destroy it.
Eleven fishing vessels, provided with soldiers and cannon, under the
command of Argal, were speedily despatched to accomplish this pur-
pose. The French had a ship and a barque in the harbor with guns
on board, and had commenced a small fort ; but, surprised at the ap-
pearance of the Engli^^^h, v/ith no cannon mounted on shore, and with
most of their men absent in their various empWmcnts, they were easily
subdued. Resistance was, however, made from one of the vessels,
and Du Thut was killed while levelling a ship's gun, and several w1m>
assisted by his side were wounded. Argal, soon master of the settle-
ment, broke up the cross and other emblems of French possession, de-
stroyed everything connected with the mission, and, after performing
a similar exploit finlher east, returned to Virginia. This, it is of in-
t«rest to remark, was the beginning of the contests, wars, and blood-
shed between the EngUsh and the French, which, with occasional in-
tervals, continued for a century and a half, and which terminated only
when the flag of England waved upon every American sea between
Mexico and Labrador.

Sir Samuel Argal's character is variously represented. That he was
a bold and a bad man seems probable. The year before he came to
Mount Desert he carried off the celebrated Indian princess, Pocahon-
tas, and actually held her as his prisoner, when Rolfe wooed and won
her. The Earl of Warwick was his partner in trade, and, as is said,
was defrauded by him.

Omitting several minor events, we come at once to consider Maine as
an English colony.

The first inhabitants were nenther Puritans nor refugees from perse-
cution. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the original propric^tor, or lord pala-
tine, was an Episcopalian, and a stout royalist or adherent of the Stuarts,
and those whom he sent over to settle his domain were of the same re-
ligious and political sentiments. He was a devoted friend to the colo-
nization of America, and deserves our gratitude, even though we are
sometimes compelled to condemn his j)lans, aud the grasping spirit
which he evinced as a member of the PKinouth Council. It may be

105

admitted that bis purposes were entirely personal, and that he aimed
solely to acquire wealth ; but still, whatever were his motives, the
voyage of Challon, in 1606 ; the enterprise of the Pophams and the
Gilberts to the Kennebec, the following year, in which he had an inte-
rest ; the voyages for fishing and trade of Richard Vines, his agent,
steadily pursued for j^ears in a ship purchased wiih his own money; the
adventure of Dermer to the island of Monhegan, undertaken under his
auspices, in 1G19; the aid he afforded to Sii- William Alexander, in
1621, to procure the patent of Nova Scotia; the grant obtained by
John Mason and himself of the country between the Merrimack and the
Kennebec rivers, in 1622 ; and the subsequent grant, in his own indi-
vidual right, of the territory between the Piscataqua and the Kenne-
bec, which, in honor of Queen Henrietta,* he called Maine — were all
beneficial to New England, and hastened its settlement. Yet, for him-
self and his heirs, Gorges really accomphshed nothing. t Two centu-
ries ago one hundred thousand dollars was a large sum ; but he ex-
pended that amount of money in his various enterprises in America,
which was entirely lost, if we except the twelve hundred and fifty
pounds sterling received by the representative of his family, in 1677,
from Massachusetts, in the purchase, and in full payment for a quit-
claim deed of Maine.

The immediate objects of Gorges were to establish fisheries, to erect
saw-mills, and to open a communication with the Indians. Fishing
and lumbering, indeed, continued to be the great branches of industry
for more than a century after his death. As late as the year 1734,
there were no more than nine thousand persons of European origin
between the Piscataqua and the St. Croix, and thence to the dividing
and disputed "higlilands," where royalty last contended f(;r the soil of
Maine. In truth, not a grant was made cast of the Penobscot previous
to 1762; and Machias, though the oldest town between that river and
the frontier, was not alienated prior to 1770, and had no corporate
existence until Massachusetts became an independent State. The
general condition of Maine, in fine, as the revolutionary controversy came
to a crisis, may be summed up thus: the whole number of inhabitants
was about equal to the present population of the cities of Portland and
Bangor; the supreme court held one term at Falmouth, (now Port-
land,) and one at York, annually; there were ten representatives to
\he general court, none of whom lived east of Brunswick or the An-
droscoggin river; the number of clergymen was thirty-ibur; the six
councillors or barristers at law were William Gushing, James Sulli-
van, David Sewall, Theophilus Bradbury, Caleb Emery, and David
Wyer, all of whom were whigs, except the last; of incorporated towns,
there were twenty -five ; the only custom-house was at Falmouth; the
patronage of the crown was confined to the officers of the revenue, to
a corps of civil functionaries by no means numerous, to a surveyor of
the king's forests, and his deputies.

* She was a French priucess, and her estate in France was called " the province of Maine."
t Sir Ferdinando Gorges died before June, of the year 1647. lie suffered much for his de-
votion to the Stuarts. Maine, of which he became sole proprietor, was neglected by his son
John, to whom it descended; and was sold by his son Ferdinando, in 1677, to Massachusetts,
for the sum £1,250. The first Ferdinando was the author of tracts on American colonizatioa.

106

I propose now to tal^e a rnpid view of the events contiected with the
sea. It may be assumed that the island of Monhegan — aheady so
frequently mentioned m this report — was the seat of the firsl fishery in
Maine; and that the first resident fishermen were those who fixed their
abodes on the coast of the main land between the Kennebec and Da-
mariscotta, in 3 62G. The same class of men had habitations at Cape
Porpoise as early as 1G30; and there were fishermen's cabins and
hunUTs' camps, very possibly, near the site of the city of Portland,
before the close of the same j'-ear.*

In 1631, Aldsworth and Eldridge, two merchants of Bristol, Eng-
land, obtained a grant known as the "Pemacpfid patent," which gave
tliem the exclusive right to fish in their own waters.

The patent embraced several thousand acres of land on the main,
the Damariscove islands, and all other islands within nine leagups of
the shore; and thus, whether designedly or otherwise, included Mon-
hegan. The whole temtory, though now almost in the centre of the
seHcoast of Maine, was east of Gorges' eastern boundary, and there-
fore within the French claim. It would seem that a fishery was
established at Richman's, or Richmond's Isle, near Portland, previous
to 1631; since, in that year Prince records, in his annals, that Governor
Winthrop was informed of the murder there of Walter Bagnall and
another person, by " Squidecasset," an Indian sachem; which isle,
says Prince, was part of a tract of land granted to Mr. Trelane,t a
merchant of Pl3aTiouth, England, who had "settled a place for fishmg,
built a shij), and improved many^ servants for fishing and planting."
The annalist should have added, that the grant was to Goodyeare, as
well as to Trelawney. Both were Episcopalians; and in 1632, they
appointed John Winter to superintend tlieir fishery. Richmond's
island soon became an important and noted place; several ships were
furnished with cargoes of fish annually, and Winter often employed as
many as sixty men. Josselyn was at the island in 1638, and relates
that he went on board the Fellowship, a ship of one hundred and
seventy tons, and that among the friends who came to bid him fare-
well w^as a Captain Thomas VVannerton, who drank to him "a pint of
kill-devil, alias rhum, at a draught." Winter, says this quaint chronicler,
was " a grave and discreet man." The whole population of Maine, at
this time, did not exceed one thousand persons, of whom quite half were
fishermen, who lived at the places named above, on the river St. George,
and elsewhere on the coast west of the moulh of the Penobscot.

In 161o there was an action commenced in the courts against Win-
ter, by John Trelawney, of Piscataqua, on an account for services in
the fishery at Richmond's island, in which Trelawney appears to have
rec'overed judgment.

Winter died the same year, leaving a daughter, who married Robert
Jordan, an Episcopal ck^rgyman. Jordan administered upon Winter's
estate, and became involved in suits and difficulties in closing his

•Tlie first house in Portland was built by George Cleeves, in 1632, at a place callod Machi-
gonm by Tlir- Indians, and Cleovos' Neck, or Munjoy's Neck, by the English. Cleoves became
a distinguished niajfistrate in that part of Maine, and died very aged.

t The name should be Trelawney.

JOT

affairs. " The report of tlie commissioners for the plan fa tfon af Rich-
mond's island," made in 164S, is worthy of notice, as containing curious
facts to show the prices and transactions of the time. The commis-
sioners were appointed at the instance of Jordan, who claimed that a
balance was doe the estate of his tather-in-law. It is said in the
report, thai, in the six years preceding his decease. Winter had sent his
principal in England, "in several ships, in fish, merch; ntable and re-
tiise, 3,056^ quintals," and of " core-fish, 38 J quintals;" of "train-oil,
11 hogsheads;" and other commodities of the sea ; which, "according
to the prices here, cannot amount to less than ,£2,292." The inventory
of the property belonging to the fishery, shows three boats in use, with
their moorings and ajipurtenances, ^'28; two old boats out of use,
valued at £2; the fishing stage, with a quantity of old casks, <£10 6s.;
six dozen hooks, at 16 shillings; five dozen of fines, at £7 ; one seine
and two old nets, £4: 10;?.; about ninety hogsheads of salt, ^£65 10s.;
and that there was due the concern by a Mr. Plill, the sum of £84 15s.
9d. for one hundred and thirty-three quintals of fish sold but not paid ior.

The fishermen who fiequented the waters of Maine having often de-
sftoyed timber and wasted the forests on the shores, antl having ac-
quired the habit of carelessly packing and curing their fish, the count}''
court were directed to a[)point proper oflBcers to correct these abuses by
an ordinance of 16-52 ; at which time Pemaquid had become the principal
plantation between the Kennebec and the Penobscot, a great fishing
mart and place ot" shelter for vessels passing to and fiom the French
and English settlements scattered alono; the coast.

In 1657, we have an Indian deed of land in Portland as follows t
" Be it known unto all men that I, Scittery Gusset, of CfiscoBay, Sag-
amore, do hereby firmly covenant, barg.iin, and sell unto Francis Small,
of the said Casco Bay, fisherman, his heirs, &c., all that upland and
marshes at Capisic, lying up along the northern side of th- river, unto
the head thereof, and so to reach and extend unto the river side of Am-
moncongan." This Sagamore was, possibly, the murderer of Bagnall,
at Richmond's island, in 1631. The consideration tor the lands sold
to Small was one trading coat and one gallon of liquor annually. Four
years later Nicholas White, of Casco Bay, sold to John Breme, "now of
the same Bay, fisherman," all his interest in House island, near Port-
land, being one quarter part, but reserved liberty to Sampson Penley
to make fish on the island during his life. These conveyances show
what was passing two centuries ago at the present commercial capital
of the frontier State.

In 1667 the commissioners of King Charles to New England gave
a sad account of the morals of the persons connected with our
subject on the " Kennibeck river," upon " Shipscot river," and at
" Pemaquid." " These people," say they, " for the most part, are
fishermen, and never had any government among tnem ; most of them
are such as have fled from other places to avoid justice. Some here
are of opinion that as many men may share a woman as they do a boat,
and some have done so." Josselyn's* picture of Maine, at this period,

*John Josselyn arrived in Boston in 1663, and lived in New England a aumber of years.
His account of Ms adventures in his two voyages is amusing.

108

is too carious to be omitted, though my limits will not permit its inser-
tion entire. " About eight or nine miles to the eastward of" Cape Por-
poise," he writes, " is Winter harbor, a noted place for fishers ; here
tl,]ey have many stages." " At 'Richmond's island' * * are likewise
stages for fishfrmen. Nine miles eastward of Black Point lyeth scatter-
ingly the town of Casco,* upon a large bay, stored with cattle, sheep,
swine, abundance of marsh and arable land, a corn-mill or two, wiih
stages 'for fishermen. * * * Further yet eastward is Sagadahock,t
where are m;iny houses scattering, and all along stages for fishermen.
* * * * From Sagadahock to Nova Scotia is called the Duke of York's
province ; here Pema(|ui(l, Martinicus, Mohegan, Capeanawhagen,
where C;iptain iSmith fished for whales, Muscataquid, all filled with
dwelling-houses and stages for fishermen."

Again, he says that " The people in the province of Maine may be
divided into magistrates, husbandmen or planters, and fishermen: of the
magistrates p<»me be royalists, the rest perverse spirits : the like are the
planters and fishers, of which some be planters and fishers both — others
mere fishers." After speaking of the quantity offish taken, and of the
various mai^kets to which the difK>rent qualities were sent, he thus d^
scribes the manner of fishing and the habits of those who lived by the
use of the hook and line: " To every shallop belong four fishermen :
a master or steersman, a midshipman and a foremost-man, and a shore-
man, who washes it out of the salt, and dries it upon hurdles pitched
upon stakes breast-high,| and tends their cooker3\ These often get in
one voyage eight or nine pounds a man for their shares." The money
they earned, he continues, was squandered in drunken revels. The
arrival of a " walking tavern," (as he calls a vessel laden with wine,
brandv, and other intoxicating liquors,) put an end to fishing, and no
persuasions which their employers could use were sufficient to induce
them to go to sea for two or three days — "nay, sometimes a wdiole
week," and until wearied with drinking. When thus carousing, " they
quarrelled, fought, and did r ne another mischief."

The course of events during the hostile relations between France and
England, cannot be stated in detail. Particular cases will show, how-
ever, the general conduct of the French rulers in Acadia, and the kind
of warfare meditated and actually perpetrated by their savage allies
within the borders of Maine. For a time, the Acadian seas were vis-
ited by the eastern fishermen without molestation. But in 1675, De
Bou g, the Flench governor, not only prohibited his people from con-
tinuing their intercourse with their Protestant neighbors, but levied an
impost or tribute of four hundred codfish on every English colonial ves-
sel found fishing upon the coast of Acadia, and required his officers to
seize all that n^fused, and to take away whatever fish hid been caught
w^ith the outfits and j)rovisions on board. || The remark of Mugg, (a

* Portland.

t The countiT botweon the Konnelipc and the Penobscot.

tThe uKinncr of" dryin<i; on " tliikes" is very similar at the present time.

II Randolpii, in a letter dated at Boston, .Inly 2-f, 1()8(5, and addressed to Mr. Blaithwai*,
England, reninrks: "There will, I fear, be an ernption betwixt the French of Nova Seotia
aiid onr jieopb' in Maine and New Hani{)shire," and for reasons whieh lie rchites. "We have
sent," he fun iier says, "to all places to warn (Mir people, and to tlie lisliernien, not to venture
upon theii' coasts, lust ihey be surprised and made to answer for dtmiages done by strangers."

109

sachem of some note,) a year or two afterwards, to the Indians on the
Kennebec, it may be assumed, was ot French origin: "1 know," said
the savage, in a laughing mood, "i Icnow how we can- even hum Boston,
and drive all the countnj before us; we must go to the fishing islands a7id
taJce all the white meii's vessel s^ In the lapse of a few years, the fisher-
men at Cape Porpoise were either slaughtered or driven off', and the
settlement there laid desolate; a fishing smack was intercepted near
Portland, three of her crew killed, and the remainder carried into cap-
tivity ; eight fishing vessels were captured at the Fox islands ; the coast
for more than a hundred miles was abandoned, and the wretched men
who depended upon the sea for support, without shelter, and too scat-
tered for concert and resistance, were compelled to suspend their em-
plo3anents.

In 1725, several eminent sachems arrived at Boston to negotiate a
treaty Avith the government of Massachusetts. The fisheries were re-
sumed with the return of peace.

From this time to the controversies that preceded the Revolution, there
are but few incidents, in so rapid a narrative, to detain us. The Rev,
Thomas Smith, of Portland, records in his journal, under date of Sep-
tember, 1720, that a "storm brought into our harbor about forty large
fishing vessels," a fact that indicates a rapid recovery from the desola-
tions of war. He mentions, also, that in the same year several persons,
with their families, emigrared to that place from Cape Ann. In 1741,
he writes that "the fish struck in, which was a great relief to people
almost perishing." The number of fishermen who now had homes in
Maine was six hundred.

The war of 1756 was disastrous to persons engaged in maritime en-
terprises, and several vessels were captured by the French while on
the fishing grounds of the eastern coast. An armed ship was finally
employed to protect these grounds, and the general trade of the English
colonists. In 1760, Mount Desert, containing sixty thousand acres, and
the largest island in Maine, was granted to Sir Francis Bernard, the
governor of Massachusetts. The gift, made by the general court, was
confirmed by the King, and was valuable, at the time, on'y for pur-
poses of a fishery. Much harmony prevailed between Sir Francis and
the people he was sent to govern, for two or three years; but at his re-
call, in 1769, when the disputes which he provoked had embarrassed
trade, ship-building and the fisheries, there were few who lamented his
departure. *

In conclusion, two distinguished natives of Maine, who are intimately
connected with our subject, may receive a passing notice.

Sir Wilham Phipps was born at Bristol, the "ancient Pemaquid,"
and was one of twenty-six children borne by his mother, of whom
twenty-one were sons. He lived in Maine until he was twenty-two
years of age, when he went to Boston, where he learned to read and
write.

* Sir Francis Bernard succeeded Pownall as goveiiior of Massachusetts in 1760. He was
created a baronet in 1769; and tlie general couit drew up a petition to the King for his recall
the same year. He died in EHgland in 1779. He was a friend of literature, and a benefac-
tor of HaiTard University. His faults were parsimony, an excitable and arbitrary diposition,
the want of address and wisdom.

110

Hr cngnger! m various enterprises, from time to time, by w-hich he
ticquired wealih. In his endeavors to contiuer the Freneh possessions
in America he was unwearied, for he saw that, unless they were added
lo the British crown, there could be no peace upon the fishing grounds.
He was at hi.«t knighted, and, under the second charter of Massachusetts,
was appointed the first governor. When the Indians, who knew him
in his youth, hslened to the tale of his successes and honors, they were
amazed, for, says an old writer, "they had fished and hunted with
him many a weary day." He died in 1G95, without children.

Sir Wiiliam Pepperell, the commander of the memorable expedition
ao'ainst Louisbourg, was the son of a fisherman of the Isles of Shoals.
As a merchant at Kittery, the oldest incorporated town in Maine, where
}je was born, where he lived and died, and where strangers are still
shown his large mansion-house and, his tomb, he was personally con-
cerned in the fisheiies. He acquired great wealth. The dignity of a
baronet of Great Britain, an honor never before nor since conferred on
a riative of New England, was bestowed in reward of his military ser-
vices; and not long previous to his death, he was created a lieutenant
general. He deceased in 1759. His grandson, who inherited his title and
a large part of his estate, was a loyalist in the Revolution; and losing
his patrimony under the confiscation act, was a recipient of the bounty
of the British crown. The baronetcy is now extinct: and such are the
vicissitudes of human condition, that members of the Pepperell family
have been literally saved from becoming inmates of an almshouse by
individual charities,

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Ffom 1623 to the RetohitionKtry Controversy.

T'o include the early inhabitants of New Hampshire with Puritans
and among refugees from rehgious persecution, as some do, is to degrade
to mere fable many of the best authenticated facts in history. The
•sole purpose of the first and of the subsequent proprietors was to
acquire wealth by fishing and trading. The original patentees were
Sir Perdinando (jorges, John Mason, and several merchants of London,
Bristol, Plymouth, Dorchester, and other places in England, who pur-
chased the country between the Merrimack and the Kennebec,* and
back to the great lakes and the St. Lawrence, and styled themselves
the "Company of Laconia." In 1623 they sent over David Thomp-
son, Edward and William Hilton, fishmongers in London, with a num-
ber of other persons, in two divisions, furnished with ample, tools, im-
plements, and provisions, to commence a fishery and plant a colony.
One division landed on the south shore of the Piscataijua, at its mouth,
where, immediately to provide salt to cure fish, they built salt works,

* In a pajxsr wliich Ilutchhison preserves in his "Collection," and whieh he ascribes to tlic
commissiouers of Charles II, or to «((iue perso!H'i!ii)!<»y«'d by them, it is aaiA that "Mr. Mason
had a paltent f(»r some land alxiut Cape Ann before tlie Massaclnisetts had rlieir first pattent;
wlitMcuiion ("apt-tin Mason and Mr. (Jradnek, \\\ni was the first governorof the Massachnsetfs,
«nd lived in Liind(tn, agre(!dthat the Massaehnsetts should have that land which was graiinted
%» Ca])tain Mason about Cape Ann, and Captain Mason should hav« that laiid which was
beyoud Meriuiac river and grauutcd lo the Ma.ssachusctts," &c., &c.

Ill

and, to secure shelter for themselves, they erected a house which they
called "Mason Hnll." The fishery and fur trade engaged their whole
attention to the exclusion of agriculture ; and, during the seven yeara
succeeding their arrival, they completed but three or tour buildings.

Gorges and Mason soon became sole owners of Laconia; for their
associates, discouraged by the continual demands upon them without
returns ior the capital invested, relinquished their shares. But Gorges
and Mason did nothing to change the original designs of the first pat-
entees. They formed no government; they merely employed men to
fish and trade for them, without erecting any tribunals whatever to pro-
tect their own interests or the rights of others.

Finally, Laconia was divided into two colonies. To Gorges was
assigned, in his own right, the region east of the Piscataqua, to which
he gave the name of Maine; and to Mason the territory on tlie west-
erly side of that river, which, in honor of the county in which he lived
in England, he called New Hampshire.

Mason was bred a merchant, but became an officer in the British
navy, and in that capacity had resided at Newfoundland as one of tlie
governors of that island, of the description spoken of in the second part
of this report. He was, therefore, personally acquainted with the man-
agement of a fishery. In his sentiments he was so unlike the I'uritans
of the time as to anxiously desire the introduction of the feudal system
of lords and serfs into his domain of New Hampshire. This was his
darling plan, and he put his fortune at stake and sacrificed his all to
accomplish it. t^uch was the founder of Portsmouth, and of the State
of which it is the commercial capital.*

The history of industry upon the sea, for the century and a half that
New Hampshire remained an English colony, is bri^f and without
events of particular interest. In 1632 Mason wrote from London to
his agent Gibbens, on the Piscataqua, that "the adventurers here have
been so discouraged by reason of John Gibbs's ill dealing in his fishing
voyage, as also by the small returns sent hither by Captain Neale, Mr.
Herbert, or any of their factors, as that they have no desire to proceed
any further until Captain Neale come hither to confer with thein, that,
by conference with him, they may settle things in better order."
Again, in the same letter he remarks that "we desire to have our fish-
ermen increased, whereof we have written to Mr. Godfrey." In July,
1G33, Gibbens said, in a communication to his employers, that '^for
your fishing you complain of Mr. Gibbs. A Londoner is not for fishing,
neither is there any amity betwixt the west-countryment and them.
Bristol or Barnstable is very convenient for your fishing ships. It is
not enough to fit out our ships to fish, but they must be sure (God will)
to be at their fishing place the beginning of February, and not come
to the land when other men have half their voyage." The last letter
is apparently a reply to the first, and both show that, after ten years'
experience, the fishery was managed without skill, and afforded no
profit, while the intimation of Gibbens, relative to the late arrival o

* He died in 1635. In 1691 his heirs sold their rights to New Hampshire to Samuel Allen.
t West countrymen of England. Nearly aU the fishing vessels that came to America were
from the west counties.

112

his employers' ships, mn}^ be construed to mean that Enghsh merchants
sent their vessels to our coast in mid-winier.

The colony was indeed in an unpromising condition. For years
afterwards there was but little change for the belter. The colonists
neglected the soil, and the tliod necessary for their support was ob-
tnined in Virginia and England. "Piiscataway," said tlie noted John
Underbill, "is a desirable place, and lies in the heart of fishini; ;" and
such is the uniform account of the early chroniclers ; but yet, the cap-
ital invested there by the original patentees, and by Gorges and Mason,
was entirely lost.

Wintlirop relates that in 1641 a shallop, with eight men, "though
forewarned," set sail on the "Lord's day" from Piscataqua, for Pema-
quid ; that, driven before a northwest gale, they were absent at sea
about fourteen days, but arrived finally at Monhegan, where four of
the men perished of cold, and where the smvivors were rescued by
a fisherra;in.

The trade of Portsmouth was of slow gi'owth. The number of
vessels that entered the port in 16S1, was forty-nine; but some were of
the burden of ten tons, or mere boats, and none were larger than one
hundred and fifty tons; while the whole amount of impost or customs
collected was less than =£62. A pleasant anecdote of a worthy divine
of that town occurs in 1690, which may be here related. This cler-
gyman, in speaking of the depravity of the times, is represented to have
ihllen into the error of saying to his people, that "they had forsaken the
pious habits of their forefathers, who left the ease and comfort which they
possessed in their native land, and came to this howling wilderness to
enjoy, without molestation, the exercise of their pure principles ot" reli-
gion ;" when one of the congregation, interrupting him, rose and replied :
"Sir, you entirely mistake the matter; our ancestors did not come here on
accotint of their religion, hit to fish mid tradey The hearer, however
discourteous, was in the right as to the fact.

In 171-5, Kittery, opposite to Portsmouth, in Maine, and the seat of an
extensive fishery, was made a port of entry in consequence of the im-
proper duties and exactions (as was alleged) which the government of
New Hampsliire demanded of the merchants and fishermen trading at
the towns on the Piscataqua. The difiicultics which caused this mea-
sure seem to have occasioned much excitement. Massachus( tts, to se-
cure respect to her authority, erected a breast-work northerly of Kittery
Point, and laid a platform sufficient to mount six guns; appiinted a
naval officer and notary ; and ordered the masters of fishmg and of
other vessels, as well as other persons transacting business on the river,
to pay into her treasuiy, imports, powder-monc}', and other duties, as
stipulated by her laws.

An answer was framed to inquiries of the Lords of Trade and Plan-
tations, in 1730, which shows that the commerce of Portsmouth was
still small. The exports were stated to be "fish and lumber;" the num-
ber of vessels was only five, of about five hundred tons in the aggregate ;
and the tonnage of vessels trading there, owned elsewhere, even less.
"The province," it was said, "makes use; of cdl sorts of Bruish manu-
factures, amounting to about ^5,000 sterling annually, which are had
principally Irom Loston." "The trade to other plantations" was to

113

the "Carribbee islands, whither we send lumber and fish, and receive
in return rum, sugar, molasses, and cotton ; and as to trade to Europe,
it is to Spain or Portugal, from whence our vessels bring home salt."
This is a meagre account, after the lapse of more than a century.

There is nothing to add. The sea and the forest continued to sup-
ply the staple exports. A single distillery for the manufacture of New
England rum was erected, and two or three vessels w^re sent, annually,
to the Dutch and French West Indies to procure molasses for distilla-
tion, from the time, probably, that intercourse with these islands was
interdicted, down to the Revolution; and this illicit traffic M^as the only
material change in the commerce of New Hampshire between 1730
and 1775. Certain it is, that until the fisheries and other maritime
pursuits were interrupted by the overthrow ot the royal government,
and the war that followed, agriculture was neglected.

The colony founded by Gorges and Mason depended upon axes
and saws, shallops and fishing-lines, until necessity compelled a resort
to the plough. Its first exports of corn were mid the desolations of
the struggle that resulted in giving it the rank and blessings of an inde-
pendent iState.

ISLES OF SHOALS.
From 1614 to the Revolutionary Controversy,

The cluster of eight islands that bear this name, may contain pos-
sibly six hundred acres. Strangely enough, they belong to two
States. Those named Haley's or Smutty-nose, Hog, Duck, Cedar,
and Malaga, were embraced in the charter obtained by Gorges of King
Charles, in 1639, and are under the jurisdiction of Maine at the pres-
ent time ; while Star, White, and Londoner's islands are united lo
New Hampshire. These islands were discovered in 1614, by the cel-
ebrated John Smith, and were named by him " Smith's Isles." This
name was changed previous to 1629, since, in the deed of the Indian
Sagamores to Wheelwright and others, of that year, they are called
the "Isles of Shoals." Dreary and inhospitable in their appearance,
they would have remained without inhabitants to our own day, proba-
bly, but for their advantageous situation for carrying on the fisheries.
Upon them all there are chasms in the rocks several yards wide,
and from one to ten deep, occasioned, as some suppose, by a violent
earthquake.

In places, acres of rock are partially or entirely severed, and through
the fissures thus formed, the sea at high tides, and in some storms,
rushes in torrents. There is but one secure harbor, which is of great
importance, sheltering not only to the vessels of the resident fishermen
of the islands, but the merchant vessels coming upon the coast in dis-
tress.

The Isles of Shoals were occupied at a very early date, and soon
became places of note and of great resort. In 1661, they were inhab-
ited by upwards of forty families. The fisheries were prosecuted with
vigor and success at that period, and subsequently, for quite a century.
Three or four ships were loaded there annually, as soon as the year
8

114

1730, for Bilboa, in Spain; and large quantities of fish were carried,
besides, to Portsmouth, to be shipped to the West Indies. Prior to
the Revolution, the dnn-Jish of these islands had attained universal ce-
lebrity, and were considered to be the best table-fish in the world.

The population in 1775 was about six hundred. Fishing was the
only employment. The annual catch was between three and four
thousand quintals.- The inhabitants owned a large fieet of boats and
shallops, and several vessels ; and fancied, as many fishermen still do,
that the fishing grounds were prolific in proportion to the distance from
home, and extended their adventures to Newfoundland accordingly.
It is of interest to remark, as showing the prosperous condition of these
islands, and the means of education in "the olden time," that gentle-
men of consideration, of some of the principal towns on the seacoast,
sent their sons there ibr literar}^ instruction.

The war ot the Revolution produced a disastrous change. It was
found by the whigs that their enemies extorted articles of sustenance
as well as recruits for their service, and they ordered the inhabitants to
abandon their homes. In obedience to the hard mandate, a large pro-
portion removed to towns on the main land, and never returned. A
single incident that occurred early in the contest will serve to illus-
trate the general situation of the islanders previous to their dispersion:
An aged woman, who lived on Star island, kept two cows, which fed
in winter on hay cut in summer among the rocks with a knife, and
with her own hands. These useful animals were alwa3"s in excellent
order, and to her were invaluable. To her great sorrow, though paid
for, they were taken by the British and slaughtered for beef.

The fishermen of the Isles of Shoals, as a. class, were moral and
.exemplary men during the entire period embraced in our inquiries,
A place of worship was erected even before the year 1641, at which
time the Rev. Mr. Hull was their minister. They were disturbed,
however, in 1642, by Mr. Gibson, an Episcopal clergyman, who went
among them, performed services according to the rites of his church,
andi;reated a disaffection towards- the government of Massachusetts,
which then claimed to exercise jurisdiction over them. The Rev. John
Brock* commenced his pastoral labors about 1650, and remained
among ;^hcm twelve years. He was an excellent man, and was suc-
ceeded by Mr. Belcher, who was equally worthy. Mr. Moody followed,
in 1706, and continued their pastor upwards of twenty-five years.
His successor was the Rev. John Tucke, whose ministry terminated
only with his life, in 1773. Their last s})iritual guide, previous to the
general dit^jKusion, two or three years aiterwards, was the Rev. Jere-
miah Shaw. TIjus we have the remaikable fact that these lone
islanders maintained religious worship, with hardly an interval, for one
hundred and thirty -five years. Equally remarkable is the fact that
the salary of Mr. Tucke was regarded, at the time, as one of the most
valuable (his situation considered) in all New England. His stipend
was fixed at a quintal of merehantable winter-fish per man, and no
change was made for fifteen years. This quality of fish sold at a

* Rev. John Brock was bom in England, in 1620; came to America about the year 1637,
And died in 1088.

115

guinea the quintal, and the number who contributed to the good man's
support was from eighty to one hundred.

A detailed account of the sufferings of these people must be omitted.
It will suffice to say that, in the Indian wars, plundering excursions
were frequent ; that many females were carried into captivity ; that one
island was entirely deserted by the settlers, in consequence of sava.ge
inroads; and that strangers are now shown "Betty Moody's Hole," a
chasm in the rocks, where, according to tradition, one Bett}' Moody
concealed herself during an Indian incursion. Poor as the}^ were, in
everything but the products of the sea, they were still plundered by
the infamous Low, and other pirates who infested our coast, and were
disturbed in their industry by visits from the French, who captured
their boats and shallops.

Brief, too, must be the record of disasters from and on the sea.
Singular to relate, first, that soon after the settlement of these isles, a
house on Hale3'^'s island was washed from its foundation in a storm,
and carried entire to Cape Cod, where it was secured, and a discovery
made of its place of departure by opening a box of hnen, papers, &c.,
which it contained. Winthrop notices the oversetting of a shallop, in
1632, and the drowming of three fishermen, whose boat was cast upon
the rocks eleven ^^ears later. Hubbard speaks of "several fishermen"
who, embarking at the isles a day or two before Christmas, 1671, to
keep the holiday at Portsmouth, perished in going on shore fi^om their
vessel. And we learn, from another source, that in 1695, "many
boats and men" were lost in a violent gale. These instances, to ex-
cept the extraordinary t'o?/«o-c of the dwelling-house, indicate, with some
degree of accuracy, the perils and losses of life and property not un-
common to those who earn their bread in the waters that surround
these bleak and barren islands.

That the fishermen of the Isles of Shoals are " a peculiar people"
is a well-known and generally accepted saying. The anecdotes pre-
served of those of b^'gone generations are pertinent to our purpose, and
will give a miniature picture of the course of life among their fathers,
as well as account for some of the expressions and habits which con-
tinue to amuse persons from the continent who now visit them.

First, it would seem that prior to 1647 the court had ordained that
"no women should live upon the Isles of Shoals," and that one .John
Renolds, disobeying this ordinance, carried his wife there with the in-
tention of living with her. This was not to be endured b}^ Richard
Cutt, and his associate, Cutting, especially as Renolds took with him,
also, a "great stock of goats and hogs." Thereupon these aggrieved
men, in a petition to the government, set forth the facts in the case, and
prayed for relief by the removal thence of the several nuisances of Mrs.
Renolds, her goats and her swine. The court gravely considered the
matter, and ordered Renolds to take his four-footed property to the
main land "within twenty days;" but wisely concluded that, "as for
the removal of his wife, if no further complaint come against her, she
may as yet enjoy the company of her husband."

Again: During the ministry of Mr. Brock the fishermen were in-
duced by him to enter into an agreement to &pe.-d one week day in
every month in religious worship. Once, hovever when a day thus

116

set apart occurred, they desired him to postpone tlie meeting, because
the weather, which for a number of da3's previous had been too bois-
terous to allow them to visit the iishing ground, liad then become mode-
rale. To this request, says his biographer, he would not consent.
Finding that they were determined to "make up their lost time," he
addressed them as follows: "If you are resolved to neglect your duty
to God, and uill go awa}', I say unto 3-ou, catch fish if 3'ou can ; but
as for you who will tarry and worship the Lord, I will praj* unto him
for yon, that you may catch fish until you are weary." The story con-
cludes with the averment that of the thirty-five to whom this address
was made, thirty went to the fishing-ground, and that five remained
with the good man Brock. The thirty caught but four fish, though
they labored all day; while the five, who followed at the conclusion of
the religious services, caught ^'re hundred. "After this," says the nar-
rator, the week-day meetings "were well attended." It is related of
INIr. Brock, that on another occasion he said to a poor fisherman, who
had been very useful in carrying persons who attended meeting across
from island to island, and who had lost his boat in a storm, " Go home,
honest man, I will mention the matter to the Lord: you will have your
boat again to-morrow." On the next daj- — so closes the account — "in
answer to earnest prayer the man recovered his boat, which was brought
up from the bottom by the anchor of a vessel, cast upon it without
design."

A saying still familiar among nautical men, is said to have had its
origin in the following circumstance : While Mr. Moody was the
minister at the isles, a fishing shallop, with all on board, was lost in a
gale in Ipswich bay. " Mr. Moody, anxious to improve this melancholy
event for the awakening of those of his hearers who were exposed to
the like disaster," put home the case in " language adapted to their
occupation and understanding," thus: "Supposing, my brethren, any
of v'ou should be taken short in the h^\, in a northeast storm, 3'our
hearts trembling with fear, and nothing but death before you ; whither
would your thoughts turn? what would you do?" "What would I
do?" replied a fisherman, ^^ichy, 1 should hoist the foresail and scud aimy
for Siftunny To explain the wit or point of the answer, it is necessary
to add that Squam harbor, on the north side of Cape Ann, was a noted
place of shelter for fishing vessels when in the position supposed by
Mr. Moody.

At a time when piracies were committed on the coast, a fisherman of
the name of Charles Randall, with others, were taken by some liree-
booters and whipped with great sevei'ity. This act perpetrated, the •
pirates said, "\(ju know old Dr. Cotton Mather, do j-ou?" "Yes,"
was the reply, "we have heard of him as a very good man." " Well,
then," rejoined the gang, "our orders are, to make each of 3'ou jump
up three times, and sa3' each time, 'Curse Parson Mather,' otherwise
you are all to be hanged." Randall and his companions complied.

In ccaiclusion. A worthy deacon, reading a line in the old version of
the Psalms, said, "And I know more than all the Indians do;" when
he should have read, "And I know more than all the ancients do."
Whejeupon "one of the assembh', who had mon; wit than pietv, ac-
quainted with the craftiness and shrewdness of Indians, rose antl ad-

117

dressed the deacon in a loud voice, ' If you do, jj'ou are a plaguy cun-
ning man.' "

I will onlj^ add that the words, '■^Iwill make you Jishcrs of men ^ M'ere
used as the text at the ordination of Mr. Tucke ; and that among the
votes passed by the inhabitants at the time of his settlement, was one
imposing a fine of "forty shilhngs old tenor" on all who "every fall,
when he has his wood to carry home, is able to come, but will not
come."

Such is a rapid view of affiiirs at the eight islands that he off the
entrance of the Piscataqua, while they belonged to the British crown.

MASSACHUSETTS.

From 1614 to the Revolutionary Controversy.

The settlement of Massachusetts is to be traced directly to the fish-
eries. Lest this statement should be thought too broad, and to need
quahfication, I will cite from the best authorities extant to sustaip it.
And first, Hubbard, who says the " occasion" of planting this colony
was, that, " As some merchants from the west of England Ind a long
time frequented the parts about Monhegan, for the taking of fish, &c.,
so did others, especially those of Dorchester, make the like attempt
upon the northern promontory of Massachusetts Bay, in probability first
discovered by Captain Smith before or in the year 1G14," and called
Cape Ann, in honor of the royal consort of King James. " Here," he
continues, " did the aforesaid merchants first erect stages whereon to
make their fish, and yearly sent their ships thither for that end, for
some considerable time, until the fame of the plantation at New Ply-
mouth, with the success thereof, was spread abroad through all the
western parts of England," Sec. Again, he says that, " On this con-
sideration it was that some merchants and other gentlemen about Dor-
chester did, about the year 1624, at the instigation of Mr. Wliite,* the

* The Rev. John 'White (as stated in the Chronicles of Massachusetts) was bom in 1575, and
in 1605 became rector of a parish in Dorchester. He removed from that place, and was ab-
sent for several years, but retunied to Dorchester, and died there in 1643. In the ci\'il M'ars
in England he took sides with the Puritans. He was one of the assembly of divines of West-
nuuster, and " showed himself one of the most leai'ued and moderate amons them, and his
judgment was much relied on therein." Calleuder, in his Historical Discourse on Rhode
Island, calls him the " fither of the Massachusetts colony." His name often occurs in the
meetings of the Massachusetts Company in London. The church in which he preached in
Dorchester was demolished in 18-24. That city, the " cradle of the Massachusetts coluiiy,"
Bends rwo members to Parliament ; it is on the river Frorae, 120 miles from London.

The " Planter's Plea," a tract which was printed iu London in 163'), soon after Wiuthrop
and his company sailed for Massachusetts, has generally been ascribed to Mr. White. A chap-
ter of this tract is to be found in Young's Chronicles of Massachusetts. It fully warrants tlie
statements iu the text in relation to the original objects of colonization, as the following ex-
tracts will show :

" About the year 1623," says Mr. "White, or the writer of the Plea, " some western merchants,
who had continued a trade of fishing for cod and bartering- for furs in those parts for divers
years before, conceiving that a colony planted on the coast might fiuther them in those em-
plopnents, bethought themselves how they might bring that project to effect, and communi-
cated their purpose to others, alleging the conveniency of compassing their project with a
sniaU charge, by the opportunity of their fishing trade, in which they accustomed to double-
man their ships, that, by the help of many hands, they might despatch their voyage and lade
their ship with fish while the fishing season lasted, which could not be done with a bare sailing

118

famous preacher of that town, upon a common stock, together with
those that were cominij to make fish, send over sundry persons in
order to the carrying- on a plantation at Cape Ann, conceiving that
planting on the land might go on equally with fishing on the sea, in
those parts of America. j\Ir. John Tylly and Mr. Thomas Gardener
were emploj'ed as overseers of that whole business — the first with
reference to the fishing, the other with respect to the planting on the
main land," &c.

Holmes, in his American Annals, states that, "the fame of the plan-
tation at Plymouth being spread in the west of England, Mr. White, a
celebrated minister of Dorchester, excited some merchants and other
gentlemen to attempt another settlement in New England. They

company. Now, it was conceived that, the fishing being ended, the spare men that were above
their necessary sailors might be left behind, with provisions for a jcar; and when that ship
returned the next year they might assist them in fishing, as they had done the furmer year;
and, in the mean time, might employ themselves in building and planting com, which, with the
provisions offish, fowl, and venison that the land yudded, would afford them the chief of their
food. This proposition of theirs took so well, that it drew on divers persons to join with them
in this project; the rather because it was conceived that not only their own fishermen, but the
rest of our nation that went thither on the same errand, might be much advantaged, not only
by fresh victuals which that colony might spare them in time, but withal, and more, by the
benefit of their miui.sters' labors, which they might enjoy during the fishing season; whereas
otherwise, being usually upon those voyages nine or ten months in a year, they were left all
the while without any means of instruction at all. Compassion towards the fishermen, and
partly some expectation of gain, prevailed so far, that for the planting of a colony in New
England there was raised a stock of mure than £3,000, intended to be paid in in five years,
but afterwards disbursed in a shorter time."

Such, then, was the oiiginal design. We next have an account of the operations and diasj-
ters of the contributors of this fund. "The first employment," continues the writer, "of this
new raised stock, was in buying a small ship of fifty tons, which was, with as much speed as
might be, despatched towards New England upon a fishing voyage. * * * Now,

by rea.sou the voyage was undertaken too late, she came at least a month or six weeks later
than the rest of the fishing ships that went lor that coast ; and by that means wanting fish to
make up her lading, the master thought good to pass into Massachusetts bay, to try whether
that would yield him any, which he performed ; and speeding there better than he had reason
to expect, having left his spare men behind him in the country at Cape Ann, he returned to
a late, and consequently a bad market in Spain, and so home." The loss incurred in this
voyage was upwards of £600.

The company, the next year, bought a "Flemish fly-boat'' of about one hundred and forty
tons, which, relates the writer. " being unfit for a fishing voyage, as being built merely for
burthen, and wanting lodging for the men which she needed for such an employment, they
added unto her another deck, (which seldom proves well with Flemish buildings,) by which
means she was carved so high that she proved wait, (craidv.) and unable to bear any sail; so
that before she could pass on upon her voyage, they were fain to shift her first, and put her
upon a better trim, and afterwards, that proving to little purpose, to unlade her, and take her
up and fur her. * * *f ,^u^l when she arrived in the country, being directed by

the master of the smaller ship, upon the success of his former year's voyage, to fish at Cape
Ann, not far from Massachusetts bay, sped very ill, as did also the smaller ship that led her
thither, and found little fisli ; so that the greater shi]) returned with little more than a third
jiart : f her lading, and came l>ack (contrary to her order, liy whieh she was consigned to Bour-
deaux) directly for Hngland; so that the comi)any of adventurers was put to a new charge to
hire a small ship to carry that little quantity offish she brought home to market." These two
ships left behind them at Cape Ann thirty-two men. In Krio three vessels were employed,
but with ccmtinued loss. In ](v2(), the " adventurers were so far discouraged that they aban-
doned the further prosecution of this design, and took order for the dissolving of the company
on land, and sold away their sliipi)ing and other provisions."

Most of the fishermen and otlier persons in the adventurers' eraplojTuent at Cape Ann re-
turned to England ; " but a few of the most honest and industrious resolved to stay behind,
and to take charg<> of the cattle sent over tlu^ year before, wljicii they performed accordingly.
And not liking their seat at Cape Ami, chosen especially li»r the supposed commodity of fish-
ins, they ir;uis|)orted themselves to Nakuin-Keike, [Salem,] about foui" or five leagues distant
to the southwest from Capo Ann."

119

accordingly, on a common stock, sent over several persons, who began
a plantation at Cape Ann,* and held this place of the Plymouth
settlers, for whom they set up here a fishing stage."

We have thus the positive declarations that the success of the English
merchants in fishing about the island of Monhegan, in Maine, and of
the Pilgrims at Plymouth, were the original and moving causes of
attempting to settle a second colony in New England. As the good
minister Robinson was the principal founder of the first, so the pastor
White was like instrumental in promoting the last. The general ac-
curacy of Hubbard and Holmes will not be disputed. The latter, in
this particular case, must have been well informed. Ipswich, of which
town he was the minister, was a noted and favorite station for the
English fishing ships that came to the coast previous to the colonization
of Massachusetts ; and, aside from the facilities of acquiring informa-
tion from that source, he was personally acquainted with Roger Conant,
the great actor in the events of which we are now to speak.t

In the fishery at Cape Ann, the minister White seems to have had a
personal interest. In 1625, Conant, at his instance, was appointed to
succeed Tylly and Gardener in the management of the company's con-
cerns there. Conant was already in New England. He arrived at
Plymouth in 1623; but unhappy there, and averse to the rigid views
of the Pilgrims, though himself a religious man, had removed thence to
Nantasket. He undertook the fishery, which, proving unprofitable,
was abandoned. " He disliked the place as much as the merchants
dishked the business ;" iind, pleased with Naumkeak, (Salem,) re-
moved there. Deserted by his employers, and helpless mid hordes of
savages, he was advised, implored, and warned to quit the country.
Discomfiture and ruin had attended the efforts of some of the best men
in England to colonize Newfoundland ; death and other sad cahimities
had put an end to the colony attempted in Maine ; the plantation at
Weymouth had produced a harvest of sorrow and poverty to its pro-
jector ; the colony at Plymouth survived, but a single boat and net had
alone saved it from utter extmction ; and now, the destiny of Massa-
chusetts was suspended upon the decision of an ejected manager of a
fishery. Conant knew and said that he staid at his post at the hazard

* Called Gloucester iu 1642.

t The Rev. William Hubbard was born in England in 1621, and eame to America with his
father iu 1635. He was graduated at Harvard University, in the first class, iu 1642. He was
settled at Ipswich, Massachusetts, and died there in 1704, aged 83 years. His History of New
England remained in manuscript until 1815, when it was published by the Massachusetts His-
torical Hociety, as a part of their Collections.

" The most original and valuable part of Hubbard's history," remarks Dr. Young, in the
Chronicles of Massachusetts, is the chapter "in which he gives us a statement of facts in rela-
tion to the first settlements at Cape Ann and Salem, which can be found nowhere else." These
facts the learned Doctor inclines to believe Hubbard obtained from Conant himself "Living
at Ipswich, he must have been acquainted with this prominent old planter, who resided but a
few miles from him, at Beverly, and who sui-vived till 1679. Some of the tacts which he re-
lates he could hardly have obtained from any other source." * * "We may
therefore consider that * * * we have Roger Conant's own narrative, as taken down by
Hubbard m the conversations which he held with him when collecting the materials for his
history."

Conant is everywhere spoken of in terms of respect, and was an excellent man. " The
superior condition of the persons who came over with the charter cast a shade upon him, and
he lived in obscuiity."

120

of his life. The minister White, grieved that his associates had so
suddenly relinqui;«hed their desitrns, entreated him to remain, promising
to send over a patent, men, provisions, and merchandise, to open a
trade with the Indians. " As if animated with some superior instinct,"
and with visions of a future home for the stricken and hunted men of
his own faith, he hstened to the wise and courageous pastor's sohcita-
tions.

Three trusty companions,* designated by Mr. White, consented to
shai-e his fate ; but these, rcjjenting of their engagement, finally pressed
him to depart with them to Virginia. In the lottiness of his virtue he
uttered "Here will I wait the providence of God, though all should
forsake me!" They pledged liiemselves anew to remain with him;
and one of them was soon despatched to England to procure supplies,
to renew the attempt to found a colony.

Meanwhile, Mr. White, true to his promises, never lost sight of
Conant, or of Massachusetts. The integrity and zeal of both were in
due time rewarded with success. In 1627, when Sir Henry Roswell,
Sir John Young, and other gentlemen, had purchased the country be-
tween the Merrimack and the Charles rivers, Mr. W^hite caused these
patentees to become acquainted with persons of similar rank in
London, and thus enlisted VVinthrop, Johnson, Sir Richard Saltonstall,
Cradock, and others, in the enterprise which he himself so untiringly
promoted. The London gentlemen were at first associated with those
of Dorchester; but in the end, became the sole patentees. Of this
second company Endicott was the first agent, and on his arrival at
Salem, in 1628, he succeeded Conant in the management of affairs. t

It is important to remember that the London company, by their
purchase, did not become proprietors of a charter under which to
people and govern a Commonwealtli, but merely of a common patent
granted for purposes of trade, and similar to several that had been

* Tliese persons were John Woodbury, John Balch, and Peter Palfrey. "All bearing the
name of Woodbury, in New England, jn'obably descend from John, or his brother William."
A son of Batch subseciuently married a daughter of Conant. The Hon. John G. Palfrey claims
Conant's associate, Peter, as his ancestor. — Chron. Moss.

t Endicott, after his arrival to supersede Conant and his associates, desired the company in
England to send him over a "Frenchman experienced in making of salt and planting of vin(>s."
In answer to this request the company informed hiim, April, 1629, "We have inquired dili-
gently for such, but cannot meet with any of that nation. Nevertheless, God hath not Icfr, us
altogether unprovided of a man able to undertake that work ; for that we have entertained
Mr. Thomas Graves, a man conmiended to us as well for his honesty as skill in many things
useful. I'irst, lie professcth great skill in the makivg of stilt, both in ponds and pans, as also to
find out salt springs, or mines," &e. Graves arrived at Salem in June, 1629, but did not
remain in Americii, i)rol)al)ly, many years.

In 1629, the Massacliusctts conq)any sent over from England "twenty-nine weight" of salt
in the Ma}'flower, Four Sisters, and Pilgrim, "toget tier with lines, hooks, knives, boots, and
barrels, necessary for iisliing;" with directions to euq)loy their nu'u" either in harbor or ujion
the bank," and witli a desire to their agent " to confer and advise with Mr. Peirce, who hath
formerly fished there."

The Mr. Peirce here mentioned was a celebrated navigator of the time. The "Mayflower,"
of which he was in couunaud in 1()2!), was the same that brought over the Pilgrims to I'ljnnouth
nine years prenously He was an experienced fislierman. In 16311 he was master of the
Lion, ;ind arrived at Salem in May of tliat year. He was again at Salem and at Boston, ia
the saino vessel, in J6;5I ; wben his arrival was the (x^easion of much joy, as the colonists were
famishing, and he came "laden with provisions." It was apprehended tliat he had been "cast
away, or taken l)y pirates." "The celebrated Eoger WUliums and his wife '' wore passengers
with Captain Peirce iu 1631. — Citron. Mass.

121

previously obtained by other companies that designed to adventure for
fish and furs elsewhere in America. The original plan of Winthrop,
Saltonstall, and their associates, while it embraced a settlement of
their domain, still provided that the controlling power should remain
in England. Mathcw Cradock, a rich London merchant, in accord-
ance with this arrangement, was appointed by the patentees their first
governor, in the sense that the head of the Bank of England is
denominated "the governor" of that institution. Cradock,* subse-
quently, not only relinquished his office voluntarily, but proposed the
measure of transferring the government to the actual settlers.

The wise, magnanimous, and patient Winthrop was his successor,
and the first governor of the company who came to America. He
arrived in 1680, with a considerable body of colonists. Disembarking
at Salem, he soon removed to Charlestown, and thence crossed the river
to Boston, w^here he fixed his permanent home. These, as I under-
stand the subject, are the principal facts that relate to the origin of
Massachusetts.

In passing from the topic, a single word more of Roger Conant.
His history has not been written ; it exists only in fragments. He
was a good man. He possessed the true test of merit, for he never
clamored, or even asked, for reward. In his old age, he did indeed
petition, that as "Budleigh," in England, was his birth-place, so
"Budleigh,"t in America, might be his burial-place; but this poor
boon was denied to the Christian hero, who stood by and saved the
colony in the hour of extremity. If men would be remembered by
those who come after them, they must win battles, or acquire position
in the State. Roger Conant was but an humble superintendent of a
fishery, and of a plantation undertaken among the bare rocks of Glou-
cester, and is forgotten.

William Brewster, of the Pilgrim band of Plymouth, was an accom-
plished scholar, and a man of distinguished talents; in Europe he was
enraoed in diplomacv, and was an intimate friend of the minister of
Queen Elizabeth, who signed the death-warrant of the beautiful iMary
Stuart, Queen of Scotland; but in America he was simply "a ruling
elder in the church;" and he, too, has passed from the memory of aU,
save the students of history.

We are now to trace the progress of the fisheries of Massachusetts,
and record a serious quarrel at the outset. The circumstances, briefly
related, were these : The Pilgrims at Plymouth, and the merchants in
England who were interested with them, seem to have built a fishing-
stage and provided other accommodations at Cape Ann, in 1624, |

* Governor Cradock was a member of Parliament for London in 1640. " A descendant,
George Cradock, was an iahabitant of Boston in the middle of the last century." — Chron. Mass.

t This was in 1671, after the second division of Salem, and after the mcoi-poration of Bev-
erly, which name was adopted without consulting Conant and Ms friends. He gave two reasons
in his petition for a change of the name; one, that the people were constantly nick-named
^beggarly;" and the other, that those who remained with him in the crisis mentioned in the
text, as well as himself, were born in " Budleigh." He built the first house in Salem, and his
60U Roger was the first white child bom there. He died in Beverly, 1679, at the age of 89.

t The colony of Plymouth obtained a patent of Cape Ann about the year 1623, and sent
vessels there to fish. A " stage," for the accommodation of their fishermen, was built at the
Cape in 1624.

122

which one Hewes, in command of a West of England ship, occupied
in the absence of the Plymouth fishermen. Hewes acted under the
orders of these merchants, who now, it further appears, had dissolved,
or were about to dissolve, their business relations with the J^ilgrims,
and some of whom, on account of the difficulties that had occurred,
cherished an enmity towards them. On hearing that Hewes had t;iken
possession of the stage. Governor Bradford ordered the renowned In-
dian-slayer, Miles Standish, to eject him. Hewes refused to yield, and
Standish resolved to employ force. Hewes made a sort of breast-work
on the stage of the casks used in fishing, and was thus strongly fortified,
while his opponents were on the land and almost at his mercy. At the
point of collision and bloodshed, Conant (of whom we have spoken)
and Captain Pcarce, a fast friend of the Plymouth settlers, who was
also there with a fishing-ship, interposed their good offices, and suc-
ceeded in compromising the difficulty, Hewes and his men agreeing to
erect another stage.

The next incident that deserves our attention is of a different nature.
Mr. Higginson, the first minister of Salem, arrived in 1629. About one
hundred of the colonists died before the close of the following year,
and among diem this excellent divine. He wrote a tract called "'New
England's Plantation," which was published* in 1630, and contains
the ibllowing glowing description of the treasures 'of our seas: "The
abundance of sea-fish," he says, "are almost beyond believing, and
sure I should scarce have believed it, except I had seen it with mine
own eyes. I saw great store of whales and grampusses, and such
abundance of mackerels that it would astonish one to behold, hkewise
codfish in abundance on the coast, and in their season are plentifully
taken. There is a fish called bass, a most sweet and wholesome fish
as ever I did eat; it is altogether as good as our fresh salmon, and the
season of their coming was begun when we came first to New Eng-
land in June, and so continued about three months' space. Of this fish
our fishers take many hundreds together, which I have seen lying on the
shore, to my admiration: yea, then- nets ordinarily take more than they
are able to hall to land, and for want of boats and men they are con-
strained to let many go after they have taken them, and yet some-
times they fill two boats at a time with them. And besides bass,
we take plenty of scate and thornbacks, and abundance of lobsters,
and the least boy in the plantation may both catch and eat what he will
of them. For my own part I was soon cloyed with them, they were
so great and fat, and luscious. I have seen some myself that have
weighed sixteen pounds ; but others have had, divers times, so great
lobsters as have weighed twenty-five pound, as they assure me. Also
here is abundance of herring, turbut, sturgeon, cusks, haddocks, mul-
lets, eels, crabs, muscles and oysters. Besides, there is probability
that the country is of an excellent temper for the making of salt ; for
since our coming our fishermen have brought home very good salt,

* The Rev. Francis Higginson was born in 1588, and was educated at Cambridge, England.
Excluded from his pulpit for non-conformity, he was invited to come to America by the com-
pany engaged in the colonization of Masshchnsetts. He was ordained at Salem, in August,
li'yid. He left a wile and eight children, wlio, after his decease, removed to Churlestowu,
Massachusetts, and subsequently to Now Haven, Connecticut.

123

which they found candied, by the standing of the sea-water and the
heat of the sun, upon a rock by the sea-shore; and in divers salt
marshes that some have gone through, they have found some salt in
some places crushing under their feet and cleaving to their shoes."

Winthrop* followed with his colony, as has been observed, in 1630,
and records in his journal that on the passage, "we put our ship in
stays, and took, in less than two hours, with a few hooks, sixty-seven
codfish, most of them very great fish, some a yard and a half long and
a yard in compass." And again he says, "we heaved out our hooks,
and took twenty-six cods: so we all feasted with fish this day." And
still further, a few days afterwards, "we took many mackerels, and
met a shallop, which stood from Cape i^nn towards the Isles of Shoals,
which belonged to some English fishermen."

These passages are selected from the many relating to our subject,
which are to be found in the journals, letters, and other documents of
the time, not only for the purpose of showing the impressions of the
early settlers, but their accounts of the manner of fishing, and the
nature of the intelligence which they transmitted to England to induce
additional emiorations. A single illustration of the sufferings of the
colonists, and of their dependence upon the seas for support, and even
to preserve them from utter starvation, as at Plymouth, may properly
follow.

Johnson, who came over in 1630, (and probably in Winthrop's fleet,)
who was a member of the House of Representatives upwards of twenty-
five years, and speaker of that body in 10-55, in his curious but very
valuable work — "Wonder Working Providence of Sion's Saviour in
New England," pubhshed in London in 1654t — speaks of persons
Avho, "in the absence of bread, feasted themselves with fish; the
women, once a day, as the tide gave way, resorting to muscles and
clam-banks, where they daily gathered their families' food with much
heavenly discourse of the provisions Christ had formerly made for
many thousands of his followers in the wilderness:" of mothers, meek
and resigned in their destitution, who smiled over their children, fancy-
ing that they were as "fat and lusty with feeding upon muscles, clams,
and other fish, as they were in England with their fill of bread, which
made them cheerful in the Lord's providing for then] :" of others, who,
mid "the great straits this wilderness people were in," were reheved
because "Christ caused abundance of very good fish to come to their
nets and hooks:" and of still others, who, "unprovided with these
means, caught them with their hands; and so with fish, wild onions,
and other herbs, were sweetly satisfied till other provisions came in:"
and, finally, that "this year of sad distress was ended with a terrible
cold winter, with weekly snows, and fierce frosts between, while con-
gealing Charles river, as well from the town to seaward as above, in-

* John Wiuthrop, first resident governor of Massadiiisetts, was born in Groton, England,
in 1587, and was bred to the law. He was a man of considerable fortune. He arrived at
Salen), June, 1630. His journal of occurrences in the colony, down to the year 1648, as
edited by the Hon. James Savage, of Boston, is one of the most valuable works extant to the
lovers of American histoiy. He died in 1649, aged 61, "worn out by toils and depressed by
afflictions."

* Kepublished in parts, in several volumes of Coll. Mass. His. Soc, second series.

124

somuch that men might frequently pass from one island to another upon
the ice."*

The aspect of affiiirs was soon changed. The arrivals of articles of
necessity from England, the opening of the soil to husbandry, and the
building of vessels, affiirded the colonists ample relief in the course of
a few yeais. The "Blessing of the Bay," a little barque of thirty
tons, was launched as early as 1631. Her name indicates the feelings
of Governor Winthrop, who built her;t and relates in a word the story
of the pressing wants of his people.} This vessel proved the "bless-
ing" she was designed to be, and was the means of opening a com-
munication with the Dutch settlers in New York, as well as of main-
taining constant intercourse with various parts of Massachusetts.

In 1633 a vessel was built at Boston, and called the "Trial:" three
3^ears after, the "Desire," of one hundred and twenty tons, was
launched at Marblehead. Another, of three hundred tons, was built
at Salem in 1640 ; and the fifth in the colony, at the same place, in
1642. Meantime, the Dove, a pinnace of about fifty tons, had made a
voyage to Boston, laden with corn, to barter away for fish, and what-
ever other commodities the colonists could spare. Such was the com-
mencement of the navigation and commerce of Massachusetts.

Fish were exported from Boston, for the first time, I suppose, in
1633. The adventure was to a southern colony; and Governor Win-
throp appears to have been interested in the voyage. The vessel,
which was laden with furs as well as the products of the sea, was
wrecked on the outward passage when near the Capes of Virginia.
Another circumstance of interest occurred the same year, namely, the
conviction of '■'■the first notorious theif in Massachusetts ;''^ who, for steal-
ing fish, corn, and clapboards, was sentenced to the forfeiture of his
estate, to be whipped, to be bound as a servant for three years, and to
be afterwards at the disposal of the court.

Mr. Cradock, though he never came to Massachusetts, established a
fishery at Mystick, and built a house at Marblehead, which was burned
in 1634, "there being in it Mr. Alleiton|| and many fishermen whom
he employed that season." Thus we connect the first governor who
was appointed under the patent, and the first governor who resided in
the colony, with the fisheries of Massachusetts, a branch of industry

* RofTor Clap, in his Memoirs, speaking of tlie scarcity of provisions in 1630, says: " Many
a time, if I could have filled my belly, though with mean victuals, it would have been sweet
mito me. Fish was a good help unto me and others." * * * * "Oh! the hunger that many
suffered, and saw no hope in an eye of reason to be supplied, only by clams, andlnuscles, and
fish. We did quickly build boats, and some went a fishing." Again, he says : " Frost-fish,
muscles, and clams, were a relief to many."

t It would appear from the instructions of the Massachusetts Company, iu 1629, that a vessel
was built previously : " And if yon send the ships to fish at the Bunk," say they, " and expect
them not to return again to the plantation, that then you send our bitrh that is already built in
the country to bring back our fishermen, and such provisions as they had for fishing," Ac, &c.

t In 1()3;}, the Ilev. John Cotton, minister of Boston, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first
minister of Cambridge, and the liev. Samuel Stone, one of the first ministers of Harrford,
came over to America in the same vessel. On their arrivjil, the pi'ople were told that their
three great necessities were now supi))i<'d, for they had Cotton for their clothhig, Hooker for
their fisliiug, and Stone for their building."

II The Plymouth Pilgrim who camo over iu the Mayflower.

125

which now many affect to believe is fit only for the attention of "the
ignorant, the superstitious, and the improvident."

About the year 1636 the celebrated Hugh Peters,* minister of Salem,
moved the })eople thereto raise a capital for the purpose of commencing
the business of fishing. Witl\ untiring zeal he went from place to place,
and labored in public and in private to accomplish this design, and to
induce his flock to build ships and to embai'k in commerce. He was
eminently successful, and personally engaged in the enterprises which
he recommended to others. To him belongs, in a very great degree,
the merit of founding the fisheries and trade of that city. During his
residence and ministry, Salem was without a rival in maritime affairs,
and claimed to become the capital. His departure for England gave a
check to business; Boston acquired the ascendency, and was selected
as the seat of government. That part of it now called Marblehead soon
obtained a superiority in the fisheries, and petitioned for an act of
incorporation ; while Gloucester, Manchester, and the whole eastern
shore of Massachusetts, engaging in the same pursuits, still further les-
sened its importance for a considerable period. Of the merchant min-
ister, Peters, we may add, that, taking the side of Cromwell in the
civil war in England, he was executed there on the restoration of the
Stuarts.t It is supposed in a late English publication that Peters was
one of the two masked executioners of Charles the First, and that it was
he who held up the monarch's head to the view of the multitude.

In 1639 we have the origin of the system of protection. By an act
of that year, passed for the encouragement of the fisheries, it was pro-
vided that all vessels and other property employed in taking, curing,
and transporting fish, according to the usual course of fishing voyages,
should be exempt from all duties and public taxes for seven years ; and
that all fishermen during the season for their business, as well as ship-
builders, should be excused from the performance of military duty.
Such a law, in the infancy of the colony, when contributions from every
estate, and the personal service in arms of every citizen, were impera-
tively demanded by the exigencies of the times, shows the deep import-
ance which was attached to this branch of business by the fathers of
the Commonwealth.

Of the year 1641, Lechfbrd, in his "Plain Dealing; or. News from
New England," (printed in London, 1642,) J says that the people were
"setting on the manufacture of linen and cotton cloth, and the fishing
trade;" that they were "building of ships, and had a good store of
barks, catches, lighters, shallops, and other vessels;" and that "they
had builded and planted to admiration for the time." We learn from
Johnson, in the work already mentioned, that the Rev. Richard Blind-

* Or Hugh Peter.

t Hutchinson preserves, in his Collection of Papers, a letter from Mr. John Knowles to
Governor Leverett, dated at London in 1677, by which it appears that Peters's widow was in
great poverty. Knowles says: "Sir, there is another trouble which I presume to putt upon
you ; which is, to speak to the reverend Mr. Higginson, pastour of Salem, to move that con-
gregation to doe something for the maintenance of Mrs. Peters, who, since her husband suf-
fered here, hath depended wholly upon Mr. Cockquaiu and that church whereof he is pastour.
I fear she will be forced to soke her living in the streets, if some course be not taken for her
relief, either by Mr. Higginson or Mr. Oxeubridge, or some other sj-mpathizing minister."

t Eepublished in Collections of Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. 3d of 3d series.

126

man had gathered a churcli at Cape Ann, "a place of fishing, being
peopled with fishermen;" and that "iheir fishing trade would be very
beneficial had they men of estates to manage it." We read in Win-
throp's Journal, that "this year the men followed fishing so well that
there was about three hundred thousand.dry fish sent to the market:"
and in Hubbard, that the colonists received letters from England by
the English fishing ships that came to the Piscataqua. In 1642, we
find in Winthrop tliat the same class of ships brought news of the civil
wars between the King and Parliament, "whereupon the churches kept
divers days of humihation;" and that "there arrived another ship with
salt, which was put off for pipe-staves," so that "by an unexpected
providence" there was "a supply of salt to go on with fishing:" and in
Holmes, that "the settlement at Cape Ann was established to be a
plantation, and called Gloucester." Again, Winthrop records, in 1643,
the return of the Trial, "Mr. Thomas Graves, an able and a godly
man, master," from a voyage to Bilboa and Malaga. This was the
first vessel built at Boston. Her outward cargo consisted of fish,
"which she sold at a good rate;" and she brought home "wine, fruit,
oil, iron, and wool, which was a great advantage to the country, and
gave encouragement to trade."

In 1644, we have an incident pertinent to our purpose, which is related
with some particularity in the chronicles of the time. It appears that
a London ship of twenty-four guns, Captain Stagg, arrived at Boston,
with a cargo of wine, from Teneriffe ; that a Bristol ship, laden with
fish, lay in the harbor at the same time ; that Stagg, authorized by a
commission from the Cromwell party in England to capture vessels
belonging to Bristol, made prize of this ship; and that a Bristol mer-
chant, and others interested in the vessel and cargo seized by Stagg,
collected a mob, and raised a tumult. It appears, further, that some of
the citizens of Boston, apprehensive of serious consequences, made
prisoners of the merchant and other strangers, and carried them before
Winthrop, who confined them under guard in a public house; and that
the people of the town concerned in the affair were committed to
prison. Stagg was next called to an account, but it was found that he
had not transcended his authority. A great excitement was produced
by the occurrence; and some of the ministers, participating in the com-
mon feehng, spoke harshly of Stagg in their sermons, and exhorted the
magistrates to maintain the people's liberties, which they considered
had been violated by his act. A part of the magistrates WTre of the
opinion that the Bristol ship should be restored; but the majority ex-
pressed a different view of the case, and Stagg was allowed to retain
his prize. But the merchants of Boston, who, it would seem, were
owners of the cargo of fish, petitioned to be allowed to test the right of
the captor to their property by a suit at law. Their request was granted ;
yet, when the governor, six odier magistrates, and the jury assembled,
they were induced to refer the decision of the whole matter to the court
of admiralty. Thus terminated an affair which, at the moment, wore
a very serious aspect, and threatened to involve the government of
Massachusetts in a controversy with their Puritan friends in England.

Concluding our account of the year 1644 with the remark that one
ship, built at Cambridge, and anollier, built at Boston, sailed from the

127

latter place for the Canaries with cargoes of fish and pipe-staves, we
come, in 1645, to the first vo^^age undertaken on the distant fishing
grounds of Newfoundland. The projectors of the enterprise were
merchants of Boston and Charlestown, who, according to Winthrop,
"sent forth a ship and other vessels" to the Bay of Bulls. The effects
of the civil war between Charles and his people, felt, as we have just
seen, in the capture of the Bristol ship in Boston, were disastrous even
in those remote seas; for when these vessels had nearly completed
tlieir fares, the ship and most of their fish were seized by a cruiser
belonging to the King's party, and retained, to the great loss of the
merchants.

By an act of Massachusetts, in 1647, every householder was allowed
"free fishing and fowHng" in any of the great ponds, bays, coves, and
rivers, as far "as the sea ebbs and flows," in their respective towns,
unless "the freemen" or the general court "had otlierwise appropriated
them." By a law of the following year, fishermen and others were
forbidden to continue the practice of cutting fuel and timber, without
license, on lands owned by individuals or towns ; though during the fish-
ing season, persons who belonged to the colony might still dry their fish,
and use Avood and timber necessary for their business, on all such lands,
by making satisfaction to the proprietors. These laws were followed,
in 1652, by another, which provided for the appointment of sworn "fish
viewers," at "every fishing place" within the jurisdiction, w^ho were
required to reject as unmerchantable, all "sun-burnt, salt-burnt, and
dry fish, that hath been first pickled," and whose fees on merchantable
fish were fixed at one penny the quintal, "to be paid, one half by the
deliverer, and the other half by the receiver."*

Meantime, a schism had occurred between certain persons and the
ruling powers of Massachusetts ; and the former, embodying their sup-
posed grievances in petitions to the Lords Commissioners of Trade and
Plantations, had circulated these papers for signature. "They had
sent their agents up and down the country," relates Hubbard, "but of
the many thousands they spake of, the}^ could find only twenty -five
hands to the chief petition ; and those were, for the most part, either
young men who came over servants, and never had overmuch shew of
rehgion in them, or fishermen of Marblehead, feared to be profane per-
sons, divers of whom were brought from Newfoundland for the fishing
season, and so to return again."

To relieve our narrative, we may now select some amusing pas-
sages from Josselyn. This veracious chronicler — who saw "frogs that,
when they sit upon their breech, are a foot high," and ascertained that

* In "An Abstract of the Laws of New England," printed in London in 1655, and by Wil-
liam Aspinwall, the publisher, ascribed to Mr. Cotton, which Hutchinson, who preseiTes it in
his " Collection of Papers," says " ought rather be entitled An Abstract of a Code or Sys-
tem of Laws prepared tor the Commonwealth of ilassachusetts Bay," we find in chapter Sd,
imder the head " Of the Protection and Provision of the Country," the following : " Because
fish is the chiefe staple commodity of the country, therefore all due incouragement to be
given unto such hands as shall sett forward the trade of fishing, and for that end a law to be
made that whosoever shall apply themselves to sett forward the trade of fishing, as fishermen,
mariners, and shipwrights, shall be allowed, man for man, some or other of the labourers of
the countiy to plant and reape for them in the season of the yeare at the publique charges of
the Commonwealth, for the space of these seaven yeares next ensuing, and such labourers to
be appointed and paid by the treasurer of the Coumionwealth."

128

"barley frequently degenerates into oats" — made two voyages to New
England, and lived here a number of years. He was in Boston in
1663. He thus discourses offish: "The sea-hare is as big as grampus
or herring-hog, and as white as a sheet. * * * I have seen stiirgerm
sixteen loot in length; of their sounds they make isinglass, Avhich,
melted in the mouth, is excellent to seal letters : * * * negroes or
sea-devils, a very ugly fish, having a black scale : * * * squids, a
soft fish somewhat like a cudgel, their horns like a snail's: * * *
the dolphin; the ashes of their teeth, mixed with honey, is good to
assuage the pain of breeding-teeth in children: # * * jj^g alewife
is like a herring, but has a bigger belly, therefore called an alewife :
* * * the hass is a salt-water fish, too, but most an end taken in
rivers : one writes that the fat in the bone of bass's head is his brains,
which is a lie: * * * the salmon the first year is a salmon-smelt, the
second a mort, the third a spraid, the fourth a soar, the fifth a sorrel, the
sixth aforket-tail, and the seventh year a salmon.^^ One kind of turtle,
he says, if burned to ashes and mixed with oil and wine, "healeth sore
legs," wliilc the burnt shell, if compounded with whites of eggs,
"healeth women's nipples;" and he avers that sea-muscles, if dried and
pulverized, "will perfectly cure the piles," and that '■''troufs grease is
good for the piles and clifts." Of the inhabitants of the sea he enu-
merates sixty-four kinds, to some of which he affixes names sufficiently
barbarous to display his stock of learning; and concludes with the re-
mark, that "the fish are swum by, and the serpants are creeping on —
terrible creatures— carrying stings in their tails that will smart worse
than a satyr''s whip, though it were as big as Mr. Shepperd's, the mad
gentleman at Milton — Mowbrayes Constantinus Lasculus."

We turn from Josselyn to an angry king. To supply a circulating
medium, Massachusetts, as early as 1652, commenced the coinage of
the "pine-tree" shilling-pieces, at which Charles the Second was much
displeased. The general court, in 1677, to appease him, ordered a
present of "ten barrels of cranberries, two hogsheads of samp, and
three thousand codfish."* During the same year about twenty fish-
ing vessels were captured by the Indians on the coast of Maine. Most
of them were owned in Salem ; and having from three to six men each,
could have made a successful resistance had they not been taken by
surj^ri^e ; or, as says Hubbard, had they not been " a dull and heavy-
moulded sort of people," without "either skill or courage to kill any-
thing but fish." In fact, some vessels did make a manful defence,
lost a number of men killed, and earned home nineteen others wounded.
A large vessel was immediately equipped by the merchants of Salem,
and despatched to re-capture their vessels and punish the captors.
The Indians plundered the fishing-ketches, abandoned them, and eluded
their pursuers.

In 1692 Salem lost by removals about a quarter part of its whole
population, in consequence of the trials for witchcraft. The world
rings with the enormities of this delusion. It should wonder, rather,
that witchcraft in America was so nearly confined to the fishing county
of Essex, at a period when all England was peopled with witches and

Hume says that the usual oath of Charles the Second was, " Cod's-Jish."

129

goblins, and when the venerable and devout Sir Mathew Hale doomed
Uvo women to be hanoed for vexina; with fits the child of a herrins;
merchant! The prosperity of Salem was checked from other causes.
In 1097, John Hisfirinson wrote his brother Nathaniel, that in 1689 he
had obtained a comfortable estate, and was as much concerned in the
fishing trade as most of his neighbors; but that, in the course of the
war (then soon to be terminated) he had met with considerable losses;
that trade had much diminished ; that of upwards of sixty fishing ves-
sels owned in that town at the commencement of hostilities, only six
remained; and that he believed no place in Massachusetts had suffered
more by the war than Salem.

At the close of the century, as we learn fi'om Neal, the merchants of
INIassachusetts exported about one hundred thousand quintals of dried
codfish annually to Portugal, Spain, and Italy, of the value of four
hundred thousand dollars; while from another source we are informed,
that, disre^ardinsf the naviafation act of En2:land, a large contraband
commerce was maintained by the merchants of Boston with most of
E urope.

Thus far the mention of Marblehead has been incidental. Originally
a part of Salem, and more prosperous in the prosecution of the cod-
fisher}^, it was supposed to contain at one period a greater population
than its parent town. Departing from the chronological order hitherto
preserved in the narrative, I shall here consider its history as connected
with our subject, for about half a century. We have already seen the
agency of clergymen in establishing the fisheries of Gloucester and Sa-
lem, and are now to quote at large from the autobiography of the Rev.
John Barnard, to show his inflaence at Marblehead. He commenced
his ministerial labors in 1714, at which time, he says, "there was not
so much as one proper carpenter, nor mason, nor tailor, nor butcher,
in the tov/n." And he continues : " The people contented themselves
to be the slaves that digged in the mines, and left the merchants of
Boston, Salem, and Europe to carry away the gains ; by which means
the town was always in dismally poor circumstances, involved in debt
to the merchants more than they were wairth ; nor could I find twenty
families in it that, upon the best examination, could stand upon their
own legs ; and they were generall}^ as rude, swearing, drunken, and
fighting a crew, as they were poor.

" I soon saw that the town had a price in its hands, and it was a
pity they had not a heart to improve it. I therefore laid myself out to
get acquaintance with the English masters of vessels, that I might by
them be let into the mystery of the fish trade; and in a little time I
gained a prettv thorough understanding of it. When I saw the advan-
tages of it, I thought it my duty to stir up my people, such as I thought
would hearken to me, and were capable of practising upon the advice, to
send the fish to market themselves, that they might reap the benefit of
it, to the enrichino: themselves and servino; the town. But alas ! I could
inspire no man with courage and resolution enough to engage m it, till
I met with Mr. Joseph Swett, a young man of strict justice, great in-
dustiy, enterprising genius, quick ap[)rehension, and firm resolution,
but of small fortune. To him I opened myself fully, laid the scheme
9

130

clearly before him, and he hearkened unto me, and was v^ise enovgh
to put. it in practice. He first sent a small cargo to Barba^does.

" He soon found he increased his stock, built vessels, and sent the fish
to Europe, anci prospered in the trade to the enriching of himself; and
some oi' his fuiiily, by carrying on the trade, have arrived at large es-
tates. The moie promising young men of the town soon followed his
example; that now* we have between thirty and Ibrty ships, brigs,
snows, and topsail schooners, engaged in foreign trade. From so small
a beginning the town has risen into its present Hom"ishing circumstances,
and we need no foreigner to transport our fish, but are able ourselves
to send it all to the market/' He relates, also, that the "public ways
were vastly mended;" that the manners of the people haci greatly im-
proved; that "we have many gentlemanlike and polite families;"
and that " the very fishermen scorn the rudeness of the former genera-
tion." I may add, as the contribution of another pen, thai ^Ir. Barnard
.so zealously studied the " mystery" of naval architecture, as to acquire
great skill ; and that " several of his draughts, the amusement of
leisure hours, were commended by master ship-builders/' He was
faithful in the performance of his clerical duties ; and besides be-
stowing much in common charities, generally supported two boys at
school. He was eminent for his learning and piety; was distinguished
amonc; the divines of America of the last century; and in his ohl asje
was regarded " as the father of the churches." " His form was re-
markably erect, and he never bent under the infirmity of years. His
countenance was grand, his mien majestic, and there was dignity in his
whole deportment." The "north church" in Boston was built lor
him, and he preached the dedication sermon, expecting to be ordained,
in accordance with a mutual agreement; but he was supplanted by
another candidate, who possessed the favor of Cotton Mather. " Of this
transaction he could not speak with calmness to the day of his death."
He served the people of Marblehead upwards of fifty years, and de-
serves their kind remembrance in all coming time. Let our fishermen
everywhere take courage. With such benefactors in the past, there
must be hope in the future, cheerless to them as seems the present.

We return to the year 1714, near which time the first vessel of the
class called schooner was built at Gloucester, by Andrew Robinson.
The account is well confirmed, and in substance is that having masted
and rigged a vessel in a manner unknown either in Europe or America,
and to his own fancy, a b3'standcr at the launch exclaimed, as she
started from the stocks, " Oh, how she scoonsT^ And that Robinson
replied, " A schooner let her he^ Thus recent is the appearance of this
description of vessel on the fishing grounds, and in the coasting trade.

Of the perils attending the pursuit of the cod on the coasts frecjuented
by the people of Massachusetts during the period of French power,
and of warfare with the native tribes, a general view has been given
in the first part of this report, and a particular case of Indian hostility
has been recorded here.t We may now notice an occurrence in 172G,

* This autobiography bears date at Marl)lohead, November 14, 1766, and is to be fouud in
the Collections oftlHs Massnchu.si'tts Historical Societ}'.
tXhe cayture of the twenty vessels in J 677,

m

in wnich Samuel Dnly, of Plymouth, was the hero. While on a fishingr
voyage he put into a harbor in Nova Scolia to procure water, and see-
ing John Baptist, a Frenchman, on shore, asived him to come on board.
Accompanied by his son, Baptist accepted the invitation ; and, after
some friendly conversation, Daly and his elder guest retired to the cabin
to drink. While there, the younger Baptist returned to the sliore.
Suspecting no harm, Daly, Vv^ith his mate and three of his crew, went
on shore also, leaving Baptist in the vessel. The son, with two In-
dians, immediately joined Baptist, and assisted him to seize the vessel
as a prize. Daly applied to the mother of Baptist to intercede for the
restoration of his property; and alter some delay, she consented. The
treacherous Frenchman was, however, inexorable ; and, several other
Indians getting on board, he ordered Daly to weigh anchor and make
sail. The savages threatened him with their hatchets, and the luckless
fisherman obe3'ed. But the next day Daly secured Baptist and three
of the Indians in the cabin, overpowered the son and the savages, who
remained on deck, and regained possession of his vessel. The Indians
in the cabin, fired upon by Daly, threw themselves into the sea. Bap-
tist, his son, and three surviving Indians, were safely landed at Boston,
where, tried for piracy, all were condemned and executed.

In 1731 the fisheries of Massachusetts emplo5^ed between five and
six thousand men. Three years later a township in Maine was granted
to sixty inhabitants of Marblehead, and a similar grant was made to
citizens of Gloucester in 173-5.* Possibly many of the fishermen of
these ancient towns had become weary of the hazards of the sea, and
desired repose ; but whatever the motives of the grantees of these lands,
the perils and hardships of the forest a century ago were quite equal
to those encountered upon the ocean, and such was their particular
experience.

In 1741 the cod-fishery was in a prosperous condition. The annual
produce was about two hundred and thirty thousand quintals, and the
value of the quantity exported nearly seven hundred thousand dollars.
The average size of vessels was fifty tons ; and of these one hundred
and sixty were owned in Marblehead alone. The whole number of
fishing vessels in Massachusetts was not less than four hundred, besides
an equal number of ketches, shallops, and undecked boats.

In the twenty years that succeeded there was a sensible decline, for
which the causes were abundant. The emigrations to Maine just men-
tioned, from Marblehead and Gloucester, the settlements elsewhere in
the eastern country by emigrants from Cape Cod, the depopulation and
almost entire abandonment of Provincetown, the expedition against
Louisbours:, the general events of the two wars that occurred ciurinf;
tliis period between France and England, in the calamities of which
Massachusetts was deeply involved, the demand for fishermen to man
privateers and to enter the nava,l ships of the crown, with several minwr
events, combined to injure the fisheries to a very considerable de-

* The iirst was callei " New Marblehead," but is now IVindham; tlie second, "New Glou-
cester,'' wliieli name has been retained to the present time. The settlement of New Glouces-
ter, after being commenced, was suspended — in fact, abandoned — for eleven years, in conse-
quence of the Indian wars. Block-houses were built both there and at New Marblehead, to
protect the settlers from the savage foe.

132

gree, and at times, indeed, to render attention to theni nearly im>
possible. After the peace of 17G3, maritime enterprises were frgai/3
undert^iken with spirit and success, and the fishing towns shared in th-e
general prosperity. Bui the controversies tL^at produced civil war, and
finally a dismemberment of" the British empire, had already comme-nced,
and soon disturbed every branch of industry. The fisheries suffered
first, and at the shedding of blood were suspended. The political
history of the fifleen years that preceded the Revolution reiates to all
New England, and will form a separate chapter.

NEW ENGLANU.

From the commencancnt of the Rcvolutionari/ Controversij io the Declaration

of Indeiiendence.

In tracing the origin and progress of the fisheries of New England,
we have seen that they furnished our first articles of export, and laid
the foundation of our navigation and commeix-e.* It was so in Europe.
Of the present maritime powers of the Old World, there is scarcely
one that does not owe much of its commercial prosperity to the same
branch of industry. Some fugitives fi"om the wrath of th-e monster
Attila tied to the isles of the Adriatic, where, of necessit}^ they adopted
the avocation of fishermen. By this employment, steadily continued,
Venice in a few centuries became renowned for her wealth, commerce,
and naval strength. The origin of the republic was celebrated for a
long period, and the omission or refusal of a Doge to provide the cus^
tomaiy banquet, and to submit to the fishernien's embrace, allowed by
his predecessors on this national festival, made the name of Contarini
kateful, and well nigh caused the subversion of all legal restraint, and
the overthrow of the reigning family.t Genoa, too, grew rich and pow-

* The fisheries are identified, indeed, with the earliest raentlou of commerce. The Phoeni-
cians caUed a fish sidon; hence, according to soxne, Sidon, the most ancient of maritime cities,
derived its name from the abundance of fishes that inhabited the waters near its site. Tyro,
which in Scripture stoiy is called the " danghter of Sidon," was founded by Sidoniaus, and
became the greatest commercial mart of the ancient world. Stufis dyed with the purple fluid
which v.as extracted from a particular kind of shell-fish formed one of the most extensive
brandies of its trade and sources of its wealth. The Tyrians, by their mdustry and skill,
carried tliis precious dye, which in value disputed with gold itself, to the highes't possib>e
degree of perfection. None but those of imperial dignity or of vast wealth could wear these
purple-colored stufis; and Rome, in her days of conquest and power, conferred them as the
highest honor she could bestow upon such of her emperor.s, consuls, and warriors as she
decreed a triumph. Specimens of the purple fish have been fiiund oceasjon.'illy, in modern
limes, on the shores of France and Britain; but the Tyrian dye, as a branch of the arts, is
now lost. Tyre herself has met the doom i)rououuced by Ezekiel.

t The fugitives from the oppression of Attila devoted themsehes to fishing and the mann-
facture of salt — tiie only employments which their scunty territory prrmifled, Th'- growth
of Venice was rapid. In the course of five centuries the small band of e.\ilt;s ai\d fishermen
became a rich, jiowerful, and indepeiideut ualion. I'he custom was finally adopted of inviting
the lislieinieu to the capital to a public banipiet every year, and to ])ermit them to embr.aee
the Ddge at its conclusion. 'I'hey were gratiHed with the privilege, and ujiwilliugly relin-
quished it. But when the aristocracy was firndy established, some of the nol)les revolted from
this "su])ple bonneting" of the peojile; and a C'oiUarini, when in authority, refused the feaat
and the kiss of fraternity. "His deniiil, if persisted in," remarks a historian, "might have
shaken X'cnice to its base. "When the lishennen assembled on the apjiointed day, and clamor-
ously d<'nianded admission, it was long before the reluctant Doge was prevailed upon to
appear ; and even when ho did, he was masked. His guests approached him individually, La-

133

ei'M by tlie same means, and, not content with her own limited fishing
grounds, undertook the conquest of others: usurping the fisheries of
the regiojis of the Bosphorus, she captured and for a while awed into
submission their rightful owneis.* Amsterdam, from a vilLige of her-
ring-catchers, cabins, and curing-sheds, rose, by the skill of the inmates
of these frail struciures, by the fame of their commodities in foreign
countries, and by the immense consumption of them at home, to unex-
ampled affluence -and grandeur; and the sayings everywhere cuirent
two centuries ago, that "Amsterdam is founded on herring-bones," and
tliat " Dutchmen's bodies are built of pickled herrings," were hardly
more than quaint expressions of historic truth.

The islands and portions of continent separated from each other by
deep and boisterous channels, which compose the kingdom of Denmtu-k,
compelled the Danes to communicate with different parts of their coun-
try by sea, and their barren soil as imperatively obliged them to resort
to fishing for support. Extending their voyages at length from their
<3wn coasts to Greenland and Iceland, the skill and wealth thus acquired
enabled them to add the ports of Copenhagen, Altona, and Kiel, to the

flicted &e kiss, awd, -as a monumeot of tbeir triumpli, they aftenvards placed in the church of
Sta. Agn<ese a picture representifig the ceremony."

Mouceuigo, who died in 1423, was well versed in the commercial and maritime affiurs of his
country ; and he advanced both to imexampled prosperity. A census taken while he was la
supreme authority fixed the population of the capital at 1911,000 souls

Early in the sixteenth ceittury, the French ambassador, Louis Helian, pronounced a speech.
In whicJi he uttered the most violent iuvective'; .a^aJnst the Venetians, who he declared had
"abandoned the cause of Heaven, and deserved to be execrated by God and man — to be
iiunted down by sea and land — and to be exterminated by fire and sword." Refcriing to their
wars and conijuests, he naii, tha»t "not a century has elapsed since these fishermen emerged
from tlieir bogs; and no sooner had they placed foot on terra firma than they acquired greater
■dominion by perfidy than Rome won by arms in the long course of two hundred years ; and
tiiey h&il alreafliy eoneeiied plans to bridge the Don, the Rhine, the Seine, the Rhone, th»
Tagus, and the Ebix), and to establish thefr ride in every province of Europe."

Her power, however, was soon weakened. Her saU works, in which from her veiy birth,
she had refused all partnership and defied all competition, were shared by compulsion with
the H(dy See within a few years after the maledictions of the French minister. Her decline
and fall need not be here related. In modern times Venice is hardly known for her fisheries.
Ker exports of the products of the sea in 1829 y.'ere of the value of about tweurj--five thou-
sand dollars, while her imports amounted to neaHy a quarter of a million of dollars. " The
fehing boats of Venice," says McCulloch, in 1832, "are not of a size to be rated as vessels of
tesQage. About sixteen thousand of the population subsist by fishing near the port i^nd over
6he lagoon."

* "At the close of the thirteenth century," says a historian of Venice, "Genoa, by her con-
nexion with -the Greeks, had acquired great strength in the East. She was mistress of Scio ;
she possessed many establi.shments on the shores of the Black sea, and among them the im-
portant town of C:i'S'.), which commands the entrance of the sea of Azoph. Above all, she
held, as a fief of the era|>ire, Pera, the suburb of Constantinople; and by its occ'jj);iiiiin she
yirtuaKy retained the keys of that great capital. She tuntroUcd its fisheries and its ntstovis.
IVithoitt her permission, not a bark covid navigate, its harbor; and, as she dosed or threw oi>en
her granaries, fiim'ne or abundance waited on her pleasure."

Gib!;ou, in his Decline and Fall, speaking of Genoa, and referring to the year 1348, remarks
that she " supplied the Greeks with fish and corn — two articles of food almost equally im-
portant to a SHperstitious people." "They proceeded," he continues, "fo iistirp thu customs,
Che fishery, and titn the toll of the Bosphorus, from ipliidi the)) drriced a rerenue of two hundred
thomaitd pieces of gold. A Byzantine vessel which presumed to fish at the mouth of the harbor
teas sukIc by these audacious strangers, and the fishermen icerc murdered. Instead of suing for
pardon, the Genoese demanded satisfaction ; required in a haughty strain that the Greeks
should renounce the exercise of navigation, and encountered with regular arms the first sallies
of Che popuJar isdignatioa."

grent mnrts of Europe.* Of France I ma}^ remar]^, that her fishermen
founded her marine, and that ehief amrmo^ her early ()f}en>;ive opera-
tions upon the ocean was the armament fitted out by this class of her
people, under the royal sanction, to relieve themselves from the real or
fancied oppressions of their English competitors, while employed on the
waters common to the subjects of both crowns, in the pursuit of fish.

Of the origin and rapid increase of the commerce of England, suf-
ficient has been said elsewhere, t We proceed to consider the course
ef the British government towards New England.

So steadily and successfully were the fisheries pursued by the people
of Plymouth, Massachnselts, New Hampshire, and Maine, that only
fifty years elapsed from the landing of the Puritans, before an English
writer of high authority in matters of trade expressed his apprehensiori
as to the events likely to result, in the following remarkable words:
^* Neio E//gland,^^ said he, "?V the most prejudicial j^^c-'^tttion to this Mvg-
dom^ And why? '^Gam&e, ^^ of all the American jihintdtioris, his Ma-
jesty has none so aft for hvildhig of shipimig as Nov England, nor any
comyarahly so qualified for the breeding of seamen., not only by reason of the
natural industry of that '[)co])lc, hut irfincipaUy by reason of their cod and
viacJcerel fisheries ; mid, in my poor opinion, there is nothing more preju-
dicial, and in prospect more dangerous, to any mother kingdom, tJian the
increase of shipping in her colonies, plantations, or provinces.'''' k^ir Josiah
Child was alarmed too much, probably, at what really was in his own
time, but still saw with a proj)het's eye what was to be. But the
policy of England, fiom the restoration of the Stuarts down to the
Revolution, was in strict accordance with the apprehensions expressed
by him, and she not onlj^ neglected and declined all support to the nav-

* The naval power of Denmark dates fi'om an early perioti of modern history. This king-
dom consists for the most part of islands and portions of the contiueat separated from each
other by deep and stonny seas, lutercomunmicatiou naturally prodnced seamen, while its
poor soil di-ore its people to fishing for subsistence. Canute the Sixth, who died in the year
1202, paid great attention to the herring fisheries of his dominions. A Selavoniiiu chronicler
describes this branch of industry at this period as productive and profitable, and as briaging
into the country "gold, silver, and all other precious things." The exports of herrings from
Nalbni'g, in 1720, were raore than twenty-three thousand tons, but in J 705 only about cighi
thousand tons. Two j'ears later, a herring company was establislied at Altoim, by royal grant,
for ten years; the King, however, bought up the deeds before the expiration of the teiin, and
coninw'ut'ed the fishery on his own account.

Wiiile the fisheries of Denmark were in a prosperons condition, Copenhagen, Aitona, Kiel,
and other ports, were crowded with ships. At present, the commerce of the kingdom is in a
languishing state. In 180], the Danish navy consisted of twenty-three ships-oi-i he-line, thirty-
one Irigates, guard-sliips, and other vessels; but in ]«33 it had diminished to four ships-ofthe-
line, seven frigates, and eighteen smaller vess«'ls. The diminution of the conimerciHl marin©
was quite as large. Tlie s(?as aljouud with fish, and, m^der regulatious, might now, as in Ca-
nute's time, bring into Denmark all nuiuner of " precious things."

t It may be added liere, that about tlit; year J,()(tO, there was but one quay or wharf in the
city of London. The first was at Billingsgate, the great fish-market. The wharfage or toU
was a half-penny for every boatload of fish which was landed.

It maybe sjiid, further, that the firat dock which was constructed in the same city (now so
celebrutod for its iunnense docks and warehouses) was used by the Greenland whide-fishers.

So, too, Liverpool, Enghind — the present mart oi'Ameiican commerce — was once a poor fi.'ih-
ing vilbige. It derived its first importance, towards the close of i lie 12th century, fntui tho
circunisiiiace of Henry II having used it as a station for the embaikationof troops to Ireland.

And (,;];isgow. in the reign of James I (>f Scotland, was a small village, "consisting of littlo
else lliiin the hou.ses of the clergy belonging to tlu; metropolitan church. A merchant of ihu
name »,(' Mlpliinston, engaging in the fisheries upon the coast, and accumulating cousi.derabid
wealth, inspired his fellow-citizeas with a similar ambition."

135

igation and commerce of New England, but directly oppressed and re-
strained them. Omitting notice of the acts of Parliament which do not
rehite specially to the subject before us, the first law to claim our at-
tention was passed in 173J3, after a discussion of two years. This act,
by imposing duties on rum, molasses, and sugar, imported into the col-
onies from any West India islands other than British, was designed to
break up an extensive and valuable trade widr the French, Dutch, and
Spanish islands, where these products of the plantations were exchanged
for fish. It is said that, previous to the commencement of the trade to
these islands, molasses was thrown away by the planters, and that this
article, whicii is now so extensively used in food, was first saved and
put into casks to be brought to New England, to be distilled into rum.
Certain it is, that on the passage of the act of 1733, the people of the
northern colonies insisted that, unless the^^ could continue to sell fish to
the planters of the foreign islands, and to import molasses from thence
to be manufactured into spirit, for domestic consumptioH and for trade
with the Indians, they could not prosecute the fisheries without ruinous
losses. The penalty for violating the act was the tbrfeiture of vessel
and cargo. Yet New England never submitted, though a fleet was
sent to enforce obedience; and the interdicted trade with the French,
Dutch, and Spanish islands did not cease until a late period of the con-
troversy which terminated in the Revolution. In tact, therefore, a
measure which threatened to ruin the cod-fishery of New Enghnid,
produced, as I incline to believe, no serious injury to it, for quite thirty
years.

But in 17G4 the act was renevt^ed, and the collection of the duties
it imposed on rum, molasses, and sugar was attempted by the officers
of the crown, in a manner to create the most anxious concern; for, the
jurisdiction of th(3 admiralty courts was enlarged, and the people were
deprived of the trial by jury in all cases arising between them and
the government under this law, and the trade and navigation laws
generally.

The most alarming discontents followed the collisions and quarrels
which constantly occurred between ship-masters and merchants, on
the one hand, and the officers of the customs on the other, in various
parts of New England, and especially in Boston, Salem, Gloucester,
Falmouth,* and elsewhere in Massachusetts ; and the impression be-
came general among commercial men, that their business and property
were both to be sacrificed to appease the clamors of the planters of ihe
British islands, and to test the ability of the mother country to "raise
a revenue in America" under the "sugar and molasses acts," as this
odious law was called in the politics of the day.

Meantime, the southern colonies ridiculed the madness or folly of
their northern brethren, in resisting taxation upon so homely a com-
modity as molasses, and made themselves merry over the accounts of
the quarrels of the Yankees for cheap ^'^ sweetening.''^

Ill truth, the South, from first to last, never seemed lo understand or
appreciate the North upon this question, and forbore to come to the
rescue for years after the leading men of JMassachuselts had wasted

* ^ov! Portland, Maine.

136

their energies in endeavors to induce the ministry' to abandon a policy
so ruinous to northern industry. The '■^petty dealers in codfish and mo-
lasscs^^ struggled long and manfully, but without success.

The State papers of Massachusetts contain the most earnest remon-
strances again>t tlie "sugar and molasses acts." In the answer ot" the
Council and House of Iteprescntalives to the speech of the governor,
in November, 17G4, it is said that "our pickled Hsh ivholhj, and a. great
2Jart of our codfish, are only fit for the West India market. The Brit-
ish islands cannot take off one-third of the quantity canght ; the other two-
thirds mnst he lost or sent to foreign plantations, where molasst^s is given
in exchange. The dnty on this article will greatly diminish the import-
ation hither ; and being the only article allowed to be given in ex-
change lor our fish, a less quantity of the latter will of course be ex-
ported— the obvious effect of which must be a diminution of the fish-
trade, not only to the West Indies but to Europe, fish suitable f()r both
these markets , being the produce of the same voyage. If, therefore,
one of these markets be shut, the other cannot be supplied. The loss of
one is the loss of both, as thefishcry must fail with the loss (f either.'''' These
representations cover the whole ground.*

In the petition of the Council and the House to the House of Com-
mons, prepared at the same time, it w^as urged that ihe act-; in question
"must necessarily bring many burdens upon the inhabitants of tliese col-
onies and plantations, which your petitioners conceive would not have
been imposed if a full representation of the state of the colonics had
been made to 3'our honorable House;" that "the importation 0*1 foreign
molasses into this province, in particular, is of the greatest importance,
and a prohibition will be prejudicial to many branches of trade, and
will lessen the consumption of the manufactures of Great Britain; that
this importance does* not arise merely, nor principally, from the ne('es-
sity ot foreign molasses, in order to its being consumed or distilled within
the province," but "that if the trade, for many years carried on for
foreign molasses, can be no longer continued, a vent cannot be found
for more than one-half of the fish of inferior quality which are caught
and cured by the inhabitants of the province, the French not permitting
fish to be carried by foreigners to any of their islands, unless to be bar-
tered or exchanged for molasses; that if there he no sale offish ofinfrior
quality, it icill he impossible to continue the fishery : the fish usually sent to
England will then cost so dear, that the French will be able to undersell
the English in all the European ma-kets, and by this means one of the
most valuable returns to Great Britain will be utterly lost, and that great
nursery of seamen destroyed." Accompanying this petition was a let-
ter to the agent of Massachusetts, in England, Avhich closes with the
remark, that "we are im^rally eertain that the molasses trade cannot be
carried on, and the present duty paid."

* Mr. Burte, in his "Observations" on a publication called "The Present State of the Na-
tion," in 1709, reviews the covu-kc of tht^ ministry, and says that, among tb.e acts relating to
America, were "some xrlnclilaij licarij upon objects necessiinj for tlirir trade andjislienj"

The Hon. Josifih Qiiiiicy, of Massacluisetrs, in a speech delivered in the House of Repre-
Bentatives of the I'uited States, in IHOS, on our "foreicja relations," enmnerated tho priuuipaJ
"causes which led to a separation from Great IJiitaiu," and included among them the "-esa-
barrassing our fisheries."

137

These representations were f )llowed by a letter of Mr. Oliver, secre-
tary of Massachusetts, to Mr. Jackson, the colonial agent, written in
June, 1765, by order of the general court, which, as showing that the
evils apprehended were not imaginary, I insert entire : " By several of
the papers directed to be delivered to yoii by Mr. Mauduit, the late
agent," says the secretary, " yovi will observe the opinion ol the two
houses wit^ regard to some of the probable ill effects of tbe last year's
acts of Parliament for granting certain duties in the colonies, and some
of them, with respect to trade, have been already verihed, as will ap-
pear by the petitions and statements of Messrs. Patrick Trac)^, Thqmas
Boylston, and Fortesque Vernon, merchants within this province. In
consequence of said act, three vessels, belonging to them severally,
have been scizid and condemned;* with respect to which matter, they, in
their petitions in general, declare that theii- vessels sailed heiice before
said act took place, viz : before September last ; that no bond was re-
quired of them, at the respective custom-houses at which their vessels
were cleared out, and that said act did not require any bond ; that
said vessels pioceeded to the French islandsand loaded with molasses ;
f:hat, on return, they were forced, by stress of weather, two of them
into New Providence, and the other into Bermuda ; that these were
the first English ports which Tracy and Boylston's had put in at after
sailing hence ; that William Vernon's vessel had only touched at Bar-
badoes, and sailed again before the 29th of September ; that at J*rovi-
dence and Beimuda said vessf Is were seized and, with their cargoes,
by the court of admiralty, finally adjudged and condemned — tor tinted
for a want of certificates; that bonds had been given, pursuant to said
acts ; that the vessels and cargoes were appraised at a rate much be-
low their value, with a view (they say) that, in case ihey should be
able to reverse the decree, they should, notwithstanding, recover a
smnll part of the value of their vessels and cargoes. This is a biief
representation they make, as you will see by their petitions. If their
representation be just, their case is really hard, and merits the notice of
those who have the power to relieve them."

A detailed account of the seizures of French and Spanish molasses,
which, contrary to the acts of Parliament, was continually^ imported —
or, to speak the fxact truth, smuggled — would occupy too much space ;
yet, as the " molasses excitement" was one of the earliest in the revo-
lutionary controversy, some tiiriher notice of the course of events can-
not well be omitted. The merchants, determined to maintain inter-
course with the interdicted islands, devised a plan, finally, which tor
a time enj.'bled them to accom[)lish their purpose, and still avoid the
penalties of the law. This plan was simply to lade their vessels with
molasses at the French islands, as usual, hut to purchase clearances,
" signed with the name, if not the handwriting, of the governor of An-
guilLi, who acted also as collector." This island was so small as not
to afibrd a cargo for a single vessel, as was well knov/n to thec«>llect-
ors of the customs in New England ; yet they permitted vessels fur-

* The act which imposed a duty of sixpence the gallon upoi>aIl foreign molasses imported
into the colonies gave one-third part of the jtroceeds of forfeitures to the cro^vu, for the use of
tiie colony where the forfeiture occurred, one-third to the governor of that colony, and oua*
third to the informer. " The act," says Hutchinson, " was always deemed a grievance/'

138

nished with the "Anguilla clearances" to enter with their cargoes
without inquiry', for a considerable time ; but, on a sudden, libels were
filed, nnd prosecutions were commenced in the court of admiralty
against those who h;id been concerned in such evasions of the stnliites,
and ruinous forfeitures of property and renewed clamors were the con-
sequences.

We pass to other topics. In 17G2, the fishino: towns of I^assachu,-
setts, cdarmed at die news that the French had ca|)tared St. John,
Newfoundland, petitioned the governor and council to fit out a ship and
a slo()[), then in the service of the province, to protect their vessels.
Both vessels, in accordance widi these petitions, were provided with
additional men and means of defence, and sent to sea. "^Fhe expense
thus incurred became the subject of legislative inquiry, and was ob-
jected to because the executive branch of the government had appro-
priated the pubUc money without the consent or knowledge of the rep-
resentatives of the people. The debate in the House was angry and
protracted. James Otis, the popular leader, used expressions never
before uttered in the colonies ; and, soon after the close of the session,
published a pamphlet, in which he justified himself for lu's conduct on
tlie occasion, and defended with great ability the principles fi)r which
he had contended as a member of the House. " This production has
been considered the original source from which all subsequent argu-
ments ag linst taxation were derived ;" while the wdiole aniiir created
an intense excitement, and, in the judgment of the biographer of" Otis,
exerted very great influence in causing the Revolution.

It is a singular fact, that the fisheries furnished the advocates of the
supremacy of Parliament with one of their best illustrations. They
stated that the authority of the imperial legislature w.as indispensable
in many cases, and that without it the colonies would often be involved
in conflicts injuiious to each other's interests. Governor Hutchinson,
in his remarks upon the qu^^stion, said, substantially, that it had been
generally thought a public benefit to prevent fishing vessels from depart-
ing on th( ir voyage until the month of April; but that if any colony
engaged in the business failed to conform to a law imposing such a
regulation, others that complied widi it would suffer, because their fish,
later caught, must, of necessity, be later in market; and he declares
tliat a motion had actually been made in the legislature of Massachu-
setts, a few years previously, for parliamentar}'' interposition in this
behalf, which failed, not in consequence of any objection to the princi-
ple involved in the motion, but because a majority of" the members dis-
approved of the restraint itself, and were willing that fishing vessels
shouhl df>part f"rom port before A{)ril, and whenever their owners and
masters thought proper.

In 1772, a fishing vessel, having one passenger on Ijofuxl, sailed from
Boston for Chatham, Cape Cod. The morning aftc^r her departure she
was discovered without her crew, who, as the passeng( r said, were all
murdered soon after leaving Boston, by a party of men who came on
board in a boat, despatched from an armed schooner. This parly, he
further averred, phmdered the fishing vessel, lashed her helm with her
sails standing, and abandoned her; while he, supposing that llry be-
toiiged to a King's cruiser, and would impress hiuj, concealed himself

139

by hanging by his hands over the stern. The passenger was examined
by a magistrate, who gave credit to his story, and suffered him to go at
large, but still sent a copy of the examination to the governor. The
account seemed untrue to the governor, who, as commissioner for trial
o£ piracies, issued a warrant to apprehend him, and he v/as tried for
murder at a special court of admiralty. He was acquitted ; but the
affair was transferred to the politics of the time, and did much to in-
crease the popuhir excitement. He was visited by several of the lead-
ing whigs, who affirmed their belief in his declnrations, and charged
the murder upon a vessel of the royal navy; while the tories, on the
contrary, insisted that he killed ihrce of the crew to obtain their money,
and then took the life of the fourth, who was a boy, to prevent detec-
tion.

These incidents will serve to show the connexion of the fisheries
with the questions which caused a dismemberment of the British em-
pire. It remams to speak of the act of Parliament passed in 1775,
which, by depiiving the people of New England of the right of fishing,
was designed to "starve them into submission." The trade arising
from the cod-fishery alone, at that period, furnished the northern colo-
nies with nearly half of their remittances to the mother country, in
payment for articles of British manufacture, and was thus the very life-
blood of their commerce. The fishing towns had become populous and
rich. Marbkhead, for example, next to Boston, was the most import-
ant place in Massachusetts, and was second to the capital only in pop-
ulation and taxable property''. A fearful change awaited all. The dis-
pute was now to be determined by an appeal to arms, and every mar-
itime enterprise was to be interrupted and ruined.*

On the KJth of February, Lord North moved "that leave be given

* The inhabitants of the sea-shore of Massachusetts, impelled by their necessities, com-
menced the manufacture of salt from sea-water early in the Revolution. From the accounts
preserved, it would seem that they boiled the water at first, but were compelled to relinquish
the experiment because of the expense, and of the impurity of the salt. The next attempt
was by solar evaporation, on Boston Neck, by General Palmer, " a worthy an.l enterprising
gentleiufin," who failed in consequence of the rain-water which fell into his uncovered v.orks.
The third experiment is said to have been made in Dennis, Cape Cod, by Captain John Sears,
who, in the end, was successful. He constructed a vat with rafters and shutters, so arranged
as to exclude the rain in storms, and to expose the sea-water to the action of the sun in pleas-
ant weather. The first year he obtained only eight bushels of salt. His neighbors called his
invention " Sears's Folly;" yet he persevered. The second year he made thirty bushels of
salt. The fourth year, instead of pouring]; water into his vat from buckets, he introduced a
Aflw/-pump. In 1785, at the suggestion of Major Nathaniel Freeman, of Harwich, he contrived
a winf/-puuip, which he continued to use, and which saved a vast deal of labor. In ]79o Mr.
Eeuben Sears, of Harwich, invented covers for salt-vats, to move on shives, or small wheels,
as in ships' blocks. Five years later Mr. Hattil Kelley, of Dennis, constructed a new kind of
vat, and a new method of moving the covers. Various changes M'ere made by dilferent per-
sons subsequently; and the manufacture of salt from sea-water, by solar evaporiitinn, becamie
extensive, and at times profitable. Capt. John Sears was assisted in the improvements in his
works by Capt. William, Capt. Christopher Crowell, and by Capt Edward Sears, of Dennis.
They resigned to him whatever claims they might have had for their aid ; and in 1791) he ob-
tained a patent from the government. His right was, however, disputed by others, who
asserted that he made no " new discovery."

In 18;)2 the niunber of salt-works in the county of Barnstable, Massachusetts, was 136, con-
taining lv!l,313 feet. These works were estimated to produce, annually, salt of the value of
$41,700. The business increased rapidly; and in 183-2 the number of feet of salt-works, in
the same county, was 1,425,000; the quantity of salt manufactured, 358,250 bushels. The
reduction of the duty on the foreign article, and other causes, produced a great change in the
value of this description of property. In 1834 the manuiacture was ruuiously depressed ; ami

140

to bring in a bill to restrain the trade and commerce of the provinces
of Massachusetts Bay and New Hamp-hire, the colonies of Connecticut
and Rhode Island and Providence Plantation, in North America, to
Great Britain, Ireland, and the British islands in the West Indies; and
to prohibit such provinces and colonies from carrying on any fish'.rv on
tlie Banks of Newfoundland, or other places therein to be mentioned,
under certain conditions, and l()r a time to be limited." He supported
bis motion by declaring that, as the Americans had refused to t ade with
Great Britain, it was but just that they should be deprived of the right
to trade with any other nation. In particular, he said that the fishery
on the Banks of Newfoundland, and the other Banks in America, was
tlieir undoubted right, and that, therefore, such disposition might be made
of them as the government pleased. The two houses, he continued,
had declared that a rebellion existed in Massachusetts, and that it was
just to deprive that province of its fisheries; that though a government
still existed in New Hampshire, the royal authority was weak; that a
quantit}' of powder had been taken out of a fort there by an armed
mob; and that, besides, the vicinity of that province to ^lassachusetts
Bay was such, that if it were not included, the purpose of the act would
be defeated. Rhode Island, he stated, was not in much better situation
than Massachusetts; that several pieces of cannon had been taken and
carried into the country, and that the people were arming to aid any
colony that should be attacked. With regard to Conn 'ciicut, he ob-
served that a large body of her men had marched into Massachusetts,
on a report that the soldiers had killed some inhabitants of Boston, and
that that colony was in a state of great disorder and confusion. To
this he added, that the river Connecticut afforded the people of that
colony an opportunity of carrying on the fishery, and that the same
might be said of Rhode Island; and as the argument of vicinity might
be applied also to New Hampshire, the whole ought to be included in
the prohibition to fish and trade, in order that the act might not be de-
feated. But he was willing, he said, to admit of such alleviations of
the measure as would not prove destructive to its great object, and
would therei()re move it as only tem[)orary, and would permit pa.rlicu-
lar persons to be excepted, on certificates from the governor of their
good behavior, or upon their taking a test of acknowledgment of the
rights of Parhament.

Lord North havinc; concluded, a most interestino: and animated de-
bate was commenced, which was continued from tim(! to time until
the fin.al passage of the bill. It was during the discussion of this meas-
ure that Fox made his first great speech; and, as we learn from a
letter of Gibbon, the historian, to Lord iSheffield, that he "discovered
powers for regular debate which neither his friends hoped nor his
enemies dreaded." I cannot forbear to insert a condensed \iewof
the course of argument of the menjbers of Parliament who defended
and who opposed this crowning act of a cruel and barbrn-oiis polJ(y.

*

salt-works, which, for innny years previously, had been considered valuable, as affording a cer-
tain jufonie, could hardly be sold at prices above the cost of the materials used in construct-
ing them.

* Tills (lebiito is here abridged from the American Arrliivcs. A regard for brevity h;is not
allowiul luc, generally, to presoi've verbal accuracy ; but I have endeavored to give a faithful
syuopsis of the remarks of the respective speakers.

141

Mr. Dunning opposed the bill. He thought that the Americans had
a right to fish on the Banks of Newfoundland ; that there was no re-
bellion in Massachusetts Bay, and nothing there that could be con-
strued into treason ; that, if even there was a rebellion in some parts, the
whoh should not be punished; and why, he asked, punish New Hamp-
shire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut? " The ministers," he added,
*' Were the best authors of a receipt to malx rebellion."

Mr. Attorney General Thurlow followed in reply. In his judgment
tiiere ims a rebellion in Massachusetts.

Governor Johnstone said that the measure was absurd and cruel; that
the God of nature had given these fisheries to New and not to Old Eng-
land, and the proposition to starve a whole people, except such as the
governor should think proper to favor, was inhuman ; and that this
partial permission would give rise to unjust preference, monopoly, and
all sorts of jobs. He declared, further, that he had served in the navy
during the entire period of the last war, and that it was a constant rule
in the service for the British cruisers on the enemy's coast to spare the
fishing craft, thinking it savage and barbarous to deprive the poor
fishermen of their little means of livelihood, and the miserable inhabit-
ants of the seacoast of their daily food.

Sir George Saville exposed the folly of depriving one province of its
subsistence because rebellion, we knew not where nor by whom, is
lurking in it ; and then punishing a second province because it is next
door to rebelhon ; a third, because ministers would accomplish nothing
if a third were allowed to escape ; and a fourth, because otherwise the
authors of the scheme could not square their plan.

Sir W. Meredith supported the bill. He indulged in terms of severe
reprobation of the spirit which continued to prevail in the colonies;
and concluded with declaring, that whatever distress might be occa-
sioned by suspending the fisheries, the Americans would have no cause
to cotnplain, since they had commenced the same course of conduct,
and had resolved, as far as was in their power, to ruin British mer»-
chants and manufacturers, and to starve all the West India islands.

Lord Beauchamp and Sir Richard Sutton defended the ministry on
similar grounds, and because the colonists had prohibited trade with
the mother country.

Mr. Burke was extremely severe in the course of his attack upon the
bill, and remarked that the ministers had disposed of four of their pro-
vinces ; some for concealed rebellion, others for concealers of the
concealment ; some for infection, and others for being next door to
infection. But, said he, there is a fifth province which is as likely to
suffer as any of the four, and that province is England, which has seve-
ral hundreds of thousands of her property in the four provinces of New
England ; and, as these can only pay their debts bv means of the
fisher.es, and the trades that depend upon them, the effect of the pas-
sage of the bill will be to beggar the English merchants and manufac-
turers.

Lord North's motion was, however, agreed to — two hundred and
sixty one members voting in favor, and but eighty-five against it.

On the 2Sth of Februar}^ the bill was taken up, and several persons
acquainted with the fisheries were examined as to their value, and the
probable results of suspending them. Mr. David Barcley appeared to

142

conduct the examination, as tlie ngent of the committee ofXorth Amer-
ican merchants. IMuch useful information was ehcited in the course of
the imjuiries. Mr. Brook Watson was the first witness. He stated
that he had been called to the bar of the House in 17G5 and 176G, to
give such testimony as he could with regard to the American fisheries ;
since which time he had received additional information from his cor-
respondents in America, and had actually visited tlie connlr}'- himself.
A considerable part of his statement relates to estimates of vessels and
men emjjlo^'ed, and the value of the produce of the different branches
of the business, which I am compelled to omit. As curious facts to
show commercial transactions of the time, we may, however, obseive,
that he testified that the shipment of brandy from Luigland to Canada
had entirely ceased, in consecjuence of the consumption of rum, made
in Aew England from molasses ; and that, so dependent were the
colonies upon the mother country, as to import "ever3'^thing" they
used, '-except salt, and the timber of which their vessels were built."

The second witness was Stephen Higginson, " from Salem, in the
Massachusetts Bay, a merchant." Afi:er Mr. Higginson, Mr. John
Lane, a New England merchant, and Mr. Seth Jenkins, from the island
of Nantucket, were interrogated with great particularity and minute-
ness. Theii' testimony as to the injury to be inflicted upon their coun-
try by the passage of the bill, was strong and definite. ^Ir. Jenkins, on
being asked how long the people of New England, who subsisted by
fishing, could live without emplo3^ment, replied, ^^ Po'/iaps llirce mo/iths.^^
The ministry, I think, from several questions submitted to the wit-
nesses, indulged the hope that many fishermen would emigi-ate from
the disaffected colonies to the more loyal province of Nova Scotia, and
there pursue their avocation. But the answers they received must have
convinced them of their mistake.

On the 6th the consideration of the bill was resumed.
Lord Hov/e insisted upon the necessity of its passage, as the only
moderate means of bringing the disobedient provinces to a sense of
their dut}^ without involving the empire in all the horrors of a civil
war.

Mr. Fox was of the opinion that the bill was designed to put an end
to all that remained of the legislative authority of Great Britain over
America. He was quite satisfied, he said, that it was meant to exas-
perate tlie colonies into open and direct rebelUon ; that hitherto, rebel-
lion w^as only asserted ambiguously of one colony, but would now be-
come app.ireut and universal in all, and thus give an opportunity for
drawing the sword and throwing away the scabbard; and that the
colonists, deprived of their means of subsistence, and of provisions from
other countries, would have no alternative left them but starvation or
rebellion.

Mr. Jcnkinson came to very different conclusions. The fact so
strongly stated by Mr. Fox, he remarked, impressed him with the belief
that the colonists aimed at independence from the beginning; and he
thought the bill to be just in every respect, and even merciful, consider-
ing the offences of those who were the objects of it.

Mr. T. Townsend urged tin; cruelty and injustice of the measure ; a
measure which made no discrimination between innocence and guilt;

143

which starved all alike; and wliich had a tendency to fix an eternal
hatred of England and of I'arliamcnt in the minds of the Americans.

The Solicitor General of Scotland, Mr. Henry Dundas, said the bill
had his most hearty approbation. It is just, he declared, because pro-
voked by the most criminal disobedience ; it is merciful, because that
disobedience would have justified military execution; and as to the
famine tvhich had been so imthetically lamented, he was afraid, he said, that
it would not he produced by the act. The people of New England, though
deprived of the sea-fisheries, could still fish in their rivers; and though
he understood that the country was not fit for grain, yet the colonists
liad a kind of grain of their own — Indian corn — on which they might
subsist as well as they deserved; but whether they might so subsist or
not, was no matter that he M^as bound to consider.

Lord .John Cavendish expressed himself to be shocked at the perfect
ease and alacriiy with which gentlemen voted famine to a whole people;
and he was particularly^ surprised at the ideas of clemency entertained
by the Iccirned gentleman who spoke last, (Dundas.) That functionary
of the crown had commended the bill because it was not sanguinary,
assuming that to kill by starving is not cruelty; and that, provided a
man's blood be not shed, he may be destroyed with great gentleness in
nn}^ other way whatsoever. As for himself, he could not but regaixl
the bill as alienating the Americans forever, and rendering useless any
possible plan of reconciliation.

Mr. Rice adopted the proposition before the House, he stated, with
great pain and reluctance. It was harsh, but harsh measures were
unfortunately necessary. He was satisfied, fi-om a careful comparison
of all the parts of the proceedings of the Americans with each other,
that independence was their object.

Mr. Burke now rose and said, that he was afraid any debate on
the subject was to httle purpose. The road by penitence to amend-
ment was, he knew, humiliating and difficult.

The greater part of mankind were disposed to think like Macbeth:

" I am in blood
Stept in so far, that should I wade no more,
Returaiug were as tedious as go o'er. "

And thus they pass tov/ard the further bank, be the channel ever so
wide, or the flood ever so deep and rapid. This measure was in the
same spirit as all former oaes, and he did not doubt would be produc-
tive of the very same consequences. This, continued he, is in elfect
the Boston Port Bill, but upon infinitely a larger scale. Evil princi-
jiles were prolific : the Boston Port Bill begot this New England bill;
this New England bill will beget a Virginia bill ; again, a Carolina
bill ; and that will beget a Pennsylvania bill, till, one by one, Parlia-
ment will ruin all its colonies, and root up all its commerce, and the
statute-book become nothing but a black and bloody roll ol proscrip-
tion— a frightful code of rigor and tyranny — a monstrous digest ot acts
of penalty, incapacity, and general attainder; so that, open it where
you will, you will find a title for destroying some trade, or ruining
some province. This act confounds all kinds of people, all ages,
all sexes, in one common ruin. Nothing can be more Ibolish, more
cruel, and more insulting, than to hold out, as a resource to the starving

144

ftsfliermen, shlp-bullclcrs, and others ompioyed in the trade and fii^h-
eries of New England, tliat alter the plenty of the ocean, they may
poke in the brooks, and rake in the puddles, and diet on what we con-
sider as husks and draft for hogs.

He averred that lie was convinced by the whole tenor of the de-
bate, as well as by private conversation, that most of those who
would vote for the bill had never read it, and would support it out of
irespect to the opinions of others ; and he concluded with expressing
the hope that such, if any there were, would have the benefit of the
prayer made for those who alone had done an act worse than this:
*' Forgive them; they know not M'liat the}' do."

The Lord Advocate of Scotland replied, and closed the discussion.
He charged "upon those who took part with the Americans in Parlia-
ment and elsewhere, all the guilt and bloodshed that might come of
the measures of the government. He sat down in temper ; the House
^evincing much impatience.

The vote on the question of passing the bill to a third reading was
then taken : two hundred and fifteen members answered aye, and
sixty-one no.

On the day assigned, namely, the 8th of March, the bill was put
upon its final passage. Mr. Hartley introduced an amendment provi-
ding that the colonies might transport coastwise, and from one to the
other, "fuel, corn, meal, flour, or other victual;" and supported his
views in a speech of great power. He revievv^ed the dealings of Par-
liament with Massachusetts, mid pointed out the disastrous consequences
ihat were sure to result to the commerce and manufactures of the
mother country herself from the act before the House.

Lord North opposed the amendment. Mild and courteous in his
words and beaiing, he yet avowed his determination to adhere to the
principles of the bill as they stood ; and so ftir from relaxing from these,
said he, more severe measures must follow if the conduct of the colo-
nists rendered such further legislation necessary.

Air. Burke* again attacked the ministry in a speech of exceeding
Vs^armth and bitterness. The act, he uttered, is not sanguinary. No ;
it did not mean to shed blood; but, to suit some gentlemen's humanity,
it only meant to starve five hundred thousand people — men, women,
and children at the breast. Some gentlemen had even expressed their
approbation of fimine in preference to fire and sword. The act not
only took from these people the means of subsisting themselves by their
own labor, but, if the amendment proposed should be rejected, would
deprive them also of support by the charity of their friends. The
ministry reduced them to beggary first, and then took the beggar's scrip
frtMn, tlunn ; nay, they even dashed from the mouth of hunger the mor-
sel which the hand of benevolence would bestow.

Lord Clare, in reply, said he would not enter the list with the hon-
orable gentleman who had just spoken ; he should wage an unequal
war. But he had in his hand a fnend who was a match for him — his

* Mr. Burke, in his gpeech, subsequently, on his "resolutions for conciliation with the colo-
nies," March "2'i, 177;"), refers to this bill as "the grand penal bill by which we have passed
seuteucis on the triide aad sustenance of America. "

145

old friend Sir Joshua Ghee, a great friend to America, though no
jHitriot; a man who had written better on trade than any other man
living, and who knew more ot America ; and Sir Joshua Ghee says, if
ever the people of New England should aim to set up for themselves,
we must do the very things we are now doing — restrain their trade
and prohibit them from the fisher}^ and we shall soon bring them to
their senses.

Mr. Fox renewed his opposition in terms of lofty indignation.

He was followed by Governor Pownall, vi'ho declared that he con-
sidered the measure as simply one of commercial regulation, and that
it should have his support.

Ml". Dundas, as on a former occasion, closed the debate. Mr. Hart-
ley's amendment was rejecled by a very large majorify; whereupon
the House " resolved that the bill do pass;" and that "Mr. Cooper
cai-ry the bill to the Lords and desire their concurrence."

The subject was immediately considered in the House of Lords, and
an early day was assigned for final action upon it. Witnesses were
examined on the 15th of March. Lord Townsend asked Mr. Jenkins
"whether the Nantucket fishermen, after iheir business was interrupted
by the operation of the bill, would not emigrate to Nova Scotia?" The
Quaker, in his plain way, answered "No," as he had done when ques-
tioned in the Commons. "Why not?" inquired his lordship. "Be-
cause," said Jenkins, "it is a barren country, and the government,
they think, is military." From these and similar inquiries made of
other witnesses, it seems quite evident that the lords who supported
the ministry hoped, with their political friends in the lower house, that
the fishermen of New England would abandon their homes ralher than
suffer and remain idle. While they elicited nothing to encourage the
design of thus increasing the fisheries of the loyal colony to which
their thoughts were directed, they were told by Mr. Lyster and Mr.
Davis, who were engaged in the Newfoundland fishery, that the fish
hitherto sent to foreign markets from New England could be supplied
by themselves and others. Among the other persons examined were
two former governors of Newfoundland, Admiral Shuldham and Sir
Hugh Palliser. The former spoke in terms of contempt and disparage-
ment of Massachusetts and the other northern colonies; and the latter,
besides indulging in similar remarks, expressed the opinion, that whether
the restraints proposed by the bill were temporary or perpetual, they
would prove advantageous to Great Britain.

On the 16th of March the bill was taken up as the order of the day
The debate upon its merits and consequences was long and animated.
The Marquis of Rockingham opposed it as oppressive and tyrannical
throughout, and said that he dissented from every syllable of its con-
tents. The Earl of Caiiisle expressed himself surprised at the senti-
ments of the noble marquis, and averred that the object of the ministry
was merely to draw America to her duty by the most lenient measures.
The Duke of Manchester spoke of the bill as indiscriminately cruel, as
presaging nothing but evil, and as bearing the marks of despotism..
The Earl of Denbigh defended the administration from the charges
j)referred against it, and called upon his Grace of Manchester to ex-
f»lain, which he did. Viscount Dudley observed that when ^he iater-
10

146

^§stgf-.oiothe .i^cftji^ ,<ouFitt-y—Hie manning of her navy, the increase of
f^(f^ seaiije^i^uid.ttie t,^tn[*l()_y.iu<int (jf her own people — came in compe-
'jftitiQnp.witiotfaeif p;ic't^uHl<?d. Ji9i(dships and severities of the bill, he
^rXh^Pghhki ^lUd rupt^Quly; liieet with approbation, but be made per-
..pqtyal, ift0}-<d,e-r tO'Seaure fcr/hesr so important a branch of commerce;
,,^i^d)lJ)at.t^hfe;ctiloB:ic?3 "sM^ie at p.ije;sent spared b}' the lenity and mildness
of the government, when fire and sword might bs used throughout the
whole,f}a(^t,ifie;f4t:t|f7An5(5i-iica-i; ■ I;iQrd Camden rose, he said, with reluc-
_ft^9cqjf J^t^MaSiW^al^iotl; with it^^fe fruitless efforts he had made in oppo-
jj-^i^cqjijJ^o.(^A'?i;[iiea^ur!?s,ibrojLjglit'/orM^ to overawe and subdue the
colonies. The bill then before them was one of war; it drew the
-iSMW>1^nd,;^s.&;!H()^<'p5ja;ryijpns€!quence, would involve the empire in
jf,a,jqiv-il,i^t'>tl;U/ln<it;urrtl contests .Lprd Sandwich declared that the colo-
^msJ^^w^rje'd-ajW:,, !uudi«ciplinfid, <c!QW-ardly men; and he wished that, in-
stead of fbrty.^5.fifj;y,tlioti,SqUMV; of: [these brave fellows, they would pro-
[,4wc.^[io,J;tie];fifc5ld:.a|:jleastrti\to.hi!iitdred thousand — the more the better;
ij|l)^;e3S;ie£M^|iW conquest:; if .they did not run aw^ay, they would starve
F,i^^.<i;m,j?ely^ int0:CO)i^p,liaocervMit;h.the measures of the administration.
{y'J^ii^ rEari otj .ipLieljbtiVfi:^ iCoMoidi^d .with the views expressed by Lord
r^j^am'dcjajaaijcV. h^'^chargfiditipojiiithe ministers the most unscrupulous
-i2?£^.ild;U|>^ji ;Parlianieiit and, the- cjountry in suppressing whole letters,
,^|i(.lin.^i>fii|ig 0nly;n|uaiated C^xtiracts from others, relating to affairs in
^-j4'i?l'W4QiJio:'.; %hf^ |Ei«d,uf;$.utfblk,ythotigh he disapproved of the insinua-
](|ioja^;.4ga;Mi]i^t!J^ii!^lc^it#Qge OtiitimAjinedcans made by Lord Sandwich,
i-j;^|a4.^fi>s«';gli:Ue Ibji^licived t th<lt! th^FJai .were as brave men among them as
j^^l4.'i)te;^<j!i^>j[l,fin3(w.ferfe<!Goj^siderqd^tl^ the bill was intended to co-
rieijQeiU}ft;p(;¥;*jdi^:pfiirKi5vyi;E^4igki>id'^^ merely to the just and legal

o,]l)pwji3r-ifi>i^)iii^^o_tljQtv<?PUnti"yj;umbi1jlsat the faith of Parliament would
nbel plet4gffiL40)thQm,.itO'ii'ftst(!):re-.lte iisllery as soon as it should appear
.-jl^at.tljipy JbMfrf^tUI'nt^d tjoi.tbeinfqa'naejl obedience. The Earl of Radnor
d6ftj4ith^t(be,^afi!gpi5i,^:ejvit;of;?the2Jou$e, not intending to vote on either
!>^d?»j;!whpii h^:(h^^YdrMm':'}3MtyA\okle'ieiirl pledge the faith of Parha-
;->in€ai(;SirMi,S!Q;y^Ui;able! abtanchjof:^ commerce was intended to

iibe^i[yeili«p.itOijtl>$ lN<3iKiEngJbudier)S:afi a sacrifice for their returning to
-f.thej.r;v^tylj.'(tJip!!!lai7gua^6 yWjasnniprjap?!", and the policy exceptionable
^■iitt.tei'©^;^ tefipGci, aud)h<? hadicetuirnDd toigive his voice against the bill.
■^iGheiE;!rl{a)l"i>SuiU^lk ejJ?p.lainf^d},'^>ut.)clidr,n^^^^ satisfy Lord Radnor, who
yreipqMedjljiiSj^'A^PTO'flQtimi'JtOMyot'e ijiijopji^sition. The Duke of Grafton
liad not the least difiiculty.uaiitplthejvkjteijhe should give. The bill, in
')jife P!fiiin'toi?f>J.58iS fiihndediOn:ih^i^nmctph pf retaliation and punishment
IfoT ViUiimUagen-dSik] aring ^SjitiNYfl^iimptoivokcd, still further heightened
IjejidrMi^grai^ntecV/by a reeistuns^eito-iHUplaWiii-il authority, and almost a
- pojsitiyQfavjI^fed of n toltd iiKlefliemlGiicb oil the mother countr}-. The
-ifcafi >df j^UJngt-ojn.enteiUainddi^sieJBtimentSiiplecisely opposite. Reason,
vjusiliiicei ori!ii^Qncf?]priiic'iplb,ijaijd)/iia-lt.incti,fall prompted him to pro-
,'i>0iiMit!*iitlj©[ billJa)mo*t diaiodlijciiohevv! Howsthe Right Reverend Bench
&jrQCUi«;jl!^l:lMitj(J/i1ilioJJbcpnsciL'nt^\(^j ho -woe unable to conceive: for his
.ipaat»!feo!])a^>hi^!tnuL^t iii'lhe.Alnoiiglityijinndithough \ic knew all he could
tsfiy fkvn[ih iMwmli notiiiiTg-agiiiiiat a miiistioriail iBajority, 3'ct he cautioned
-^hedords I'djbettato ofiiajftsticeyisinjceiithe judicial visitations of" Provi-
-tienceiljcneriaUytiefli heavy. da t'lieiih<iidaiof<:tiiQSc who planned iniquity.

147

The final question was taken in the House of Lords on the 21st of
jMarch, when the bill passed by a decisive majority. The peers in
minority — twent^^-one in number only — entered a solemn protest, em-
bodying" the objections they had uttered in the debates. This docu-
ment is one of the most earnest and eloquent state papers on record. A
single passage will indicate its general tone: "We dissent," said these
noblemen, "because the attempt to coerce, by fomine, the whole body-
of tlie inhabitants of great and populous provinces, is without example
in the histor}^ of this or, perhaps, of any civiHzed nation, and is one of
those unhappy inventions to which Parliament is driven by the diffi-
culties which daily multiply upon us from an obstinate adherence to an
unwise plan of government. We do not know exactly the extent of
the combination against our commerce in New England and the other
colonies; but we do know the extent of the punishment we inflict upon,
it, which is universal, and includes all the inhabitants: among these,,
many are admitted to be innocent, and several are alleged by ministers
to be, in their sense, even meritorious. That government which at-
tempts to preserve its authority by destroying the trade of its subjects,
and by involving the innocent and guilty in a common ruin, if it acts
from a choice of such means, confesses itself unworthy ; if from inability
to find any other, admits itself wholly incompetent to the ends of its
institution."*

Having destroyed the fisheries of New England, Lord North, on the
11th of April, moved that the House of Commons do resolve itself into
a committee of the whole house, on the 27th instant, to consider the
encouragement proper to be given to the fisheries of Great Britain and
Ireland. He introduced his motion with disclaiming any motives of
resentment against America, by the present measure, or meaning it
either directly or indirectly to oppress that country. The fisheries, in
his judgment, when well conducted and properl}"^ directed, were an in-
exhaustible fund of riches ; for, while they extended British commerce
and kept open a continual advantageous intercourse with foreign na-
tions, they increased the naval strength of the kingdom, and were, con-
sequentl}^, the great source of that power which gave it the pre-emi-
nence over all other nations of Europe. Such was the tenor of his
renin rks.

On the day proposed by his lordship, the House considered the sub-
ject, in the manner suggested. A bill was framed which granted boun-

* Botta, in Ms Histoiy of the Revolution, thus speaks of this measure : " The ministrj," he
remarivs, " thus guided, as usual, by their spirit of infatuation, confided their cause, not
to the certain operation of armies, but to the supposed inconstancy and partiality of the
American people. Upon such a foundation Lord North proposed a new bill, the object of
which was to restrict the commerce of New England to Great Britain, Ireland, and the West
India islands ; and prohibit, at the same time, the fishery of Newfoundland. ,n'f if {?fi^HcBf e
that must have resulted from this act to the inhabitinits of N^w E^^l|aJu^ lypylY^^^
from the single fact, that they anmuilly.emjdoyed.iu tli|s.bir>iuess abour itl'i'i(y-six,(j[iMys|tijii.i t.o^s,
and six thousand seamen; and the pnjcluce realized from'i't, Tii foreiyb iiuirlicts, aniountedto
three hundred and twenty thousand pounds sterhng. This bill, however, did not pass without
opposition in the two houses ; on the contrary, the debates and the agitation it excited were
vehement in both. Many of the members exerted all their efforts to defeat it ; and more than
any the Marquis of Rockingham, who presented to this end a petition of the Loudon mer-
chants. The bill was, however, approved by a great majority. The opposition prote&ted; the
miuisters scarcely deigned to perceive it," &c., &o.

148

ties to vessels employed In the cod and whale fisheries, repenled the
duty payable on the importation of seal-skins, and abolished some other
restrictions, particularly in Ireland; passed the Commons on the 17th
cf May, and the Lords five days aiterwards. That this act was de-
vised in consequence of the suspension and ruin of the New England
fisheries, and as the means to stimulate English merchants and fisher-
men to supply the domestic and foreign markets, cannot be doubted.

To retahatc u])on the ministry, the colonies, by their congress of dele-
gates, strictly prohibited the supplying of British vessels coming to the
American coasts to engage in fishing, with any kind of provisions or
outfits.

I have said that the object ot Lord North's bill to restrain Massa-
chusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Khode Island, from car-
rying on any fishery on the Banks of Newfoundland, and other places,
was to "starve them into submission." The sentiments uttered in
Parliament, and the facts derived from other sources, show this too
plainly to be mistaken. Nor was the opinion that the people of these
colonies, deprived of their most important maritime employment, would
yield to ihe blow, confined to British statesmen. Reference to the letter
of Silas Deane to the "Secret Committee of Congress," dated at
Paris, in July, 1776, will show that the French ministry, of whom he
solicited aid, in his public capacity, were impressed with the idea that
*' submission" was not an improbable result. Mr. Deane, in this letter,
details at some length the occurrences of an interview with Count de
Vergennes, the Principal Minister of State, and says, in the course of
the narrative: "He asked me many questions with respect to the colo-
nies; but what he seemed most to loant to be assured of, ivas their abilitij to
subsist uithout their fs her its, and under the interruption of their com-
jcnerce. To this I replied, that the fisheries were never carried on but
by a part of the colonies, and by them not so much as a means of sub-
sistence as of commerce; that the fisheries failing, those employed in
them turned part to agriculture and a part to the arm}'^ and navy."

Rejoicing now in our strength and prosperity, we can afibrd to smile
at the inhumanity and cool contempt manifested in Parliament b}' Jen-
kinson and Dundas, by their lordships Dudley and Sandwich, and his
Grace of Grafton. And since, too, the untiring labors of Mr. Sparks
have explained the enigma of Lord North's course on American atiairs,
we may qualify our reproaches upon his memory.* The oppressors
and the oppressed have disappeared, and repose in the grave; but the
warning may still go out for some Jiving men to heed, that to drive
fishermen from the ocean is an outrage.

*The " Extracts from the letters of George the Third to Lord North, selected by Lord
Holland from the manuscripts of Sir Jajnes Macintosh," which are to be found in the Ap-
pendix of the sixth volume of Sparks's Washington, show that the popular ojiiniou, that Loi-d
Koith was tho author of the war and its coustaut advocate, is wholly erroneous.

149

THE UNITED STATES.
From the Declaration of Independence to tie year 1S52.

We open upon a new era. Every fact and circamstance known to
the whigs of the Revolution indicated that, at the close of the contest,
England was prepared to insist that, as one of the penalties of "rebel-
lion," the interdictions of Lord North's bill should be perpetual. We
had fought for, had won, and had enjoyed the fishing grounds as British
subjects. As tliese grounds were east of the easterly boundary of the
thirteen colonies, and within the possessions acquired of France, they
were not of necessity connected with the question of independence.
Yet many of the prominent whigs of New England considered the fisli-
eries so intimately connected with our commercial prosperity and suc-
cess in maritime affairs, as to determine that our rights should be dis-
tinctly recognised and stipulated in the treaty of peace.

Though finally successful, these statesmen were doomed to encounter
serious obslacles; for, to allow that their suspicion that France secretly
gave countenance to the views of England was unfounded, they were
still opposed by the representations and infiuence of the leading loyal-
ists, or "tories," who, during the war, tied to the mother country; and
were compelled, besides, to meet the arguments of the whigs of the
South, who having no particular knowledge of, or interest in, the sub-
ject, were never able to understand the importance attached to it.

Having stated, in another connexion, that a plan was submitted to
the French court, previous to the treaty of alliance of 1778, to conquer
Newfoundland, Canada, and Nova Scotia, wilh the design of dividing
these colonies between France and the United States, and thus, as tl)e
projectors considered, to ruin the British fisheries, and, of direct conse-
quence, the British marine, and that the measure was submitted to
Washington, was disapproved by him, and finally abandoned, we pass
to nittice the course of Congress, and of their ministers abroad, subse-
quently, and to the conclusion of the treaty with Great Britain in 1783,
by which our independence was secured and acknowledged.

Whoever examines the records of Congress will find that between
February and August, 1779, the various questions connected with the
fisheries were matters of the most earnest and continued debates, and
of the most anxious solicitude. During the discussions upon a prop-
osition to open a negotiation for peace, Mr. Geiry introduced the fol-
lowing resolutions. First: "That it is essential to the welfare of these
United States that the inhabitants thereof, at the expiration of the war,
should continue to enjoy thefiee and undisturbed exercise of their com-
mon right to fish on the Banks of Newfoundland, and the other fishing
banks and seas ot North America, preserving inviolate the treaties
between France and the said States." Second: "That an explana-
tory article be prepared and sent to our minister plenipotentiary at the
court of Versailles, to be by him presented to his Most Christian Majesty,
whereby the said common right to the fisheries shall be more explicitly
guarantied to the inhabitants of these States than it already is by the
treaties aforesaid." Third: "That in the treaty of peace with Great

150

Britain, a stipulation be made on their part not to disturb l]if> inhab-
itants of these States in tlie tree exercise of their common riiiht to the
fisheries aforesaid, and that a reciprocal engagement be made on the
part of the United States." Fourth : " That the faith of Congress be
pledged to the several States, that, without their unanimous consent,
no treaty of commerce shall be formed with Great Britain previous to
such stipulation." Fifth: " That if the explanatory article should not
be ratified by his Most Christian INIajesty, nor the stipulation aforesaid
be adopted by Great Britain, the minister conducting the business shall
give notice thereof to Congress, and not sign any treaty of peace until
their pleasure be known. "

The o])position to these resolutions was determined and violent in
the extreme. Those who enlisted against them insisted that it was
unreasonable and absurd to ask or expect that a war commenced for
freedom, should be continued for the humble privilege of catching fish.
Mr. Gerry, who had grown up among the fishermen of Massachusetts,
replied: "It is not so much fishing," said he, "as enterprise, industry,
employment. It is not fish merely which gentlemen sneer at; it is
gold, the produce of that avocation. It is the emplo^-ment of those
who would otherwise be idle, the food of those who would otherwise
be hungry, the wealth of those who would otherwise be poor, that
depend o»i your pulting these resolutions into the instructions of your
minister."

I'lie raajorit}'' of Congress sustained jNIr. Gerry's propositions, in fifteen
divisions on calls of the ayes and noes, and rejected numerous amend-
ments offered to modif\^ them ; but consented, finally, to the adoption
of the single declaration, that "although it is of the utmost importance
to the peace and commerce of the United States that Canada and Nova
Scotia should be ceded, and more particularly that their equal common
right to the fisheries should be guarantied to them, yet, a desire of
terminating the war has induced us not to make the acquisition of these
objects an ultimatum on the present occasion."

This declaration appears to have been the result of concession and
compromise; since Mr. Adams was instructed, in September, 1779,
first, "that the common right of fishing should in no case be given
up;" second, "that it is essential to the welfare of all these United
States that the inhabitants thereof, at the expiration of the war, should
continue to enjo}^ the free and undisturbed exercise of their conunon
right to fish on the Banks of Newf()undland, and all the other fishing-
banks and seas of North America, preserving inviolate the treaties be-
tween France and the said States;" third, "that our faith be pledged
to the several States that without their unanimous consent no treaty of
commerce shall be entered into, nor any trade or commerce whatever
carried on with Great Britain, without the ex})licit stipulation hereinaf-
ter mentioned. You are, therefore, not to consent to any treaty of
commerce with Great Britain without an explicit stipulation, on her
part, not to molest or disturb the inhabitants of the United States of
America in taking fish on the Banks of NewfoundLind, and other fish-
eries in the American seas, anywhere, except within the distance of
three leagues of the shores of the territories remaining to Great Britain
at the close of the wai', if a nearer distance cannot be obtained by ne-'

151

^tiation. And in the negotiation yon are tft'fexer$'f(5H?\^okt §ff1*'iftifc)9g^
entleavors to obtain a nearer distance in tl^fe.'Oihtf' b\) '9t.'{B?tKVi^^de'/'
and particularly along the shores of Nova §<ibiiU'j'"h.^'-t6 ivh?cli ''lii't tfei;V".
we are de^5irous that even the riiores may bfe ■yCc^isioMlly' tis^V'for'^the^
purpose of carrying on the fisheries by the irth^ibilSi'rity'ai'thefefe SlateSi'^i.

These instructions — tediously minute and fei^c^ml>el-etl'wifli'';i*e^eti-*'^
tions — embod^'-, as will be seen, the substan'C'e' of Mr^'G■fetry's''^es^ill«''
tions, with this essential difference — thai the-Wg'ht W Yislt'icitid' freelyf
use the fishing grounds was to be made an iilliffiatiiitt 'ite'W'ff^^W'of^
commerce instead of a treaty of peace. Strangfly'^ndtigilii Ihiese -iW^'-
structions were revoked by Congress in July,'-l7Sl, thotig'h 'ndiipt^d"
after mature dehberation and in the spirit of'soncr^ssiob. -Whatevei*^'
the motive of Congress, it was not commmiie^rtect -td Mrl-'AdtTrris^ hfp
that bod}^, or by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, or by%ift|y^n1div^idWF
member. Of this he complains with some a§p^rity.''*'Ih'-a tekei*/to
Robert R. Livingston he states the fact just m'entionbd, mM'_'rehiaf''fei7^
that wliether the act of neglect "was intended as* a plmiwhm^i^t-tb'Me^^'
or with a charitable design not to lead me into temptatibri'f Hvti^^'hePnF
was intended as a punishment to the Ensflish f6r 't:heii*'ihsli!^nic'e%M''
barbarity; whether it was intended to prevent or' r^ttibvie'-^irspiejOh^'aF
allies, or the envy and green jealousij of co-2mf7'iots,'l'\\hd\¥>ii6\}P'' '^TMt'V-^
then, we finally secured the rights in question, Wfts^'^Xviri^ tb' thfe'^^Sl^'
of Mr. Adams and his associate commissioners, and"fiot'-to'the'firftiii^s'^^
or good fkith of Congress. '^^ ^^^-^''[ ^!' ^"■>-^''\i^:^i-

Meantime, a number of pamphlets, written by loyriiisYs k)P'^listiliytibil^
and devoted to American affairs, were published- itr\£bftdqhi'^'"'In'6Wfe^^
of these it is said that "with the independence of ■Atoiii*iG(a'^^ Gf'^at
Britain "must give up her fisheries on the Bank ofiS'eyiiiuiidtrtndi atid?^
in the American seas," and "thirty-five thousand ■Ailieyiiciii''^eaitti^il/^
with twenty-eight thousand more, bred and maint^in'eeP'jR''tlfe'sd-ieJii^^
celleat nurseries;" that, furthermore, "the valuable-'ti*ad'e''featrVM'6#^
from thence with the Cathohc States will be in the h'ands^ iof Aii^iieriCafj"?,
that "these nurseries and this trade will ever remain- teWkMi^^
of the people who inhabit that country;" and that "'b. tfadfe yo-jirdfit^'
able, and a nursery of seamen so excellent and so ne'tfess^'rj^ffbr'tfi^^
support of her naval force, will never be given upr,'''6r' dltM(^d^''b]^'
America with any power whatsoever." Meantime, ^''tOi^,Hh"ft'"'<^ete-s^''
brated Dean of Gloucester submitted proposals ''^'td''th'e(S5nglMh,_,
Americans, French, and Spaniards, now at war," dil'.^lli^'^'sWbjett; W
their differences, suggesting, upon the subject before iks^-l-ha^''"'G*ridrft*
Britain shall retain Newfoundland, with the desert coasts' b^'Mb^^dc*';^
also Canada, Nova Scotia, and the country bordering'dn the Ba^' 8f*
Fundy," westerly, "as fiir as the bay and river of PeiioliVctJt.*^''-'-' ''"<-'^

INIr. Adams was appointed sole commissioner to negotiate' Witn'G%^^?^
Britain, and enterecl alone upon the arduous duties inti*usfed''tb"hi4iiir:
Messrs. Franklin, Jay, and Laurens were, however, subseqieiuly-'dfesi^
nated joint commissioners, and in due time joined him ikr''¥'Tdn&ei ■'■in'
1782, a letter of Barbe de Marbois, the French charge d'^afllMs in' the
United States, addressed to Count de Vergennes, the FriritSpal^Mihistt^r^
of State, was intercepted. The contents of this letter caused great
uneasiness. Marbois represented that Samuel Adams was stirring up

15^

the people of Massachusetts to consent to no treaty of peace wliich did
not guaranty to lliem the right of ree fishing upon their ancient iishing
grounds; that the reigning toast among these people was, "J7«y/Ae
United States ever maintain tJicir rights to the Jisherics;''^ that tlie public
jjrints in Massachusetts discussed the importance of adhcriug to the
sentiment; and that the general court of that State, in the course of
their deliberations, gave frequent utterance to the popular voice. These
representations were substantially true, and Marbois committed no wrong
in communicating them to his court. But he did not stop here, lor he
suggested means to defeat the expectations of the eastern States; to dis-
appoint "Samuel Adams and his party," and to secure tlie fislieries to his
own country. This communication was dated at Philadelphia in March,
and in September lollowing was in the hands of the American commis-
sioners at Paris.

Mr. Jay expressed the opinion that M. de Marbois disclosed the real
wishes of his goverimicnt upon the subject of the fisheries ; and Mr. Madi-
son remarks, that upon receipt of letters from Franklin and others, there
was " much indignation against the author of the intercepted " despatch,
"and visible emotions in some against France." Mr. Adams wrote to
Robert R. Livingston, from Paris, November 8, 17S2, that, " If Congress
or their ministers abroad suffer themselves to be intimidated by threats,
slanders, or insinuations, we shall be duped out of the fishery, the Mis-
.sissippi, much of the western lands, compensation to the tories, and
Penobscot at least, if not Kennebec. This," he adds, "is my solemn
opinion, and I will not be answerable to my country, posterity, or my
own mind, for the consequences that might happen from concealing it."

The suspicion that France was secretl}^ promoting the views of Eng-
land increased as the negotiation progressed. "We knew," said Mr.
Adams, that the French ministry "were often insinuating to the British
ministers things against us, respecting the fisheries, tories, &c., during
the negotiation, and Mr. Filzherbert* told me that the Count de Ver-
gennes had 'fifty times reproached him for ceding the fisheries, and
said it was ruining the Enghsh and French commerce both.' " Again,
he records in his journal that Mr. Jay had informed him "that our allies
' did not play fair. They were endeavoring to deprive us of the fishery,
the western lands, and the navigation of the Mississippi. They would
■ even bargain with the English to depive lis of them.''''

Mr. Jay himself relates that he "dined with Dr. Franklin, and found
Mr. Rayneval there." * * * Rayneval "asked what we expected as
lo the fisheries ? We said, the same right we had formerly enjoyed.
He contested the propriety of tne detnand, adding some strictures on the
a.mhitio?i and restlessness of Mr. Adams, and intimated that we might be
contented with the coast fishery. This coincidence between the lan-
guage of the confidential secretary of Count Vergcnnes," continues Mr.
Jay, "and that of the French charge d'affaires at [Philadelphia, (M. de
Maibois,) in relation to the fisheries and the conduct of Samuel Adams,
is of" itself a strong evidence of the real views of the French cabinet."

The American commissioners were probably misiak(ni. Whatever
their impressions relative to the course of the French court, evidence in

*One of tho British commissioners.

15a

the public archives is wanting to show that De Marbois "disclosed the
real wishes of his government;" that Mr. Fitzherbert was justified in
his declarations to Mr. Adams; or that M. Rayneval uttered the senti-
ments of his principal. Yet our commissioners, embarrassed on every
hand, were driven to the expedient of disobeying the directions of Con-
gi-ess, as to concluding peace without the consent of their ally, and of
proceeding upon their own responsibility. The relative merits of these
distinguished men, in securing the rights in question, has been a matter
of some discussion; and Franklin has been charged openly and fre-
quently with criminal lukewarmness. Mr. Jay, expressly and by letter,
relieves the philosopher from this imputation, and commends his zeal;
and I am satisfied that whoever examines the facts of the case will find
no ground for the accusation. All did their duty, and the whole of it.
And yet, upon Mr. Adams, as a resident of Massachusetts, and as better
acquainted witli the importance of the fisheries than his associates, the
piincipal labor of meeting the British arguments appears to have de-
volved. I can in truth imagine no bolder line of conduct than he
adopted ; and to condense his principal observations, as preserved by
himself in his journal, will be sufhcient to show the difficulties that
were actually overcome during the negotiations.

In noting a conference with the British commissioners, he says that
"the affair of the fishery was somewhat altered. They could not
admit us to dry on the shores of Nova Scotia, nor to fish within three
leagues of the coast of Cape Breton. I could not help observing that
these ideas appeared to me to come jyijnnor-hot from Versailles.''''

On another occasion, and when a " whole day had been spent in dis-
cussions about the fisliery and the tories," and in reply to a proposition
from the opposing mission, to leave out of the treaty the word "Wo-A/:,"
and insert, instead thereof, the term "Zi^tr/y," he rose, and in the direct
and vehement manner which characterized him through life, thus spoke:
" Gentlemen, is there, or can there be, a clearer r'lglit ? In former treaties,
that of Utrecht and that of Paris, France and England have claimed the
right, and used the word. When God Almighty made the Banks of New-
foundland at three hundred leagues distance from the people of America,
and six hundred leagues from those of France and England, did he not
aive as ffood a ri^lit to the former as to the latter ? If Heaven in the crea-
tion gave a right, it is ours at least as much as 3^ours. If occupation, use,
and possession give a right, we have it as clearW as you. If war, and blood,
and treasure, glee a right, ours is as good as yours. TFe," continued he, m
the same eloquent strain, '■'-have constantly been fighting in Canada, Cape
Breton, and Nova Scotia, for the defence of this fishery, and liavc expended,
beyo)id(/ll proport'wn, more than you. If", then, the right cannot be denied,
why shouhl it not be acknowledged and put out of dispute? Why
should we leave room for ilUterate fishermen to wrangle and chicane?"

Mr. Fitzherbert, a member of the British commission, confessed that
the reasons of Mr. Adams were good. "The argument," said he, "is
in 5'our favor; but Oswald's instructions are such, that I do not see
how he can agree with us." Nor was there an agreement, until Mr.
Adams pushed the "argument" to the point of an ultimatmn. Finding
that if the treaty contained any provision on the subject, it must be in
the form presented by our commission, the British mission endeavored

154

to waive the point nllofrethcr in the provisional, and leave the question
to be adjusted in the definitive treaty that was to follow. To this Mr.
Adams would not listen. He stood on ground from which he could
not be driven by any device or evasion of (hplomac}' ; and he emphati-
call}^ declared, "I will never put my hand io amj articles without salis-
faclion about the fishery." "When Congress," he added, "three or
four 3'ears ago, did me the honor to give me a commission to make a
treaty of commerce with Great Britain, they gave me positive instruc-
tions not to make such a treaty without an article acknowledging our
right to the fishery; and lam happ}' that Mr. Laurens is now pr(>sent,
who, I believe, was in Congress at the time, and must remember it."
Mr. Laurens confirmed the statement; and Mr. Jay followed with the
remark, that "it could not be a peace — it would only be an insidious
ti'uce," without the stipulations contended for; and "thus the /•/i,'-A^ so
courageously maintained, was acknowledged in the thu'd article of the
treaty, and in the following terms:

^ "It is agreed that the people of the United States shall continue to
enjoy, unmolested, the right to take fish of every kind on the Grand
Bank, and on all the other banks of Newfoundland; also, in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, and at all other places in the sea where the inhabit-
ants of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish ; and also,
that the inhabitants of the United States shall have liberty to take fish of
every kind on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as British fisher-
men shall use, (but not to dry or cure the same on that island,) and also
on the coasts, bays, and creeks, of all other of his Britannic Majesty's
dominions in America ; and that the American fishermen shall have
liberty to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbors, and
creeks of Nova Scotia, ]Magdalen islands, and Labrador, so long as the
same shall remain unsettled; but so soon as the same, or either of
them., shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to
dry or cure fish at such settlement, without a previous agreement for
that purpose with the inhabitants, proprietors, or possessors of the
ground."

The privileges thus conceded were ample; since, with regard to
catching fish, all were continued to us that we could or should have en-
joyed had we remained colonists ; while, in drying and curing we were
not injuriously restricted.

It has been remarked that the American commissioners were in-
structed to conclude no treaty with Great Britain without the concur-
rence oi France, and that they disobeyed the injunction. Such, indeed,
is the fiict. Mr. Adams, communicating officially with Mr. Livingston,
says that obedience "would have inlallibh^ prevented the Mdiole
peace." The Count de Vergennes complained of the course of the
mission in words which show deep sensibDity. "I am at a loss, sir,"
he wrote to Franklin, "to explain your conduct, and that of your col-
leagues, on this occasion. You have concluded your ])reliminary
articles without an}'" communication between us, although the instruc-
tions from Congress prescribe that ninhing shall be done without the
participation of the King. You are about to hold out a certain hope
of peace to America, without even informing yourself on the state? of
the negotiation on our part. You are wise and discreet, sh; you per-

155

fectl}^ underslnnd what is due to propriety; you have all your life per-
forn ed your duties. I pray you to consider how j^ou propose to fulfil
those which are due to the King."

The policy of England towards the people "who assumed an inde-
pendency which separated them from her sovereignty" was soon devel-
oped. An order in council was promulgated by proclamation in Jul}^,
17S3, prohibiting American fish from being carried to the British West
Indies. This order was regarded as the result of loyalist or "tory"
influence. It was probably so, and was not only aimed at our fish-
eries, but intended to encourage those of Nova Scotia and other British
possessions north and east of the United States. An extensive trade
was thus destroyed. While colonies, the New England States had
bartered their "West India fish" for sugar, rum, and molasses, with
the planters of the British islands, with profit to all parties. Congress
declared that retaliatory measures were necessary, in order that Amer-
ican commerce should not pass into the hands of foreigners ; and asked
to be invested with powers from the States to provide for the exigency.
But no adequate authority was or could be conferred upon the confed-
eracy. The restrictive policy thus commenced was long continued;
nor was the vexed question of our commercial relations with the pos-
sessions of England in this hemisphere adjusted for nearly half a cen-
tury. ■

We pass to notice the proceedings of the convention that framed the
constitution of the United States. Those relating to our subject, though
transmitted in mere allusions, are still significant and important.

Thus upon the proposition that "no treaty shall be made without the
consent of two-thirds of the members present," and upon Mr. Madison's
suggestion to " except treaties of peace," Mr. Gerry was of the opinion
that in such treaties a greater, rather than a less, proportion of votes
should be required, for the reason that, in terminating hostilities, our
^^ dearest interests will he at stake, as the fisheries, territories,'''' t^c. So, too,
Mr. Gouverneur Morris* expressed the sentiment that " if two-thirds of
the Senate should be required for peace, the legislature will be unwill-
ing to make one for that reason, on account of the fisheries or the Missis-
sij)pi — the two great objects of the Union.''''

The records of the discussions in the conventions of the different
States for the adoption or rejection of the constitution are less frag-
mentary. In that of South Carolina, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, in
reply to some ill-natured remarks against New England, generously s- id
that, in the Revolution, "the eastern States had lost everything but their
country and freedom ;" that "it was notorious that some ports at the
eastward which used to fit out one hundred and fifty sail of vessels do
not now fit out thirty ; that their trade of ship-building, which used to
be very considerable, was now annihilated ; that their fisheries were
trifling, and their mariners in want of bread ;" and that the South were

* Hon. Gouveraeur Moms was a son of Lewis Monis, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence. He was a member of the Continental Congress, and of the convention which
framed the constitution of the United States. In Washington's administration he was minister
to France. He died at Morrisania, New York, in 1816, aged 64. He possessed the confidence
of Washington.

156

" called upon by every tie of justice, friendship, and humanity, to relieve
their distresses."

In the convention of Virginia Mr. Grayson nffirmed that "tV is well
known that the NcujhundJand fisheries and the Mississippi are halancesfor
one another; that the possession of one tends to the preservation of the
other. This," he continued, " necounts for the eastern policy. They
thouglit that if the Mississip{)i was given up, the southern States would
give up the right of the fishery, on which their very existence depends.
It is not extraordinary, therefore, while these great rights of the hshery
depend on such a variety of circumstances — the issue of the war, the
success of negotiation, and numerous other causes — that ney should
wish to preserve this great counterbalance." Patrick Henr\', in dis-
senting from these views, and in reply, exclaimed: "But, said the
honorable gentleman, the eastern States will wish to secure their fish-
ery, and will therefore favor the right to the Mississippi. How does
he draw^ the inference? Is it possible that they can act on that princi-
ple? The principle that led the southern States to admit ' fthe cession
was, to avoid the most dreadful perils of war. But their difficulties are
now ended by peace. Is there anytliing like this that can influence
the minds of the people of the North ? Since the peace, those States
have discovered a determined resolution to give away the Mississippi,
to discourage emigration thither."

In the convention of Massachusetts, one member observed, that
as the different members of the confederacy regulated their commerce
at pleasure, and did not even protect the coasting trade of the country,
"a vessel from Rosaway or Halifax found as hearty a welcome, with
its fish and whalebone, at the southern ports, as though it was built,
navigated, and freighted from Salem or Boston;" and tliat "this would
continue to be the case, unless a more perfect union of the States was
formed:" while a second member remarked, that abroad we were held
in contempt, for since the war we had been engaged In " commerce
with six different nations of the globe, and if he might believe good,
honest, credible men," our position with them was like that of "a well-
behaved negro in a gentleman's family."

The sentiments thus uttered — north and south — indicate the feelings
of eminent statesmen of the time, as well as reveal to us some of the
arguments in favor of the adoption of the constitution; and serve, more-
over, to show that the branch of industrv at present so fallen in public
estimation was continually referred to by our fathers in connexion
with, and as equivalent to, "the Mississippi," or the western country.

Pursuing our inquiries in chronological order, we are led now to cite
the opinions of the flnmdcrs of the present national government, as pre-
served in the debates in the 1st Congress. Our quotations must be
confined to the discussions which occurred during the first session, and
upon the bill to levy "duties on imports." The i)ure and highly gifted
Fisher Ames thus spoke : *

* Tlie Hon. Fislier Amos was born in Dcdliani, ^rassachiisotts, in 1758, and was educatod at
Harvard University. In the IJcvolntion tic was a zealous whig. He wa.s a member of the
convention of Massachusetts which considered and adopted the constitution of the United
States, and wjib elected the first representative to Couijress from Boston. He occupied a
•eat in the House for eight years, and was a principal speaker in the debates on every import-

157

" We exchange for molasses those fish that it is impossible to dispose
of anywhere else; we have no market within our reach but the islands
from whence we get molasses in return, which again we manufacture into
rum. It is scarcely possible to maintain oar fisheries with advantage,
if the commerce tor summer fish is injured, which I conceive it would
be very materially, if a high duty is imposed upon this article; nay, it
w^ould carry devastation throughout all the New England States: it
would ultimately affect all throughout the Union. * * * The
taking of fish on the Banks is a very momentous concern ; it forms a
nursery f()r seamen, and this will be the source from which we are to
derive maritime importance. It is the policy of some nations to drive
us from this prolific source of wealth and strength; but what their de-
testable effinls have in vain endeavored to do, you will accompHsh by
a high duty on this article."

Again he said : " / conceive, sir, that the present constitution was dictated
hj commercial necessity more than awj other cause. The want of an efficient
government to secure the manvjltcturing interests, and to advance our com-
merce, was loner seen by men of judginent, and pointed out by patriots solici-
tous to promote the general wefare. Jf the duty which we contend
against is found to defeat these objects, I am convinced the represent-
atives of the people will give it up. I trust that gentlemen are well
satisfied that the support of our agriculture, manufactures, navigation
and fisheries, are obj,'cts of very great moment. When gentlemen con-
template the fishery, they admit its importance, and the nec/ssity ice are
under of enamragiug and protecting it, especially if they consider its declin-
ing situation; that it is excluded from those advantages which it formerly
obtained in British ports, atid participates but in a small degree of the ben-
efits arising from our European allies, whose markets are visited under severe
restrictions: yet, with all the^e discouragements, it maintains an eutcnt which
entitles it to the fostering care (f govirnmcnt,^'' ****** "Jq
shoit, unless some extraordinary measures are taken to support our fisheries,
I do not see what is to prevent their inevitable ruin. It is a fact, that
near one-third of our fishermen are taken from their profession — not, for
want of skill and abilities in the art, fir here they take the rank cf every
nation on earth — but from the local, chilhng policy of foreign nations,
who shut us out from the a\enues to market. If, instead of protection
from the government, wc extend to them oppression, I shudder for the conse-
quences.^' Still further: "It is supposed that the fishermen must be
poor, if they are not able to bear the tax proposed. I contend thei/ ore
very poor: they are in a sinking slate; they carry on the business in despair.
But gentlemen will ask us, ' Why, then, do they not quit the prifssum?^
I anstver, in the words that are often used in the eastern country respecting
the inhabitants of Cape Cod — they are too poor to live there, and are too
jJoor to remove.^'' The remtirkable coincidence, in many particulars,
between 17S9 and 1852, as indicated in the passages which I have
placed in italics, cannot escape the attention of persons acquainted
with the subject.

ant question. His speech on the British treaty in 1794 was his greatest efTort. Eminsnt
alike for his talents and his purity of character, he was an oru iineiit to his country. lid died
in IdOd.

158

To omit the statements and arguments of Mr. Goodhue and of ^fr.
Thacher, who participated in the debate, and sustained the main po-
sitions of Mr. Ame?, we will refer, in conclusion, to the declarations of
Mr. Gerry.* " At a time when the policy of every country," said
he, " is pointed against us, to suppress our success in the fisheries,
when it is with extreme difficulty that it continues its existence, shall
we lay burdens upon it which it is unable to support? If this import-
ant interest is injured, it will not only destroy the competition with for-
eigners, but U"/// induce the jicrqtle to sell their proi)crty in the United States
and remove to Nova Scotia, or some other j^iJacc, ivhere they can in-oseciite
their husiness tinder, the protection of government.'''' * * * * " I will not
reiterate the arguments respecting the fisheries : it is well known to be
the best nursery for seamen ; the United States have no other ; and it
never can be the intention of gentlemen to leave the navigation oi" the
Union to the mercy of foreign powers. It is of necessity, then, that we
lay the foundation of our maritime importance as soon as may be, and
this can be done only by encouraging our fisheries. It is well known
that we have a number of rivals in this business, desirous of excluding
us from the fishing bnnks altogether. This consideration of itself is
sufficient to induce a wise legislation to extend every encouragement
to so important a concern."

Congress were not unmindful of these representations and appeals.
An act was passed in 1789, which allowed a bounty of five cents per
quintal on dried, and the same sum per barrel on pickled fish exported
from, and imposed a duty of fifty cents the quintal and of seven t^'-five
cents the barrel on foreign fish imported into, the United States. The
system of protection, of bounties, and allowances, is as old, therefore, as
the government itself, and was devised and adopted by the statesmen
of the Revolution.

In 1790, Washington, in his speech to Congress, remarked that " our
fisheries and the transportation of our own produce ofler us abundant
means for guarding ourselves against" the evil of depending upon foreign
vessels. The Senate waited upon the President and the Vice President
with an address. Among its topics we find the following : " The nav-
igation and the fisheries of the United States are objects too interesting
not to inspire a disposition to promote them by all the means which
shall appear to us consistent with their natural progress and permanent
prosperity." INIr. Hamilton, in his report as Secretary of the Treasury,
suggested that a reduced duty on the article of piclded fish, under the
circiunstances of the time, would prove advantageous, but admitted
that lie was not in possession of all the facts of the case, and, deferring
to members of the House familiar with the subject, declined to hazard
a decisive opinion. Such were the official acts relative to tlie fishing
interest, at the opening of the session. The relief afforded the previous

* The Hon. Elbridge Gerry was a native of Marblehead, the ancient fishing capital of Mas-
Bachnsi'ttR, and a graduate of Hiirvard University. He devoted several years to commercial
pursuits, and acquired a competent estate. He was a signer of the Dedaratimi of Independ-
ence, minister to France, governor of Massachusetts, and Vice President of tlie United .States.
He died at Washington in 1814, at tlie age of seventy. His life, by Hon. James T. Austin,"of
Boston, who married his daughter, contains much matter reiMtit'eWitlr«i'iiarftiiii6 aflaitS*bf

the Revolution, not to be met with elsenht're.'" '■■'-■"''■"' '" ^'''^"1 '"' ' "" ^=^"^''"■1 ^"' '< ' "-''''l

.btoi iii

159

year was insufficient. The fishermen represented that their condition
was deplorable, and they earnestly implored the protection of the gov-
ernment. In the petition presented Congress Irom Marblehead, are
several statements which deserve attention. That document shows,
from an exact investigation, the expenses and earnings of the fi.-hing
vessels of that town for the three preceding years. For the year 17S7,
each vessel earned $4S3 ; in 178S, the sum of $456 ; and in 1759, only
$273. The annual average of expenses, including insurance, was $41G :
thus affording a gain of $67 for the first of these years ; of $40 lor the
second; and a loss of $143 for the third. It estimated that the duty
paid on articles necessary for a vessel of sixty-five tons and eleven men,
amounted annually to S13S ; the duty on molasses being computed at
n'lnctij-nine cents, and that on riim at just fourteen dollars! This pciition,
and several others of similar character, were referred to Mr. Jeflcrson,
the Secretary of State. His brief but able and interesting report, sub-
mitted to Congress in 1791, is the only state paper of the kind to be
found in our archives.

Tlie additional rehef desired was not long delayed. Early in 1792
an act was j^assed which abolished the bounty on dried and pickled
fish exported, and granted in lieu thereof a specific allowance to vessels
employed in the cod-fishery. This allowance was graduated accord-
ing to the size of the vessels. Boats between five and twenty tons bur-
den were entitled to receive one dollar per ton annually ; those between
twenty and thirty tons, fifty cents per ton additional ; and to those more
than thirty tons, the allowance was fixed at two dollars and fift}^ cents
the ton ; but no vessel could receive more than one hundred and sev-
enty dollars in one season. By a subsequent act the some year, these
several rates were increased one-fifth, to commence in January, 1793,
to continue seven years, and thence to the end of the next session of
Congress.

The first act was opposed. Mr. Giles, a member of the House from
Virginia, refused his support, because "the bill appeared to contain a
direct bounty on occupation; and if that be its object," said he, "it is
the first attempt as yet made by this government 1o exercise such
authority; and its constitutionality struck him in a doubtful poiiU of
view; for in no part of the constitution could he, in express terms, find
a power given to Congress to grant bounties on occupations. The
power is neither directly granted, nor (by any reasonable construction
that he could give) annexed to any other specified in the constitution."
JNIr. Williamson objected for similar reasons. In his apprehension,
"the object of the bounty and the amount of it are equally to be disre-
garded in the present case. We are simply to consider whetlier boun-
ties may be safely given under the constitution. For myself, I would
rather begin with a bounty of one million per annum than one thou-
sand. * * * Establish the doctrine of bounties, and it is not a few
fishermen that will enter, claiming ten or twelve thousand dollars, but
all manner of persons; people of every trade and occupation may
enter at the breach, until they have eaten up the bread of our children."

Still further to encourage the prosecution of the fisheries, an act of

160

1793* authorized the collectors of the customs to grant vessels duly
licensed permits "to touch and traile at any foreign port or plnce,"
and under such documents to procure salt and other necessary outfits
without being subjected to the payment of duties. This act, which is
still in force, has proved extremely beneficial to our tisiiing vessels in
certain emergencies; but it may be admitted that its privilen'es are
liable to be abused. Four years later, the system of allowances to
vessels employed in the cod-lishery was revised. Under the law then
passed, the smallest class were entitled to draw from the treasury one
dollar and sixty cents per ton annually ; and vessels upwards of twenty
tons, two dollars and forty cents the ton; while the maximum was
increased to two hundred and seventy-two dollars. A second revision
occurred in the j^ear 1800, which effected some changes in details, but
which provided for the continuance of the rates of allowance then
fixed until March, 181 1.

President Jefferson, in his message to Congress in 1802, spoke of
"fb.-tering our fisheries as nurseries of navigation, and for the nurture
of man," as among "the land-marks b}"- which we were to be guided in
all our proceedings;" and made further allusion to the subject in his
annual communication of the following j-caj". His remarks, in the
second message, were referred to a commiltee of Congress, M'ho, in their
report, said that there was too much reason to believe that both the
whale and cod-fisheries had been for some time on the decline, and
that it was more than doubtful whether the United States employed as
many men and tons in these branches of indusirj'^ as when they were
colonies or previous to llie Kevolution. As a means to reanimate them,
they recommended that ships and vessels actually and exclusively
employed in these fisheries should not, in future, be subject to the pay-
ment of" the tonnage duty levied on oiher vessels; that fishermen and
other persons actualW employed in catching whales and fish should be
exempt from the usual charge of hos[)ital money; and that the bounty
or allowance under existing laws should be paid in cases of shipwreck
or loss of vessels without deduction.

A single incident more of the year 1803 claims our notice. One
hundred and five inhabitants of Block island, engaged in the cod-fish-
ery, joined in a petition to Congress for an allowance or bounty on
boats of less than five tons burden. They represented, that fiom the
bleak situation of the island which they inhabited, and the hi^h surf

* The following notice, which was piildished in a Boston newspaper, April, 1794, is inserted
as a mattiT of cuiioiis history, rather than to illustrate the text:

"Salmon-stand. — Great inconvenit ney ari.-ini; from exposinjj; salmon for sale on the Ex-
ehan<?e, in State street, where citizens of tlu> town, and those fiom ahroad, assemble to trans-
act business, the board of selectmen Kave assijrned a stand therefor in Mark-et square Th«ise
who bring salmon for sale from neighboiiii!; towns aie requested to apply to the clerk of the
market, at his otHce, north corner of Faneuil Hall, wIjo will point them to the stand. The
law against nuisances is sufticient; a wish to accommodate, 'tis hoped, will preclude tlie neces-
Bity of coercion. The inspector of jjolice makes this puldication, having in view the prosperity
of our country brethren, as well as acconnnodation of the town. He gratefully acknowledges
the past kindness of his fellow-citizens, and requests, in this instance, that neither themselves,
nor those under them, would purchase salmon in State street, but apply at the stand assigned
therefor.

" N. 15. — The printers in town, and those in Salem, Newbui'yport, and Haverhill are requested
to publish the above."

161

by which it was incessantly assailed, they pursued their occupation in
small boats during the day, returned to their homes at night, and hauled
their craft above the reach and fury of the waves. They stated, also,
that the number of fishermen upon the island was nearly two hundred;
that they caught fi-oni ten to fifteen thousand quintals of fish annually,
about half of which were pickled and the remainder dried. The com-
mittee to whom the petition was referred made an adverse report, and
legislation in their behalf was refused.

The embargo and other restrictive measures which preceded the
war of 1812 produced the most disastrous results in New England.
In 1808, and during the existence of the prohibitor}' acts, a number of
citizens of Boston petitioned Congress for liberty to export a quantity
of pickled and dried fish in their warehouses, and liable to rot or decay
if kept during the summer months. But the government declined
interference, and property of this description was allowed to perish in
most of the fishing towns, to the utter ruin of man}^ of its owners.
These losses were followed by others; and as the results of the policy
of our own rulers, as well as the seizure and confiscation of cargoes
of fish in ports of Europe under the memorable decrees of Napoleon,
the distresses of all classes of persons engaged in the catching and
curing the products of the sea became in the end general and alarming.

During the war with England, the distant fishing grounds were aban-
doned. The British colonists determined that we should never occupy
them more. The duties which devolved on Messrs. Adams, Clay,
Gallatin, Bayard, and Russell, the American commissioners at Ghent,
were consequently difficult and arduous. On the one hand, they were
expected to arrange conditions of peace, and yet were instructed, in
terms which admitted of no discretion, to break off their consultations
and return home, rather than allow the subject of surrendering the fish-
eries to come under discussion; on the other hand, the British plenipo-
tentiaries met them with the doctrine that the privileges were entirely
destroyed by hostilities. " These gentlemen," said the late President
Adams, " after commencing the negotiations with the loftiest pretensions
of conquest, finally settled down into the determination to keep Moose
island* and the fisheries to themselves. This was the object of their
deepest solicitude. Their efforts to obtain our acquiescence in their
pretensions, that the fishing liberties had been forfeited by the war,
were unwearied. They presented it to us in every form that ingenuity
could devise. It was the first stumbling-block and the last obstacle to
the conclusion of the treaty." t

* Moose island, in the Bay of Passamaquoddy, and former name of Eastport. This town
was captured in July, 1814, and retained for more than three years aft^r the peace. On the
3Uth of June, 1818, it was surrendered to the United States with imposing forms and cere-
monies,

t The following letter, addressed by John Adams to President Madison during the negoti-
ations at Ghent, is derived from an authentic source :

QuiNcv, November 28, 1814.

Dear Sir ; When my son departed for Russia, I enjoined upon him to write nothing to me
which he was not willing should be published in French and English newspapers. He has very
scrupulously observed the rule.

I have been equally reserved in my letters to him ; but the principle on both sides has been
to me a cruel privation, for his correspondence when absent, and his conversation when present
has been a principal enjoyment of my life.
11

162

It is a singular circumstance, that at Ghent, as at Paris, there should
be an accusation of defection against an American minister. Mr. Russell,
the delinquent in the latter case, less fortunate than Franklin, found no
colleaguf^ to vouch for the manUness of" his course ; and the fact that he
adopted the British argument as to the effects of the war to terminate
our privileges, as well as the opinion that the fisheries themselves were
of decreasing value, rests upon his own published statements. In these
views he stood alone. Mr. Adams suggested to his associates, and Mr.
Clay cmljodied in a proposition to be presented to the British commis-
sioners, the principle that we held our rights of fishing by the same-
tenure as we did our independence; that, unlike another class of treat-
ies, the treaty of 1783 is to be regarded as perpetual, and of the nature
of a deed, in which the fisheries are an appurtenant of the soil conveyed
or parted with ; and that, therefore, no stipulation was necessary or de-
sirable to secure the perpetuity of the appendage, more than of tlie ter-
ritory itself. In other v^'ords, if we must contract anew for fishing
grounds, so must we also obtain a new title to our territories. This,
as I understand it, is the substance of the proposition itself, and of the
various discussions of which, from time to time, it formed the basis.
The position was impregnable. I'he arguments founded upon this
gi'ound were not answered by the British mission in 1S14, nor by the
ministiy during the negotiations which terminated in the convention of
1818. They are unanswerable. But it is not to be denied that the
present difficulties are attributable to the war. Had the two nations re-
mained at peace, there could have been no pretence of forfeiture ; there
would have been no compromise in ISIS between the British doctrine
and our own; and, of course, no ambiguous instrument on which the
colonists could assume, as they now do, to shut us out of bays that our
vessels have visited ever since they were won from France. And since
England has not renounced the pretension that was assented to by Mr.
Russell, it may be worthy the consideration of our statesmen, whether
the principle may not be revived, on the recurrence of relations similar
to those which first caused its assertion. The consequences of wars no
one is wise enough to foresee; the questions which they really adjust,
how few! the questions which they open for future generations, how
many !

Notwithstanding the position taken by Messrs. Adams, Clay, Bayard,
and Gallatin, at Ghent, that our treaty rights were not abrogated by

In the enclosed letter he has ventured to deviate, and has assigned his reason for it. I
think, however, that I ought to oommunicate it to you.

I have no papers, that I recollect, that can be of any service to him. I ])ulilished in the Boston
Patriot all 1 recollect of the negotiations for pence in 1782 and 1783. But I have no copy of
that publication in manuscript or print, and I had hoped never to see it or hear of it again.

All that I can say is, that I icould continue this zcar forever, rather than surrender une acre of
our territory, one iota of the fisheries, as established by the third article of the treaty of 1783, or
one sailor imp rcssc/l from any merchant ship.

I will not, however, say this to my .son, though I shall be yeiy much obliged to you if you
will give hiui orders to tlie same ertect.

It is the decree of Providence, as I believe, that the nation must be purified in the furnace
of afllietion.

Yi>u will be so good as to return my letter, and believe me your respectful fellow-citizen and
sincere public and private fiieud, JOHN ADAMS.

President Madison.

163

the war, the British government revived their pretension to the con-
trary iminedlatel}' after the peace. An American vessel was fallen in
with by the armed ship the Jaseur, Locke, commander, in Juno, 1815,
when about forty-five miles from Cape Sable; and her papers were en-
dorsed, "Warned off the coast, not to come within sixty miles." So
extraordinary a procedure was promptly disavowed as unauthorized;
but discussions ensued, which were terminated, in 1818, by the conclu-
sion of a treaty that embodied a compromise of the adverse views of
the two cabinets, and which is still in force. The article is as follows:

"Whereas differences have arisen respecting the liberty claimed
b}^ the United States, for the inhabitants thereof, to take, dry and cure
fish on certain coasts, bays, harbors and creeks, of his Britannic
^fajesty's dominions in America, it is agreed . between the high con-
tracting parties that the inhabitants of the said United States shall
have forever, in common with the subjects of his Britannic Majesty,
the liberty to take fish of every kind on that part of the southern coast
of Newfoundland which extends from Cape Ray to the Rameau
islands, on the western and northern coast of Newfoundland; from
the said Cape Ray to the Quirpon islands, on the shores of the Mag-
dalene islands, and also on the coasts, bays, harbors and creeks from
Mount Joly, on the southern coast of Labrador, to and through the
Straits of Bellisle, and thence northwardly indefinitely along the coast;
without prejudice, however, to any of the exclusive rights of the Hud-
son's Bay Cojnpany ; and that the American fishermen shall also have
liberty, Ibrever, to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, har-
bors and creeks of the southern part of the coast of Newfoundland,
hereabove described, and of the coast of Labrador; but so soon as the
same, or any portion thereof, shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for
the said fishermen to dry or cure fish at such portion so settled, with-
out previous agreement for such purpose, with the inhabitants, pro-
prietors, or possessors of the ground. And the United States hereby
renounce, forever, the liberty heretofore enjoyed or claimed by the
inhabitants thereof, to take, dry, or cure fish, on or within three marine
miles of any of the coasts, bays, ci'eeks or harbors, of his Britannic
Majesty's dominions in America, not included within the above men-
tioned limits : provided, however, that the American fishermen shall
be admitted to enter such bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter,
and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood and of obtain-
ing water, and for no other purpose whatever. But they shall be
under such restrictions as may be necessary to prevent their taking,
drying, or curing fish therein, or in any other manner whatever
abusing the privileges hereby reserved to them."

The distinguishing features of this article, as compared with the
stipulations of the treaty of 1783, are obviously two : first, that we
gave up the catchivg along certain shores ; and, secondly, that our
facilities of drying and curhig were increased. The practical construc-
tion of both governments has been, until a very recent period, that
our vessels could /s/i everyv^^here, as under the treaty of 1783, except
with'ui three miles of certain coasts; in other words, that our rights were
not impaired on the southern shore of Newfoundland, between Cape
Ray and the Rameau islands, on the western and northern shores of

164

Newfimndland, from said Cnpe Ray to the Qulrpon islands, at the
Magdalen islands, between Mount Jol}^ and the Straits of Bellisle, and
through these straits to an indednile extent along the shores of Lab-
rador; while elsewhere in British America we retained the sea JisherieSf
hut surrendered the inner or shore fisheries.

During the discussions abroad, in consequence of the outrage of the
Jaseur and other British cruisers, Congress were not unmindtul of the
fishing interest, both to repair the wrongs of unauthorized captures
and to afford protection against foreign competition. The tariff of
1816 imposed a duty of one dollar the quintal on foreign dried or
smoked fish imported into the United States, two dollars the barrel on
salmon, one dollar and fifty cents the barrel on mackerel, and one
dollar the barrel on all other kinds of pickled fish. So, in 1817, an
act was passed which required that all officers, and three quarters
of the crews of vessels employed in the cod-fishery, and claiming the
bounty or allowance, should be American citizens, "or persons not the
subjects of any foreign prince or state ;" while no such vessel, it was
provided by further enactments, should be deprived of bounty, if
prevented from fishing the full time prescribed by law, by reason
of detention or seizure by British ships-of-war.

In the revision of the tariff' in 1824, there was no change in the rates
of duty imposed on foreign fish. These rates were continued also in
the tariffs of 1828 and 1832. Thus, in four revisions, the principle of
ample protection was preserved, except that the products of the sea,
like all other commodities imported, were subject to the provisions of
the "compromise" measure introduced by Mr. Clay. In the present
tariff, specific duties on fish are entirely abolished, and the uniform rate
of twenty per cent, ad valorem substituted, which on some kmds is
merely nominal, and on all insufficient. The ad valorem system has
proved extremely beneficial to British colonists. In fact, having driven
us from the markets of Catholic Europe, they are in active competition
with us for our own.

The question of "bounty," or allowance to vessels einployed in the
cod-fishery, will next engage our attention. The act now in force
was passed by Congress in 1819. Its provisions, the construction
given to it, as w^ell as the rules to be observed by the collectors of the
customs, will be found in the circular of the Secretary of the Treasury
of February 20, 1852. Before inserting this carefully prepared docu-
ment, which supersedes all former instructions and regulations on this
subject, I may remark, that the course of the government has not only
beenjust, but liberal, towards those who, in peculiar cases, have applied
ff>r rehef. Many specicil acts of Congress, lor the payment of the bounty
or allowance, are to be found scattered through the statute-book. These
acts embrace cases where the original fishing agreements required by
law were burned, or otherwise accidentally destroyed ; where vessels
were known to be lost at sea, or were never heardof after leaving port,
or were driven on shore and wrecked ; and where sickness and death
prevented the completifm of the tijll term of time at sea. The petitions
of owners whose vessels were "unlucky" on the fishing grounds, and
returned with "broken fares ;" whose articles of agreement were in-

165

formal or incomplete; or, whose masters proceeded upon fishing voy-
ages under licences to follow the coasting trade, have been rejected.

Much has been said, from time to tim3, about the extent of frauds in
procuring the allowances authorized under the system of bounties. As
late as 1840, the Senate of the United States caused an investigation,
in order to ascertain the truth of special and of general allegations.
The proper officers of the treasury communicated to that body several
documents containing all the information in their possession, which
show that there had been instances of mistaken construction of the
law, of ncn-corapliance with the prescribed rules and forms, and of
actual fraud. But the number, of all descriptions, was limited, and of
the latter, especially, very small. Still, it cannot be doubted that, as
in every other business, so7ne dishonest men are concerned in this
branch of industry, and defraud both the government and the persons
whom they employ, whenever opportunity to do so occurs. It would
seem that, under this circular, Iraudulent owners and masters must
soon disappear, since the most daring and expert, in the past, will
hardly adventure upon making the false records and representations,
upon committing the forgeries and perjuries, which will be necessary
to evade its provisions. In a word, the officers of the customs, if faith
ful to their duty, can put an end to corruption, and of consequence to
the demands to repeal the "fishing bounty allowances," often made on
the ground that our fishermen, whether honest or dishonest, claim and
receive almost at pleasure the money of the government.

Circular instructions to certain collectors of the citstoms relative to fishing

houniy allowances.

Treasury Department,

Fehruary 20, 1852.

For the purpose of producing unif jrmit}^ in the requirements of proofs
by collectors who are charged with the allowance of bounty on the
tonnage of vessels employed in tlie bank or other cod-fisheries, it has
been deemed advisable to embody the existing regulations, prescribed
during a series of years past for the execution of the laws on that sub-
ject, in the present instructions.

To entitle fishing vessels to the allowance of bounty, the laws require
that they shall have been exclusively employed in the cod-fishery at
sea a specified period between the last day of February and the last
day of Novemb(^r, under certain restrictions and conditions. No allow-
ance can be made unless the proofs herein pointed out are duly made
in good faith, and presented to the collector at the custom house where
the cod-fishing license was issued, for his decision. These indispen-
sable proofs are set forth, with the necessary explanations, as follows :

1. In the case of a vessel of twenty tons burden or upwards, the
original agreement made previous to the fishing voyage or voyages of
the vessel between the master or skipper thereof, and every fisherman
employed therein, not being an apprentice or servant of the master
skipper or owner, which original agreement must be endorsed or coun-
tersigned by the owner of the vessel or his agent, and must express

166

whether the same is to continue for one voyage or for the season;
and u]>(> sU])ulrUe tljiit the lish or the proceeds of such fishinq voyage
or voy;in;es, wliicli may appertain to the fishermen, shall Ite divided
among them in proportion to the quantities or number of said fish which
each fishermnn shall have respectively caught, together with an affida-
vit or affirmation of the owner, his agent or legal representative, show-
ing expressly that such agreement or agreements contain the true and
actual contracts under which the cod-fisheiy was pursued on board
such vessel during the period required for the allowance of bounty.

In the case of a boat or vessel of more than five and less than twenty
tons burden, an account from the owner of such boat or vessel, show-
ing th;it there have been landed therefrom during the preceding S':"ason
at least twelve quintals of fish, when dried and cured fit for expijrta-
tion, according to the weight thereof at the time of delivery when ac-
tuall}^ solcj, for each ton of the admeasurement of such boat or vessel ;
the original adjustment and settlement of the fare or fares embracing
the period required for the allowance of bounty, among the owners and
the fishermen of such boat or vessel; a written account of the length,
breadth, and depth of such boat or vessel, and the time she has actu-
ally been emplo3^ed at sea in the cod-fisher}' exclusively in the prece-
ding season; and the affidavit or affirmation of the owner or his agent,
showing that each of these three documents is true.

In all these cases of vessels above as well as under twenty tons bur-
den, the affidavits or affirmations recpiircd must be made before the
collector of the district in which the (;od-fishinG^ license w^as issued.

No fishing vessel of which the fishermen, or any one of them, are
compensated for their services on board by wages, or in any other man-
ner than by the division of the fish, or the proceeds of the same, as re-
quired by law, is entitled to bounty ; but the cook, where one is em-
ployed, being regarded as the servant of the skip])er and crew, may be
compensated by wages without impairing the claim of the vessel to
bounty.

2. No fishing vessel is entitled to the allowance of bounty imless it
is shown by sufficient proof that the master and three-fourths of her
crew are citizens of the United States.

3 Every fishing vessel for which bounty is intended to be claimed
must b(^ examined, previous to her departure on a fishing voyage, by
the proper officer of the customs, designated for that duty by the collec-
tor of the district where her license was issued, or some other district,
on account of his competent knowledge of the re(]uisites of a, proper
outfit for the cod-fishery. Such officer will certify in writing whether
she is sea-worthy, and duly fitted with proper ground tackle, and other
necessary equipment; describing her fishing gear, and stating whether
she has a sufficient crew for her tonnage; and whether the master and
three-f()urlhs of the crew are citizens of the United States. Such cer-
tificate must be obtained in all cases. And in vessels of twenty tons
and upwards, it should appear by this certificate whether the fishing
agreement has been duly executed by the parties required by law.
The litllowing is an approved f()rm of a certificate wluni the inspecting
officer is satisfied that the vessel is sea-worthy, well fitted, and all
other re(|uisites duly complied with :

167

District of , ]J07-t of , 18

This certifies that I have examined the , of

whereof is master; that she is sea-worthy, well found in

sails, rifrging, cables, anchors, and fishing gear, suitable for the cod-
fisheries; that her crew is sufficient for her tonnnge, being composed of

persons; that the master and three-fourths of her crew are

citizens of the United States; and that in all respects said vessel is
fitted for the cod-fisheries agreeably to the provisions of law, [adding
in the case of a vessel of twenty tons and upwards,] and that the agree-
ment between the master and fishermen is duly executed by them and
the owner, or his agent.

The proofs of inspection may remain, with the other pnpers of the
vessel, to be presented to the collector with the other proofs.

4. The legal necessity of keeping journals or log-books on board fish-
ing vessels at sea was, several years since, expressly laid down by the
circuit court of the United States for the eastern circuit, in decreeing
forfeiture of a fishing vessel for false statement of the time employed in
the cod-fishery for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining bounty. Such
journals or log-books were required by the regulations of 22d Decem-
ber, 1848, to be produced to collectors in support of all claims to
bounty. It is understood that this requirement has been perverted at
some ports by regarding memoranda in almanacs, and other memo-
randa even more exposed to after-fabrication, as sufficient. If the
owners of fishing vessels choose to send them on voyages without re-
quiring regular journals or log-books to be kept on board from day to
day, they have the undoubted right to do so; but it must be distinctly
understood that hereafter no claim for bounty on the tonnage of any
vessel, as having been emplo3'ed in the cod-lishery, can be recognised
in such cases.

Unless a regular journal or log-book is kept day by day on board a
fishing vessel while at sea, and such journal or log-book is produced to
the collector, duly verified by the oath or affirmation of the master or
skipper of such vessel, it will not hereafter be considered that the
necessary evidence of her employment at sea in the cod-fishery is pre-
sented. Such journal or log-book must contain the dates of her depart-
ure from, and arrival at, every port or place she may touch at during
her voyagers or fares, and state the material daily occurrences on Iward,
as is usual in other sea-going vessels, and must specially contain daily
entries of the catch of fish by each person on board.

5. It is also required that the ov^'ner or agent of every fishing vessel
of the burden of twenty tons or upwards, for which bounty is ckiimed,
shall make a certificate stating therein the particular days on which
such vessel sailed and returned on the several voyages or f;ires during
the season which comprises the period for which bounty is claimed. It
must expressly appear in this certificate that such vessel was exclu-
sively employed in taking codfish for the purpose of being dried or
dry-cured, for such period. This certificate must be subscribed by the
claimant, and sworn or affirmed to before the collector.

6. The master or skipper of every fishing vessel, for which bounty
is intended to be claimed, immediately on her arrival from any voyage

168

or fare of such fi?:hciy, at nny port or place at wliich any officer of the
customs is stationed, must report such arrival to such officer, who is
required to examine such vessel, her papers, equipment, and the quan-
tity of fish on board, and to enter the result of such examination in these
respects upon a record kept by him for that purpose, which is to be
returned to the collector of his district whenever required. In case the
master or skipper of such vessel neglects or refuses to make report of
his arrival, the officer will state that fact upon his record, with such
other particulars respecting such vessel as may come to his knowledge.
Such neglect or refusal to report by the master or skipper of any vessel
claiming bounty will operate against the allowance of the claim, unless
a flill and satisfactory explanation of such neglect or refusal is made
under oath.

The collectors of the respective districts will direct the inspectors at
the several ports therein, or where the district contains but a single
port the collector will detail an inspector, to examine all fishing vessels
arriving at such ports, requiring them to take down their names, and of
their masters, their employment, whether they had fish ori board, and
of what kind, and whether fresh, pickled, or otherwise, and report the
same to the collector of the district at such times as may be required.
On receipt of such reports of the inspectors he will advise the collec-
tors of the districts where such vessels were licensed, of the facts con-
cerning each; those licensed for the cod-fishery in one statement, and
other fishing vessels in another. It is important, for the prevention and
detection of fraudulent practices, that this duty be performed with fidel-
ity and circumspection by the officers of the customs charged with
making these records and reports.

7. From the original act of 16th of February, 1792, changing the
drawback on dried fish exported to bounty on the tonnage of vessels
employed in the bank or other cod-fisheries, it has always been held
that, to entitle any fishing vessel to bounty, she must be shown to have
been employed at sea exclusively in catching codfish for the purpose
of being dried, or dry-cured, during the period prescribed by law. It
is not required that the entire period be embraced in one voyage or
fare, or in voyages or fares immediately succeeding each other ; but it
is indispensable to the allowance of bounty that the period required
shall he co)nprehended in distinct voyages or fares in which no other
kind of fishery is pursued. No part of a fare or voyage in which hali-
but, mackerel, or any other fish, are taken as an object of pursuit, as
well as cod, can be reckoned as a portion of the time required by law ;
where other fish are taken merely as bait for cod, or as food for the
crew, no objection will be made, as such taking is regarded as strictly
subsidiary to the (;od-fishery; but if such other fish remain on board,
until the close of the fare or voyage and are cmTied into port, the fare
or voyage must be regarded as one of mixed fishery, which cannot be
taken into the computation of the time required by law for the allowance
of bounty. A vessel may be exclusively employed in the cod-fishery
at sea for one, two, or three months in a distinct fiire or fares in the
first part of the fishing season, then pursue the mackerel fishery under
the license required by law, afterwards may surrender her mackerel
license, and then complete the period required by law^ by another dis-

U9

tinct fare or fares, of exclusive employment in the cod-fishery, previous
to the last day of November. But the taking of mackerel by any ves-
sel under cod-fishing hcense, excej^t as bait or food for her crew, is
regarded as a violation of the license laws. Such illegal fishery during
any season will forfeit all claim to bounty for that season, and when
the fact is known to any collector he is instructed to refuse the allow-
ance hereatter accordingly.

Vessels employed in taking any kind offish for sale and consumption
in a fresh or green condition, as well as fish to be preserved by pickling,
are not within the bounty laws, and no voyages or fares in which such
fisheries are pursued can be lawtuUy computed as any part of the
period required for the allowance of bounty.

8. When the proofs presented fully satisfy you that all the require-
ments and conditions herein contained have been complied with in
good faith, you are authorized to p;iy the owner or owners, or his or
their agent or representative, of fi.->hing vessels, where exclusive em-
plo3mient at sea in the cod-fishery for four calendar months, at least, is
shown by the evidence herein retjuired.

If measuring more than five tons, and not exceeding thirty tons,
$3 50 per ton.

If measuring more than thirty tons, $4 per ton.

If the above thirty tons, with crews not less than ten persons, and
having been exclusively employed at sea in the cod-fishery three and
one-half calendar months, $3 50 per ton.

The allowance for one vessel during the season, whatever may be
her tonnage, cannot exceed $360.

9. Vessels exclusively employed at sea in the cod-fishery the full
time required to entitle them to bounty, and afterwards wrecked, may
be allowed bounty under the provisions of the act of 26th of May, 1824,
which requires the evidence of the loss of the vessel to be transmitted
to the Comptroller for his decision thereon. Under the act of March 3,
1849, this duty has been transferred to the Commissioner of the Cus-
tortis, to whom the proof, certified by the collector of the district to
which the vessel belonged, should be sent for his official direction
thereon.

Instructions will be given in due season in regard to the mode of
payment of bounty allowances, at and after the close of the year. To
obviate any responsibility which might otherwise devolve on collectors,
should such payments be made upon proof regarded as insufficient-
under the present instructions, it will be advisable that probable claim-
anis to fishing-bounty allowances be apprized, before the saifing of ves-
sels Oil their first cod-fishing voyage, ot the requirements of these in-
structions, which are intended to supersede and supply the place ot all
former instructions on this subject.

THOMAS CORWLN,

Secretary of the Treasury.

An account of the fishing grounds has been reserved for the conclu-
sion. Of those near our cities, and visited for the purpose of supplying
our markets with fish to be consumed fresh, it is unnecessary to speak.
Those within the limits of British America, and secured to us by

170

treaty, as well as those on the eastern coasts of Maine, are less gene-
rally known, and may properly claim attention.

Of the distant, Newfoundland is the oldest. That vessels from
Boston fished there as early as the year 1645, is a fact preserved in
the journal of Governor Winthrop. The " great bank," which has
been so long lesorted to, is said to be about two hundred miles broad
and nearly six hundred miles long. In gales the sea is very high, and
dense togs are prevalent. The water is from twenty-five to ninety-five
fathoms deep. The edges of the bank are abrupt, and composed of
rough rocks. The best fishing grounds are bc'twecn the latitudes of 42
and 4G degrees north. The " bankers," as the vessels employed there
are called, anchor in the open sea, at a great distance from the land,
and pursue their hazardous and lonely employment, exposed to perils
hardly known elsewhere. The fish are caught with hooks and lines,
and (the operations of splitting and dressing performed) are salted in
bulk in the hold, from day to day, until the cargo is completed. The
bank fish are larger tlian those taken on the shores of Newfoundland,
but are not often so well cured.

The first American vessel which was fitted for the Labrador fishery
sailed from Newburyport towards the close of the last century. The bu-
siness once undertaken, was pursued with great energy, and several hun-
dred vessels were engaged in it annually previous to the war of 1S12.
A voyage to Labrador, unlike a trip to the Banks of Newfoundland, is
not without pleasant incidents even to landsmen. The coast is fi-e-
quented for a distance of ten or twelve degrees of latitude. It has
been preferred to any other on account of its security, and a general
certaint}^ of affording a supply of fish. Arriving in some hc'U'bor eaiiy
in June, an American vessel is moored, and remains quietly at anchor
until a full " fare" has been obtained, or until the departure of the fish
requires the master to seek another inlet. The fishing is done entirely
in boats, and the number usually employed is one for about thirt}^ tons
of the vessel's register. Here, under the management of an expe-
rienced and skilful master, everything may be rendered systematic
and regular. As soon as the vessel has been secured by the necessary
anchors, her sails and light rigging are stowed away, her decks cleared,
her boats fitted, and a day or two spent in fowling and sailing, under
color of exploring the surrounding waters and fixing upon proper sta-
tions for the boats, and the master announces to his crew that they must
try their luck with the hook and line. Each boat has now assigned to
it a skipper, or master, and one man. At the time designated, the
master departs with his boats, to test the qualities of his men, and to
mark out f()r them a course for their future procedure.

The love of })ovver, so common to our race, is exemplified even here,
since the skippers of these boats, though commanding' each but a sin-
gle man, often assume airs and exercise authority which are at once
ridiculous and tyrannical ; while their ingenuity in explaining the causes
of a bad day's work, really occasioned by idleness, or by time spent
in shooting sea-birds, fr( quently puts the [)atience and the risibility of
die master to a severe trial. If fish are plenty, and not too distant
from the vessel, the boats are expected, in good weather, to catch two
Loads in a day. Their return, if laden, is the signal for the dressing-

171

crew, who are left on board, to begin a series of operations which,
when completed, leave the fish in the tbrm in which the consumer buys
them. From the dressing-table the fish are thrown down the hatch-way
to the Salter, who commences the process of curing by salting and
placing them in layers in the bottom of the vessel. It the master in-
tends to remain on the coast until his fish are ready for market, they
are commonly taken on shore as soon as caught, and there dressed,
salted and dried, before being conveyed to the vessel. If, on the con-
trary, it be his intention to dry them at home, as is now the common
practice, the Salter's duty is the last that is performed abroad. The
bait used in the Labrador fishery is a small fish called capiiin. This
small but useful fish seldom remains on the fishing-ground for more
than six weeks in a season ; a time which is long enough for securing
a full supply, and which an experienced and energetic master does
not often allow to pass away without one. The average produce of
this fishery may be estimated at about ten quintals to every ton of the
vessels employed in it, though the best masters are dissatisfied when
they fail to catch a fourth or fifth more.

The selection of a master is a point so important to owners that a
word upon his qualifications will not be amiss. Besides all the respon-
sibilities at sea which devolve upon a master in the merchant service,
he has cares and anxieties, which are unknown to that branch of mar-
itime adventure. His passage being safely made, the master of the
merchantman is relieved by the counsel and assistance of the owner or
consignee. But it is not so with the master of the fishing vessel. Du-
ring the period devoted to fishing, his labor is arduous in the extreme;
and come what will, in the desolate and distant regions which he visits,
his own sagacity and prudence are his only refiance. If, as not unfre-
quently happens, he be so unfortunate as to have among his crew two
Of three refractory spirits, who seek to poison the minds of all the rest;
if others, who boasted loudlj^ before sailing from home, how well and
quickly they could use the spUtthig-hiife, or how true and even-handed
they were in distributing the salt, prove too ignorant to be trusted ; or
if every man under his charge, without being dogged or incapable, is
still of so leaden a mould as to remain immovable under prcDmises of
bounty or promotion ; — these difficulties must be but new inducements
to use extraordinary personal exertions, and to preserve his reputation
at the expense of his health and strength. Even if there are none
of these embarrassments to contend with, his ordinary employments
require an iron frame, and an unconquerable resolution.

A friend who has seldom failed to accomplish what he has under-
taken, and whose life has been fitll of daring enterprises, has often as-
sured me, that while on the Labrador shore, his duty and the fear of
making a ^^ brolcn voyage^'' kept him awake and at his post full twenty
hours every day throughout the time employed in taking fish. "Once,"
said he, "I was deceived by every man that I had on board my ves-
sel, my mate alone excepted. Each shipped, as is usual, to perform a
particular service, and each boasted of his accomplishments in catching,
dressing down or salting away ; but there was neither a good boatman,
an adroit splitter, nor a safe Salter, among them all. My situation was
painful enough. I was interested in the loss or gains of the voyage,

172

and \v;is too poor and too young in command to bear the consequences
of returning without a full fare ; and, besides, I was never good at ac-
counting ibr bad luck, and felt that it was far easier for me, even under
these untoward circumstances, to fill my vessel, than to explain to
ever}^ one who would question me at home as to the causes of my
failure ; and the result of the matter was, that I got as many fish per
ton and per man as any vessel that I met on the coast."

"Another season," says the same friend, "while in the West India
trade I was disappointed in obtaining a cargo, and was compelled to
go to Labrador, or haul my schooner up. I was too restless to be
idle, and resolved upon fishing. It was three weeks too late ; and, on
attempting to ship a crew, I Ibund that no good men were to be had,
and that I must take raw Irishmen, and a drunkard for a mate.

The chances, as you may well suppose, were all against me ; but I
made the voyage and obtained as many fish as my vessel could carry.
But I always had pistols in my pockets, and enforced most of my orders
with a threat or a handspike. I slept full dressed, and with arms in
my berth. A battle with one or more was almost of daily occurrence,
and I was in constant fear either of losing my own life, or of being
compelled to take that of some one of my crew, to overawe the rest."
These incidents occurred on voyages made from a port on the frontiers
of Maine, and before the commencement of the temperance reform ;
and are, of course, to be regarded not only as having been rare in
former times, but as never happening now. But the master's duty, if
he be an efficient man, is never an easy one. If he would provide for
e%'^ery contingency, and make sure of a cargo despite of every adverse
event, lie must not even allow the full repose which nature craves. It
is upon his regularity and perseverance in procuring fresh bait, a service
which must sometimes be performed at the hazard of his hfe ; upon the
frequency of his visits to his boats, which are often miles asunder; upon
his readiness to use his own hands to make up the laggard's deficiency;
upon his economy and system in the use of time and outfits ; upon the
degree of energy and regularity which he infuses; and, finally, upon the
care which he exercises in dressing and salting the object of his search,
that the success or failure of the voyage mainly depends. INIasters
who are able and willing to sustain these varied and incessant calls
upon their bodily vigor and mental activity are to be found, probably, in
every fishing port. But it is very certain that the number has sensibly
diminished during the last twenty years, and that the transfer to other
and more profitable and ambitious commands is still going on. The
mercantile men of the commercial emporium of the North, and the
packet-ships of the commercial emporium of the Union, rank deservedly
high; but were their counting-rooms and quarter-decks to yield up all,
or even half, of those whose birth-places were on the two capes ot
Massachusetts, and whose earliest adventures were made in fishing-
craft, they would lose many high and honored names. So, too, were
either to cease recruiting from the same sources, the humble employ-
ment of which I am speaking would speedily become more prosperous,
in public estimation more respectable, and of consequence be consid-
ered more worthy of the care and ])rotection of our rulers.

173

The cod-fishery in the Bay of Fundy differs in many respects from
that of Labrador. It commences earlier, and is pursued more irreo-u-
larly, and to a later period of the season; while it yields a laro'er and
better fish, and, from the greater depth of water and rise of tide, requires
much longer lines. This fishery is pursued principally by the colonists
who live along the shores of the bay, and by the fishermen of tlie
eastern part of" Maine.

The vessels which are emplo3^ed in it, though of greater variety, are
neither so large nor so valuable as those which are required for the
more hazardous and distant fishing grounds ; and, unlike these, it allows
of the use of sail-boats of the smallest size, as well as of those which
can be propelled with safety and celerity by the oars of a single
man. The vessels anchor upon the outer grounds as often, and for such
times, as the weather permits ; while the boats keep within the passages
and about the ledges, with which the bay abounds. The time used
for fishing is just before high tide, and just before low water, which
states of the sea are called slacls. Most of the fishermen own or occupy
small farms, so that fishing is an occasional, rather than a constant,
employment with them. Two hundred boats are sometimes in sight at
Eastport; and when, by a turn of the tide or a change of the wind, the
little fleet draw together and float past the town in line, the scene is
not without interest even to those who have witnessed it for many
years.

From the earliest, or, as they are called, the sping fares of the cod-
fish obtained in the Bay of Fundy, are made a considerable part of the
table or c/?m-fish which are consumed in the New England States; and
next to the Isles of Shoals fish, they are undoubtedly the best. Those
caught in boats are seldom fit for dunning. They are commonly sold
fresh to the little fishing stands or trading establishments set up by the
more independent inhabitants. But, owing to a variety of causes, the
process of curing is so imperfectly performed, that none are so good as
those caught in vessels, and many are wholly unfit for human fJ^od.
The sprinkhng of lime, however, over the defective parts, (a practice
which some fishermen deem entirely honest,) will deceive the eye and
quiet the nasal organ of the inexperienced or careless purchaser. These
waters afford, also, a considerable part of the dried fish known among
dealers as liolloch, haJie, and liadduck. They are usually taken when
fishing for the cod, and by the same means. The "Quoddy pollock"
is a great favorite everywhere in the interior, and is to be found in
almost every farm-house of the North. The hake fishery of this bay is
small ; nor is it of much consequence on any part of the American
coast. The hake and haddock are poor fish, and neither commands
more than half the price of the cod. The hake, however, yields a
larger quantity of oil, and is, therefore, held in estimation by those who
catch it and are not compelled to eat it. The haddock, when fresh,
suits the taste of some; but when dried, it is without reputation even in
the hut of the negro, who is doomed to be its principal consumer.
There is a tradition in Catholic countries, that the haddock was the
fish out of whose mouth the Apostle took the tribute-money, and that
the two dark spots near its gills preserve to tliis day the impression of
his thumb and finger.

174

Particular mention of our cod-fishery on the coasts of Nova Scotia, in
the Bny of Chaleurs, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and elsewhere in
British America, may be omitted ; since the brief notice of the m:mner
of conducting it at Newfoundlimd, nt Labrador, and in the Bay of
Fundy, is sufficient to give a general idea of it, in vessels and boats,
in the open sea, in harbors, along the shores, and in the most distant
regions.

Slatisdcs of the cod-Jishery of Massnchisetts from the year 17G5 to 1775, and

from 1786 to 1790.

Towns.

Mai'blehead .
Gloucester ..
Manchester . ,

Beverly

Salem "

Newbuiyport

Ipswich

PljTiiouth . . .

Cob as set

Hiiigham.- „

Scituate

Duxbuiy

Kingsti^tn

Yarmouth . . .
AVellfleet....

Tnu'o

Provincetowu

Chatham

Nantucket . .
Weymouth . .
lu Mame

Total.

From 1765 to 1775.

Vessels an-
nually em-
ployed.

Tonnage.

150

146

25

15

30

10

50

60

6

6

10

4

6

30

3

10

4

30

8

2

60

665

7,500

5,530

1,500

750

1, 500
400
91)0

2, 400
240
240
400
160
240
900

90
400
160
900
320
100
1,000

25, 630

No. of
men.

1,200

888

200

120

240

60

190

420

42

42

70

28

42

180

21

80

32

240

64

16

230

4, 405

From 1736 to 1790.

Vessels an- Tonnage,
nually em-
ploye d.

90

160

15

19

20

10

56

36

5

4

2

9

4

30

11

30

3

30

5, 400

3, 600

900

1,235

1,300

460

860

1,440

200

180

90

360

160

900

550
900
200
150
31)0

No. of
men.

539

19,185 3,292

720

680

126

157

160

80

248

252

35

32

16

72

28

180

240
40
24

120

175

Statistics of the Jisherics of the U?iitcd States in 1840. — General view showin<y
the jyToduce, men, and capital enijdoyed in each State and Territory.

States and Terri-
tories.

o

Number of barrels of
pickled fish.

o

a ^•
= o

1"

a-S

Value of whalebone and
other productions of
the iisheries.

a
3

a

3r3
5*- >:

o o

1

n3

M

.9

1

Maine . .

279, 156

28, 257

389, 715

4,034

1,384

54, 071

1,714

124, 755

2,908
6,598

1,044

3, 630,' 972

487, 268
183, 207

117, 807

15, 2:34

3, 364, 725

633, 860
1,909,047

$2, 351

3,610

399

16, OOU

l,16t

2, 215

$526, 967

.59 68i1

New Hampshire...
Massachusetts ....

Ehode Island

Connecticut

Vermont

442, 974

45, 523

157,572

11,725,850
1,077,157
1,301,640

New York

New Jersey. ...

5

22,224

1,134

2,012

28, 000

71,292

30, 315

73, 350

425

14

400, 251
12, 000

1, 269, 541
80, 000

344, 665
74, 000
15, 240

7,987
12, 167

4, 150
23, 800

1,226
17C

58

165

7,814

55C

1,784

5o

6

949, 2.50
93, 275
16 460

Pennsylvania

Delaware . .

49, 704

142, 575

170 00(1

Maryland

88, 947

28,383

213 502

Virginia

262

North Carolina

2,385

2,387

South Carolina ....

1 617

Georgia

Alabama

2
9

Mississippi

Louisiana ^..

Tennessee

97

7

242

Kentucky

Ohio

3, 506

14

1

14

165

12, 210

Indiana I

1,150

Illinois !

28

Missouri i

Arkansas 1

Michigan

16, 535

73

9,021

60

453

67

13b

28 640

Florida

69, 000

6,000
155

10 000

Wisconsin ...

1,500

61 300

Iowa

Dist. of Columbia

24, 300

15, 500!

5^7

64 500

1

1

773, 947

472, 359

4, 764, 708

7, 536, 778

1,153,234 36,584

16, 429, 620

176

Statistics of the cod-Jishcry of the United States, exhibuing (he tonnage em-
j)Ioi/€d; boufitij paid to Jis hi /ig vessels ; imports of salt ; exports of dried
fish, and the value of the same.

Year.

Tonnage,

Bounty.

1789.,
1790..
1791..
1792..
1793..
1794..
1795..
1796.,
1797..
1798..
1799..
1800..
1801..
1802..
1803..
1804..
1805..
1806..
1807.,
1808.,
1809.
1810..
1811.
1812.
1813.
1814.
1815..
1816.,
1817.
1818.
1819.
1820.
1821.
1822.
1823.
1824.
1825.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1833.
1834.
18:55.
1836.
1837.
1838.
1839.
1840.
1841.
1842.
1843.
1844.
1845.

19,185

28,348
32,542
32, 060
50, 163
28, 671
30, 934
34, 963

40, 629
42, 746
29, 978
29, 427
39, 381

41, 521
51,813
52, 014
57, 466
59, 183
69, 306
51,998
34,486
34, 828
43, 233
30, 459
20,878
17,855
36,938
48, 126
64, 807
69, 107
76, 076
72, 040
62, 293
69, 225
78, 253
77, 446
81,462

94,756
101,797

98, 529
106, 188
102,454
111,445
117, 485

6:1, 306
80, .552
70, 064
72, 248
76, 036
66,551
54, 803
61,223
85, 224
76,990

None.
None.
None.

$72,965 32

9;}, 768 91

66.280 47

76, 889 63

80, 475 76

94,684 30

128, 605 87

87, 653 45

74, 520 92

104, 447 92

117, 173 .57

145, 986 73

152, 927 72

162, 191 99

161,254 17

142,911 89

47, 166 11

3,406 44

None.

None.

None.

None.

1,811 74

84, 736 26

119,919 51

148, 915 65

161,623 35

197, 834 68

170, 052 91

149,897 83

176,706 04

208,924 08

198,724 97

215, 8.j9 CI

206, 185 55

239, 145 20

261, 069 94

197, 642 28

20(», 428 39

219,745 27

245, 182 40

218,218 76

223, 784 93

2i:},091 03

250, 181 03

314, 149 00

Salt imported.

Bushels.
1,250,255
2, 355, 76(J
1,850,479
1,779, .510

2, 027, 332
2,958,411
2, 233, 186

3, 975, 922

2. 674, 251
2,891,453
2.471,969

3, 095, 807
3, 282, 064
3, 564, 605
3. 862, 804
3, 479, 878
3, 6.52, 277
3,941,616
4,671,628

1, 300, 177
No returns.
No returns.
No returns.
No returns.
No returns.

333, 344
2,020,131
6. 854, 821

2, 884, 504

3, 678, 526
3, 874, 852
4,711,329

3, 943, 727

4, 087, 381
5,127,657
4.401,399
4, 574, 202
4, 564, 720

4, 320, 489
3, 962, 957

5, 945, 547

5, 374, 046
4, 182, 340
5,041,424

6, 822, 672
6, 038, 076
5, 375, 364

5, 088, 666

6, 343, 706
7, 103, 147
6,061,608
8,183,203
6, 823, 946

Dried fish e.\-
ported.

Value of ex-
ports.

Quintals.

383, 237
364, 898
372, 825
436, 907
400, 818
377,713
406, 016
411,175
428, 495
3th2, 726
410,948
440, 925
461,870
567, 828
514, 549
537, 457
473, 924
155, 808
345, 648
280, 864
214, 387
169, 019
63, 616
31,310
103, 251
219,991
267, 514
308, 747
280, 555
321,419
267, 305
241,228
262. 766
310, 189
300, a57
260, 803
247, 321
265,217
294, 761
229, 796
230, 577
250, 544
249, 689
253, 132
287, 721
240, 769
188, 943
206, 028
208, 720
211,425
2,52, 199
250, 083
174, 220
271,610
288,380

$1,620

2, 400

2, 058

2, 150

1,896

623

1,123

913

757

592

210

128

494

935

1,003

1,081

1, 052

964

708

666

734

873

830

667

747

819

747

530

625

749

713

783,
746
588
626
709
541
602
567
381
699
803

177

STATExMENT— Continued.

Year.

Toimage.

Bounty. Salt imported.

Dried fish ex-
ported.

Value of ex-
ports.

1846

79, 318
78, 280
89, 856
81, 695
93, 806
*95, 616

Bushels.

Quintals.
277, 401
258, 870
206, .549
197, 457
168, 600
151,088

$699, 559 00
659, 629 00
609 482 00

1847

1848

1849

11,622,163
11,224,185

8,681,176

419 092 00

1850

365, 349 00
367 729 00

1851

* Maine, 45,528 ; New Hampshire, 1,916; Massachusetts, 39,982 ; Khode Island, 371 ; Con-
necticut, 6,785; New York, 1,034; totid, 95,616.

Statistics of j)lcMed Jisli exported from the United States and imported into

the same.

Exports.

Value. Imports.

Year.

Barrels.

1791

1792

1793

1794

1795

1796

1797

1798

1799

1800

18L)1 ,

1802

1803

1804

1805

18M6

1807 ,

1808

1809

1810

1811

1812 -

1813

1814

181.5

1816

1817

1818

1819

.1820

1821

1822

1823 ,

1824

1825

12

57,
48,
45,
36,
55,
84,
69,
66,
63.
50,
85,
75,
76,
89,
56,
64,
57,
18,
54,
34,
44,
23,
18,
8,
36,
33,
44,
55,
66,
87,
76,
69,
75,
72,
70,

426

277
440
929
999
558
782
827
542
388
935
819
831
482
670
615
621
957
777
674
716
636
833
436
232
228
426
119
563
916
429
127
728
559
.'w2

Kegs.

5, 256

7,351

6,229

15, 993

12, 403

10, 424

13, 229

11,565

13,045

7,207

10, 155

13, 743

3,036

9,380

5,964

9,393

3,143

588

87

3, 062

6,983

15, 551

7,400

6,746

7,309

4,162

7,191

8, 349

12, 911

10, mQ

Dollars.

560, 000
640, 000
348, 000
366, 000
302, 000
98, 000
282, 000
214, 000
305, 000
146, 000
§1,000
50, 000
218, 000
221,000
3i5, 000
317, 000
409, 000
538, 000
264, 000
249, 108
270, 776
263, 019
248, 417

Barrels.

1.171
1, 726

1, 842
6,011

2, 560

178

STATEMENT— Continued

Year.

1826.

1827,
18-28.
1820,
1880,
1831.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1636.
1837.
1838.
1839.
1840.
1S41.
1842.
1843.
1844.
1845.
1846.
1847.
1848.
1849.
18.50.
1851.

Exports.

Barrels.

85, 445
G(), 123
63, 928
61,629
66,113
91,7»7
102, 770
86, 442
61,638
51,66]
48. 182
40,516
41,699
23, 831
42, 274
36, 508
40, 846
30, 544
46,170
44,203
57, 060
31,361
23, 736
25, 835
19, 944
21,214

Kegs.

Value.

Dollars!.

Imports.

11,4.59 i 257,180

7,446 j 240,276

4,205 I 240,7;?7

3,207 ! 220,527

6, 723 i 225, 987

8,594 j 304,441

4,0^)0 ! 308,812

3,636 I 277,973

2,344 i 223,290

3,487 i 224,639

3, 575 I 221, 426

3,4.30 181,334

2,667 I 192,758

3,975 I 141,320

2,2.52 179,106

3,349 • 148,973

4, 559 I 162, 326

1 16, 042

' 197,179

208,654

1 230,495

136,221

109,315

93,085

{ 91,445

3,215 1 113,932

Barrels.

1,342

1,680

955

1,232

2,727

7,320

2,400

2, 512

3,747

13, 843

14, 107

7,910

7,493

25, 493

18,013

14, 678

12, 334

43, 542

30, .506

31,402

31,113

122, 594

13S, 508

108, 300

145, 368

THE MACKEEEL FISHERY.

From the settlement of Neiv England to the year 1S52.

It is frequently said tHht the mackerel fi.shery i.s of very recent origin,
or that, at least, vessels were not emplo3'ed in it until about the close of
the last or the beginning of the present century. Both suppositions are
entirely erroneous. The Indians, regardless of the beautiiul form and
color of the fish, called it ivawwunneTceseag, on account of its fatness.
There is mention of it in the earliest records of the country. Winthrop
relates that, in 1633, the ship Griffin, two days before her arrival at
Boston, lo.st a passenger by drowning, as he was casting forth a line to
catch mackerel. The first settlers mu.^t have cinnmenced the fishery
soon after, since — to omit several minor incidents — we have the fact
that Allerton, one of the Pilgrims who came over in the JMayflower,
received mackerel for sale nt New Haven, on "half profits," in the yeviT
16-53. That the business was prosecuted with success is evident from
the additional fact, that in 1660 the connnissione*-*' ^k ilie colonies of
New England recommended to the general courts of the confederacy
to regulate it, "con.^idering" that "the fish is the most staple com-

179

modity of this countiy." The mackerel fishery at Cnpc Cod was held
by the government of the colony of Plymouth ;i.s public property"-, and
its profits were appropriated to public uses. The records show that it
was rented, from time to time, to individuals, who paid stipulated sums,
and that a 'part of the fund to support the first free-school established by
our FUgrim fathers was derived fom it.

The proposition to found and endow a school of this descriplion
seems to have been made in 16G3, but not to have been adopted until
seven years later, when the general court, "upon due and serious
consideration, did freely give and grant all such profits as might or
should annually accrue to the colony," from this and the bass and her-
ring fisheries, at the same place. In 1689, the " rent of the Cape fishery
was added to the appropriation for magistrates' salary for that year."

Exact statements as to the progress and extent of the mackerel
fishery previous to the Revolution, are hardly to be found; but it is still
certain that the people of Rhode Island and Connecticut, as well as
those of Massachusetts, were "largely concerned in it," and that fleets
of sloops employed in it were often seen upon the coast and in tlie har-
bors. It is certain, also, that about the 3'ear 1770, the town of Scituate,
alone, owned upwards of thirty vessels that w^ere annually fitted out
as "mackerel catchers;" and that the whole number of vessels in
Massachusetts was not less thnn one hundred. Soon after the peace of
1783, a writer in a Boston newspaper, in a series of articles on Ameri-
can commerce, said that the mackerel fishery "was of more value to
Massachusetts than would be the pearl fisheries of Ceylon."

There is little of interest relating to this branch of industry l()r sev-
eral years after the period last mentioned. A highly respectable ship-
master, who is still living, entertains the opinion that the fishery in ves-
sels wa.^ commenced within fifty years; and that " he was personally
engaged in the first regular mackerel voyage ever made in New Eng-
land." His account, as related to me by himself, would occupy too
much room. Its substance is, that, engaged in the coasting business
lor some time betw^een Massachusetts and Maine, he commonly saw
and caught mackerel, during the summer months, in the vicinity of the
island of Mount Desert ; that, believing that they might be taken in
quantities, he resolved, finally, to fit out a vessel for the express pur-
pose; that his success was even greater than he had expected, and
that others were induced to follow his example. The mistake of this
gentleman probably is, that what he considers the origin of the vessel
fishery was only a revival of it, since we can easily imagine that re-
peated losses and discouragements had caused a suspension of it.

The accompanying table of statistics will show the number of bar-
rels inspected annually in Massachusetts since the year 1804, and also
the fluctuations and uncertainties of the fishery. . It will be seen, that,
commencing with a catch of eight thousand barrels, the quantity was
actually less in 1808, and during the three years of the w^ar of 1812;
that the inspection rose to two hundred and thirty-six thousand barrels
in 1820, and declined more than half in the following year; that, again
increasing in 1825, and again declining until 1829, there was a consid-
erable gain in 1830, and that the largest "catch" during the W'hole pe-
riod which it embz'aces was in 1831, when the quantity inspected was

180

three hundred and eighty-three thousand barrels, or only twenty thott-
sand barrels less than the aggregate lor the six consecutive vears ending
in 1844

Legislation in behalf of this fisheiy has been extremely limited. Its
legal existence as a branch of maritime industry does not appear to
have been so much as recognised by the government of the United
States until 1S2S, when an act was passed by Congress, which author-
ized the collectors of the customs to issue special licenses for its prose-
cution, and extended to the vessels employed in it the provisions of the
laws then in force relative to enrolled and licensed tonnage generally.
It has never been allowed liill protection. In 1824, the Comptroller of
the Treasury instructed the collectors tliat it was not entitled to partici-
pate in the bounty or allowance granted to the cod-fishery; and that per*
sons who designed to claim for " bounty-fishing," ought not to be per-
mitted to compute the time and voyages in which their vessels caught
holh cod and mackerel, as chance or circumstances might direct, but
such time and voyages only as were cxdusivehj devoted to the catching
of the cod. In 1832, the same officer, in a second circular, defining
the law in another particular, stated thai a vessel under a mackerel
license, and with a "permit to touch and trade" at a foreign port where
she intended to procure her salt for the voyage, having but a single
cable and anchor, and unable to purchase additional gi'ound-tackle in
the port where she was owned, would be required, on her return to the
United States with a cable and an anchor obtained in her necessity at
such port, to pay the duties thereon; that the fish caught during the
voyage would not be entitled to bounty on exportation ; and that " it
admitted of doubt whether such fish would not be liable to duty." To
add, that, in 1836, Congress exempted vessels licensed for and em-
ployed in this fishery from forfeiture or penalty for catching the cod or
fish of any other description, and prohibited the payment of bounty- or
allowance to such vessels, is to complete a notice of the most mate-
rial laws and regulations which relate to it at the present time, the duty
imposed on foreign mackerel imported into the United States alone
excepted.

This dut}'-, prior to the tariff of 1846, was specific and ample. The
protection under the ad valorem system then introduced (less than be-
fore under all circumstances) has been, and must continue to be, often
merely nominal.

The modes of catching the mackerel have varied with time, and the
real or supposed changes in the habits of the fish. The original
method was probably in seines, and in the night. John Prince and
Nathaniel Bosworth petitioned the general court of the colony of
Plymouth, in 1671, in b(>half of themselves and their fellow-townsmen
of the "little and small place of Hull," within the jurisdiction of Mas-
sachusetts, to be allowed to continue to fish for mackerel at Cape Cod;
and stated, among other reasons, that they and others of Hull were some
of the first who went there ; and that by " beating about by evening,"
and " travelling on the shores at all times and seasons," thc}^ had ''■dis-
covered titc u-ay to take them in light as well as in dark nights^ This
shows the practice of the early settlers. The court of Plymouth,
liowevcr, in 1684, prohibited " the taldng mackerel ashore with seines

or nets," and ordered the forfeiture of these implements, and the ves-
sels and boats, of persons who violated the decree.

The mode of catching by "bobbing," or with "fly-lines," is said to
have been introduced about the year 1S03, by the fishermen of Glou-
cester: these lines are still in use at sea. The course of our fishermen
in pursuit of the mackerel is commonly and substantially as follows :
The master of the vessel, after reaching some w^ell known resort of the
fish, furls all his sails except the m:iinsail, brings his vessel's bow to
the wind, ranges his crew at proper intervals along one of her sides,
and, without a mackerel in sight, attempts to raise a school, scool, or shoal,
by throwing over bait. If he succeeds to his wishes, a scene ensues
which can hardl}'' be described, but which it were w^orth a trip to the
fishing ground to witness. I have heard more than one fisherman say
that he had caught sixty mackerel in a minute ; and when he w^as told
that at that rate he had taken thirty-six hundred in an hour, and that,
with another person as expert, he would catch a whole fare in a single
day, he would reject the figures, as proving nothing beyond a wish to un-
dervalue his sldll. Certain it is, that some active young men wdll haul
in and jerk off a fish, and throw out the line for another, with a single
motion ; and repeat the act in so rapid succession, that their arms seem
continually on the swing. To be " high-line,"* is an object of earnest
desire among the ambitious ; and the muscular ease, the precision,
and adroitness of movement which such men exhibit in the strife, are,
admirable. While the scool remains alongside and will take the hook,
the excitement of the men and the rushing noise of the fish, in thcit '
beautiful and manifold evolutions in the water, arrest the attention of
the most careless observer.

Olitentimes the fishing ceases in a moment, and as if put an end to
by magic : the fish, according to the fishermen's conceit, panic-stricken
by the dreadful havoc among them, suddenl}^ disappear from sight.

Eight, ten, and even twelve thousand have been caught, and must
now be "dressed down." This process covers the persons of the crew,
the deck, the tubs, and everything near, with blood and garbage; and
as it is often performed in darkness and weariness, and under the reac-
tion of overtasked nerves, the novice and the gentleman or an iteur
fisher, who had seen and participated in nothing but keen sport, become
disgusted. They ought to remember that in the recreations of man-
hood, as in those of youth, the toil of hauling the hand-sled up hill is
generally in proportion to the steepness and slipperiness which tave
the pleasurable velocity down.

The approach of night or the disappearance of the mackerel closing
all labor with the hook and line, the fish, as they are dresstd, are
thrown into casks of water to rid them of blood. The deck is then
cleared and washed; the mainsail is hauled down, and the foresail is
hoisted in its stead; a lantern is placed in the rigging; a watch is set to
salt the fish and keep a lookout for the night; and the master and the
remainder of the crew at a late hour seek repose. The earliest gleams
of light find the anxious master awake, hurrying forw^ard preparations
for the morning's meal, and making other arrangements for a, renewal

* To cateh the greatest number of fish.

182

of the previous clay's work. But the means which were so successful
then fail now, and perhaps for Jays to come; for the capricious crea-
tures will not take the hook, nor can all the art of the most sagacious
and experienced induce them to bite.

Repeating, however, essentialljnhe operations which I have described^
from time to time, and until a cargo has been obtained, or until the
master becomes discouraged, or his })rovisions have been consumed,
the vessel returns to port and hauls in at the inspector's whaif, where
the fish, many or few, are landed, sorted into three qualities, weighed,
repacked, resalted, and repickled. In two or three days she is refitted,
and on her way to the fishing ground for a second fare. Meantime the
owner, and all others who inquire "what luckV" learn from some wise
"old salt" (and there is always a Sir Oracle on board) how much hiowl-
edge the mackerel have acquired since the previous season. Having
been thus employed until the cold weather approaches, the smaller
vessels haul up, and their "skippers" pass the winter in cracking nuts^
relating stories, and accounting for bad voyages or boasting of good
ones; while the larger vessels go south, and engage in freighting.

The bait, which 1 have said is thrown overboard to attract the fish
to the surf ice, is usually composed of small mackerel or salted herrings
cut in small pieces. As economy and success alike require a careful
use of it, the master seldom allows otlier hands than his own to dispose
of it. It was formerly the duty of the man who kept the watch on deck
in the night to cut the bait on a block; but the hail-mill has taken place
of this noisy and tedious process. Nothing, certainly, in the lime of any
fisherman now living, has occasioned so much joy as its introduction.
This labor-saving, sleep-promoting machine, as constructed at first, was
extremely simple. It was a box which was made to stand on end, and
had a crank projecting through its side ; while internally it had a wooden
roller armed with small knives, in rows, so arranged that when the
roller was turned, the fish to be gi'ound or cut up should undergo the oper-
ation by coming between these rows of knives and others which were
arranged along a board that sloped towards the bottom. It has been
improved in form and efficienc}', and is in common use.

The superiority of sound, strong, and well-furnished vessels over
those of opposite qualities, ma}'^ seem too apparent to require a word of
notice. Many poor ones are nevertheless employed, and so are poor
masters; but the misplaced economy of trusting either is becoming so
perceptible, that their number is rapidly diminishing. Yet I may be
pardoned for relating a single fict, illustrative of the folly of retaining
in use a solitary vessel that ought to be, or one master that seeks to be,
in a harbor during any of the gales which occur on our coast before
the equinox. A few years ago, between Mount Desert and Cape Sable,
there were one day three hundred vessels in sight of each other ; and,
as was judged, they were mostly mackerel catchers, meeting with moi'e
than the average success. The moderate breeze of the morning iiesh-
ened towards noon, and as night approached there were strong indica-
tions of a storm. A movement was soon perceptible tliroughout the
fleet, and it finally scattered and sailed away. The staunch vessels
which wvxv. controlled by stout hearts sought an offing; but the rest,
the shelter of the nearest havens. Two thousand men, probably, were

183

tnus 1 liter ruplea n. neir employment; but mark the issue: the vessels
that kept their positions under tlieir storm-trimmed foresails escaped
unharmed, and resumed their business early the next day; while the
refugees were seen no more for four days, two of which were excellent
for fishing, and during that time many vessels caught from a quarter to
a third part of a full fare.

What has been said of the operations on board of a mackerel-catcher
at sea is to be received as general only, since circumstances modify
and change the ordinary course, and since, too, some masters adopt
means to suit their peculiar whims and fancies.*

As being more minute in some particulars, and somewhat different
in others, I insert the remarks of Captain McLaughlin, of Grand
Menan, as contained in Mr. Perley's excellent report upon the fisheries
of New Brunswick, in 1S51. The captain professes to give the mode
of proceedings on board of American vessels in the Gulf of St. Law-
rence and the Bay Chaleurs, and slates that his observations are the
result of ten years' experience in the fishery. "The vessel," sa3^s he,
"starts for the fishing around with the trail-line out: if it catch a
mackerel, the vessel is hove-to on the larboard side. Tlie baiter stands
amidships, with the bait-box outside the rail: with a tin pint nailed to
a long handle he begins throwing out bait, while ever}^ man stands
to his berth. If they find mackerel, the foresail is taken in, and the
mainsail hauled out with a boom-tackle. Then the fishing begins.
You haul your line through the left hand with the right, and not hand-
over-hand as 3'ou do lor cod: if you do, you are sure to lose your fish
after it breaks water. When your fish is near coming in, you must
take it by leaning over the rail, to prevent its striking against the side
of the vessel, catching the line quick, close to the fish, with the right
hand, unhooking it, with a sling, into the barrel: with the same motion,
the jio- goes out in a hne parallel with your own berth. You must be
quick in case a mackerel takes your other line, and entangles your

* The British mackerel fishery is unlike ours in several paiticulars. The vessels employed
in it are smaller, uets are in more common use, and a much larger proportion of the fish
caught are coasumed fresh.

The average number of fresh mackerel sold in London is upwards of one million annually.
This fish was first allowed to be cried through the streets of that city on Sundays in Ki9d ; and
the year following, Billingsgate, by act of Parliament, was opened as a free market, with pennis-
eion to the fishmongers to sell mackerel on Sundays, previous to the performance of divine
service.

The London market sometimes allows the fishermen to receive liberal reward for their toil.
In May, 1807, the first boat-load of mackerel seut there sold at forty guineas the hundred, or
for seven shillings each, (the count is six score to the hundred;) RUil the second fare brought
thirteen gidueas the hundred. But in 1808, the price on the coast, so large was the catch, waa
one shilling only for si.xty fish. Agaiu, in 1828, the supply was large, and more than throe
millions were sent to London. In 1831, the crews of sixteen boats caught in a single day
mackerel which sold for £5,252, or about twenty-five thousand dollars. Two years later,
10,800 fish were brought on shore on Sunday by the crew of one boat. In 1834, a crew earned
in one night upwards of five hundred dollars.

The English fishmermen make frequent complaints against their French competitors, and
petition to Parliament for protection. A mackerel boat, with suitable nets and other equip-
ments, may be estimated to cost about two thousand dollars.

The French mackerel fishery was established by Fouquet, near the close of the seventeenth
century, principally at Belleisle, on the coast of Brittanny. It has never acquired great im-
portance. The number of vessels from Dieppe (a large fishing port) in 1830 was only forty-
Sve, and .the catch vas valued at 280,000 livres.

184

comrade's. You fish wiih two lines, most commonly seven fathom,?
lontr — that is, in heavy weather. In cahn weather, the jiGf-" are lighter
than when it blows h:ird. There is fin eye spliced at the end of" the
line, so that the jiij may be shitted at ])leasure. There are two other
lines used, called fiv-lines, with smaller hooks: when mackerel are shy
in biting, they will often take these. The fly-lines are only three
fathoms long. Ver}' often the mackerel stop biting. Then the fisher-
men take the gafis, and work with these until the fish disappear, 'i'he
gaffs must not be used while the lines are out, as they entangle them,
and cause great trouble. No man must leave the rail to pick up fish
which miss his barrel and fall on the deck, until the fishing is over.
You must take care to dress your mackerel quickh', as they are a fish
that is easily tainted. When you stop fishing, the captain or mate
counts the fish, and notes down in the fish-book what each man has
caught. Then the crew goes to dressing and splitting. The splitter
has a mitten on the left hand, to keep the fish steady to the knife. Two
men gib the fish, wiih mittens on, to prevent the bones scratching their
hands. One man hands up the fish to the splitter, wliile the rest of the
crew draw water to fill the barrels in which the fish are put to soak.
The fish are put in the soak-barrels back up. In a short time the
water is shified, and the fish washed out for salting. The salter
sprinkles a handhil of salt in the bottom of the barrel, then takes the
fish in his right hand, rolls them in salt, and places them skin down in
the barrel until he comes to the top layer, which he lays skin up, cov-
ering the top well with salt. Herring or small mackerel are the best
bait that can be used. These are ground in a bait-mill by the watch
at night: if the vessel has no bait-mill, the fish are chopped up with a
hatchet, or scalded with boiling water in a barrel or tub. When there
is a fleet of mackerel-vessels fishing, they often lee-bow each other —
that is, run ahead of one another — and so draw the fish towards the
shore. There they anchor, and put springs on their cables, which is
done by taking a strap outside the hawse-hole and fastening it to the
cable, then hooking it to a tackle, and hauling it aft, at the same time
pa3'ing out the cal)le. This brings tlie vessel broadside to the wind or
current, and the fishing goes on. Boats maj- fish with the same success
as vessels when moored in this manner. This is the whole system of
mackerel fishing, British or American, and requires nothing but activity
and energv."

As already intimated, the mackerel is a capricious and sportive fish,
and continually changing its haunts and habits. When first seen upon
the coast in the spring, it is thin and poor. It differs essentially, from
one season to another, in size and quality. One j'ear it is fiit and large,
and is sought for almost entirel}^ in the Bay Chaleurs; anon it is lean
and small, deserts that bay and the adjacent waters, and frequents
George's Banks, or our own shores.* Sometimes, our whole fleet seek

* Paul Crowell, in a report on tlie fislieries of Nova Scotia, Februarj-, 1852, remarks :
"Tlie maeltprel in the spring generally strike the sonth ])art of Nova 8eotia. From the 18th
to the '2r)rh of May they come from the southward, failing,' in with the Nautncket and St.
George's Shoal; a large quantity come throiigl) the Sonth Clianucl, and, when abreast of Cape
Cod, shape their coni-se towards the south coast of Nova Scotia. Uiing bound to 15oston this
spring, about the Ittth of May, 1 met large schools of mackerel, about tilly of sixty, to tlie

185

it in vain in every American sea; at others, it is so voracious as to leap
from the water when lured by a red rao;, or attracted b}^ flics and other
insects. Some fishermen entertain very strange conceits wlih regard
to it, and aver that "it knows as much as a man." Under ordinary
circumstances, our vessels pursue it north and east, as the season ad-
vances; "make fares" in the Bay of Fundy in July and August; in
, the Bay Chaleurs in September; and sometimes in the latter bay and
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the month of October. More frequently,
however, they are following it on its return west and south, belbre the
equinoctial gale.

Of the fishery in the waters of New England there is mention, as
we have seen — incidentally — in the earliest records. The visits ot the
vast scools occurred, probably, at intervals, as at present. Winthrop

westward of South Seal island ; they appeared to be coming from Cape Cod, until nearly over
to the Cape. Their course may occasionally vary in consequence of strong southerly and
northerly winds ; they generally fall in on the coast to the westward a few days before they do
at Canso and Cape Breton. The chief places for netting and seining mackerel in the spring
are the Tusket islands, the west side of Cape Sable, east side of Margaret's bay, Little
Harbor, White Head, St. Peter's in Cape Breton, Antigouish, and several other places. As
there is no doubt but that the mackerel are bound to the Bay Chaleurs for the purpose of
spawning, it would lead us to believe that when one fish is taken with the net or seine, thousands
are destroyed which woidd otherwise likely come to maturity. Could the practice of taking
the fish with their spawn be abolished, it is likely they would be much more abinidant. The
mackerel, after passing the south coast of Nova Scotia, proceed to the northward, through the
Straits of Canso, and to the eastward of Cape Breton, making their way northwardly until they
are up with Shippegan, Bradelle Bank, Gaspe, Seven Islands, &c. After having spawned,
they continue about those places as their feeding ground, there being large quantities of lauts
there, which they feed upon, and couseiiuently become fat.

" As the season advances, about the numth of October the fish begin to make their way to
the southward, and continue to do so until the latter part of November. The practice of taking
mackerel with the hook and line has not been long in operation in Nova Scotia, and I believe
there never has been a voyage made with the hook and line on the southern coast of Nova
Scotia except at Sable island, where there have been some good voyages made. The fish which
resoit here are of a different quality from those which go to the Bay de Chaleurs, being much
larger and fatter. In 1850 the fish were plenty and took the hook well, but in 1851 the fish
appeared at times to be abundant, but would not take the hook. Mackerel here feed in
shallow water, within the bars or shoal edges of sand which extend in different places near the
island. The vessels, when employed in the mackerel fishery here, lie at anchor in about six
or seven fathoms water, and I am informed that mackerel have been discovered fiom the mast-
heads of these vessels, lying Mithin the ridges of sand. They are chiefly taken in bojits or
flats, which go over the ridges, when they sometimes appear to be lying on the bottom. Was
there a light-house erected on the northwest end of the island, I think it would be of great
service to those who tend the mackerel fishery, as they often have to cross the northwest bar
when they cannot ascertain the distance from the i.sland. As the season advances the weather
becomes changeable, and the bars being dangerous to cross in rough weather, our vessels
mostly leave after the last of September. The American vessels which fit out for the hook
fisheries are of a superior class to those in Nova Scotia. Their tonnage is generally from sixty
to one hundred and thirty tons, very sharp built, well fitted in eveiy respect ; those they term
the Sharp-shooters are very superior sailing vessels. This enables them to reach the fishing
ground and procure their cargo while those of Nova Scotia are actually carrying sail to reach
the fishing ground. Those vessels are likewise well manned, carrying from twelve to twenty-
four men; making an average, probably, of about fifteen or sixteen men to each vessel. In
1851 I was informed there were about one thousand sail of American vessels, which, with an
average of fifteen men, would give fifteen thousand. Some of these vessels, I heard, made
three tiips in Chaleurs bay for mackerel. Some, after having made one or two trips or fares
of codfish, proceed to the Bay Chaleurs, well fitted, taking sufficient barrels to cure their fish
in. These are partly filled with menhaden and clams, which are con.sidered the best bait for
mackerel ; others are filled with salt and water, which make ballast. When requii-ed for use,
they are emptied of their contents and filled with mackerel ; this keeps their vessels in good
ballast. They generally commence their fishing about Bradelle Bank, Shippegan, and follow
the fish northerly, until the season advances, when they return to the north side of Prince
Edward Island, and Cape Breton."

186

relates, under date of 1639, that there "was such a store of exceeding
large and fat mackerel upon our coasts this season, as was a great
benefit to all our phmtations," and that "one boat, with three men,
would take in a week ten hogsheads, which were sold at Connecticut
for ^3 12s. the hogshead." And it seems, from equally authentic
sources, that similar "stores" relieved the "plantations," occasionally,
at subsequent periods. In ^Nlaine, we have an account of a boat fishery
previous to the year 1G48. During tlie first half of the last century,
there are statements which show that a single vessel, fishing in Massa-
chusetts bay, often took eight hundred barrels in a season. In our own
day it has happened, on the sudden appearance of a scool, after a lapse
of years, that landsmen, women, and children, abandoned their accus-
tomed employments iofisli with pans, baskets, trays, pitchliirks, and the
like, and to prove how true it is that "necessity is the mother of inven-
tion." So, too, our fishermen, professionally equip])ed, even to the ile-
sittc and smi'-wcsfer, recall many an exciting scene between, and off, the
capes of Massachusetts, within the last twenty-five years. Thus, in
1S26, one hundred and fifty vessels and boats sailed from Gloucester
in one day, to hook, seine, or gaff, as circumstances should require, the
mass of fish that appeared near the harbor of that port; in 1831, one
hundj-ed thousand barrels were caught in fifteen days; in 1845, large
quantities were secured from wharves and rocks, in boats and on rafts,
in nets and cloths, by dipping and spearing; in 1847, "a store, exceed-
ing large and fat," were seen at sea, oft' Cape Cod, where boats could
not safel}^ follow, and, in the absence of a considerable part of the ves-
sels at the Bay Chaleurs, most were suffered to escape; in 1848, a fleet
of six hundred vessels and boats caught twelve thousand barrels in
one day, and fifty thousand barrels in twelve days; and in 1849, the
success of a smaller number of vessels, though much less, was yet
sufficient to retrieve the losses of other and more distant fisliing grounds
in the early part of that season.

Serious depressions and ruinous losses in the mackerel fishery are
not uncommon. Success does not depend on skill and industry alone.
The best masters make "broken voyages," for the obvious reason that
the mackerel does not always appear in sufficient numbers in any of
the seas or bays of New England, or of British America. The fishery
fails one year at home, a second in the Bay of Chaleurs, and a third
everywhere. Seasons occur when those engaged in it lose the use and
outfits of their vessels, and the wages of their men. Sometimes the
quality of the fish is so poor, that an average "catch" affords no profit;
at others, the success of the British colonists gluts our markets. Mean-
time, the most enterprising masters and owners, discouraged by repeated
disappointments and losses, abandon the business, and suffer their
wharves and packing-houses to go to decay.

In 1851 the fishermen were fortunate. The number of vessels em-
ployed in Massachusetts was eight hundred and fifty-three. The fishery
in our own waters, and in the colonial bays, was alilce successful ; and
these vessels, with eighty-seven others, owned in other States, but whose
fish were inspected in IMassachusetts, caught three hundred and twenty-
nine thousand barrels.

187

The following statistical information, which relates to these nine
hundred and forty vessels, is derived from returns made to the inspector
general of fish :

Where o^vne(i.

Number of

vessels.

Tonnage.

Number mea
and boys.

Boston

7
12

28
4
2

19

44

1

47

3

1

241

48

37

4

1

1

6

3

67

5

6

60

43

1

13

4

52

79

14

596

761
1,918

259

74

1,346

2,885

117
3,096

170

71

13,639

3,231

2,492

161
45
30

420

168
4,343

336

561

4,332

1,527

80

715

305
3,626
5,411

990

85

Beverly

97

Barnstable

339

Brewster

47

Charlestown

14

Chatham

230

Cohasset

561

Dartmouth

16

Dennis

585

Easlham

23

Essex

10

Gloucester

2,326

Harwick

577

491

L vnn

33

Manchester

3

Marblehead

5

65

Nantucket

30

707

J 1

Orlenns

54

65

Provincetown

688

283

Salem

9

119

Salisbury

48

Truro

581

Wellfleet

852

169

Maine

853

47

8

7

23

2

53,705

3,019

515

479

1,551

141

9,112
446

84

Rhode Island

71

255

Maryland

^b

940

59,410

9,993

188

It will be seen, that while more th;in one half of tlie Massacliusetts
vessels, in 1851, were owned in four towns, more than one quarter be-
longed to the single port of Gloucester. At present, Gloucester is the
great mackerel market of the country, and the merchants of many of
the principal cities have agents there to purchase and ship for them.
Twenty years ngo, Gloucester employed but about sixty vessels in the
fishery; nnd such are the uncertainties nnd fluctu.ations ot the businesS)
that its (lecliiie viaij be a,? rapid as has been its increase.

189

Statisncs of Che inochcfcljishery of llie Vnticd Slates.

Tonnaoje em-
ployed.

Mackerel iuspectecl.

Years.

lu Massachu-
setts.

In N. Hamp-
shire.

lu Maine.

1804

............

Barrels,

8. 079

8,936

8,473

10, 904

7,738

8,865

13, 058

19, 632

5,018

8, 832

1,349

16, 394

30, 021

37, 982

47,210

105, 433

236, 243

111,009

160, 294

145, 006

191,650

254, 381

158, 740

190, 310

237, 324

225, 882

308, 462

383, 559

212, 452

212, 946

252, 884

194, 450

176, 931

138, 157

108, 538

73, 018

50, 992

55, 537

75, 543

64, 451

86, 181

202, 302

174, 064

232, 581

300, 130

231, 856

329, 242
197, 708

Barrels.

Barrels.

1805

1806 . .....

1807 . . . .

1808 .... ........

1809 . . ...

1810

1811

1812 . . ..

1813

1814

1815

1816

1817

1818

1819

1820

1822

1823

1824

1825

33 065

1820

1828 . . . ,.

829 .. .

1830

20, 3000

21,450

21,700

19, 375

18,200

15, 300

9, 450

5, 225

3, 420

700

630

],100

1,050

1,175

1 , 240
1,075
1,369
2,008
2, 400

2, 867
3, 125

3, 0?3
2,140

1832

48, 725

1834

40 661

1835 .

1836 ... . ...........

25, 228
22, 462

46,811
56, 649

1838

24, 312

1839

1840

28, Q69
11,321
10, 096
11,775
16, 170
21,413
36, 463
31.451
43, 558
42, 942
58,112
* 50, 539

1842

1844

1845

1846

1848

1850

1851

31 . 472

1852

* Maine, 9, 858 ; New Hampsliire, 481 i Massachusetts 39,416; Rhode Island, 190; Con-
necticut, 594. Total, 50, 539.

190

Anmtal return of the numher of harrds, hdlves, quarters, and fighflis of bar-
rcis of mackerel and other juclilcd fish, estimated in barrels, inspected in
Massachusetts, for the year ending December 31, 1852, as yer the I'etur/is
of the deputy inspectors noiv in the ojfce of the inspector general.

Where inspected.

Number of
barrels.

Boston

Gloucester

li-veily

Riickport

Ne\vl)uryport -

Proviucetown

Truro

Wellfleet

Chatham -

Harwich

Dennis

Yarnidutli

Barnstable

Hinn;hani

Cohasset

PljTUOUth

Salem

The above includes all except two returns from Provineetown and one from
Scituate, estimated at

Total, 185-3

Keinspected at Boston

All other kinds of jnckled fish

Total amount of mackerel inspected in 1852 ■

Totid amount of mackerel inspected in 1851

Decrease of 1852 from 1851

39,8911
48, 012|
366J
5, 345i
11, 8()6
17,640
2, 540|
11,3(57^
5, 769^
9, 1470
10,290^
3, 2:»
3, 1981
13, 133|
1],61H|
67
14

196, 708^
1,000

197, 768i
19,7711

317, 540f

9,254

197, 7G8.i
329, 278

131,509i

191

Statistics of foreign mackerel imj)orted into and exported from the United
States, and of dried codfish imjJorted into the same.

Mackerel.

Codfish.

Year,

Imported into
the United

States.

Exported from
the United
States.

Imported.

Barrels.

Barrels,

Quintals.

Yaiue.

1821

7

387

67

790

242

87

39

38

95

391

4,552

32

20

223

8,1.53

6,037

1,256

182

7, 046

11,823

10, 887

1822

do

1823

do

1824

do

1825

do

1826

do

1827

do

1828

do ...

1829

.. do

1830

. do

1831 ,

do !

1832

„ do 1

1833

do

1834

1835

850
937

850

1836

1837

18:38

1839

4, 295
4, 061
2, 433

124, 303 00
19,3.55 00

1840

1841

19,262 00

1842

1844

1845

1846

1847

1848

1849

138, 5B5

75, 491

102, 638

23, 295
13, 577

18, 240

22, .520
25,115
14,705

43,709 00

1850

4.5,961 00

27,769 00

THE HEEEING FISHEEY.
From its comwx7iccment to the year 1852.
We hear of this fishery among the Pilgrims.* In 1641 they rented

* In the reign of James I, of Scotland, we find mention of the cnstoni or duty on the export-
ation of herrings — a proof that the fishery had then attained to importance in Great Britnin,
We leara, too, that the English, thinkmg it disgraceful that the Dutch, their rivals in com-
merce, should derive so much wealth from the coasts of England, set about prosecuting tho
heiTing fisheiy, and in the year 1580 raised the sum of £80,000 by a joint stock company.

lu 1760, there were employed on the coast of Yarmouth, England, 205 vessels of from thirty
to one hundred tons. In 1826, the shore herring fishery of England and Scotland employed

192

the herring wear at Plymouth for three j^ears to three men, " wlio were
to deliver the shares offish, and receive one and sixpence per thousand
for their trouble." We hear of it on the coast of JMaine, also, a few
years afterwards. Josselyn says that the "herrin" were "so numer-
ous, they take of them all summer long." In 1670, he continues, "they
were driven into Black Point harbor, by other great fish that prey upon
them, so ne;u- the shore that they threw thr-mselves (it being high
water) upon dr}^ land in such infinite numbers that we might have gone
half wa}^ the leg amongst them for near a quarter of a mile." He
repeats the account in his "Chronological Observations of America,"
wheie he states that so "wonderful" was the quantity, that "they were
half-leg deep for a mile together." Of the manner of cooking at that
period he remarks, tliat "we used to qualify a j)icklcd herrin by boiling
of liiin in milk." These incidents are sufficient to show the early
origin.

From the fragmentary notices of the fishery which are to be met
with, it seems probaljle that, for a long time, as the scools of herrings
came to our coasts, the inhabitants on the sea and rivers, from Maine
to the Carolinas, generally secured sufficient for consumption fiesh;
that the more careful provided themselves with salt to cure quantities
for future use; and that some, becoming regular fishermen, caught and
cured llie fish for sale to their neighbors of the interior. And that the
practice was continued, suljstantiali}-, without interruption, until the
watei'S resorted to by the herring for the deposite of its spawn were ob-
structed by dams and mills, is hardly to be doubted. It is certainly
true that, on some of the rivers, where the fishery is now nearly extinct,
the suppty at the revolutionary era was considered inexhaustible ; and
that farmers and fishermen were in the constant habit of filling wagons
ond boats at pleasure with scoop-nets and other simple implements.
Since the peace of 1783, the herring has abandoned many of its old
haunts, but is still caught in wears, seines, and nets, in various parts of

10,3().'> boats aud upwards of 44,000 fishermen; while the number of other persons connected
with it exceeded 31,000 persons. The quantity of herrings cured in that j-ear was 379,233
barrels. In 1831, the quantity cured was 4:)'.),37l) barrels. Two years later, the number of
barrels was 329,557, of which 181,654 barrels were exported. In 1837, the quantify was 451,531
barrels, and the largest catch known ; while the export was 27'2,093 barrels. The fish(>ry, at
this time, employed 11,284 boats ; 49,212 fisheiinen aud boys ; 1,925 coopers; aud 23,972 men,
Women arid children, in gibbing, packing, and other labor. The quantity of nets in use was
more than one million sipiare yards.

Yarmouth is a great herring mart. The vessels employed in the fishery cost about five
thoiLsaud dollars. The nets fonn a large item in the expenses of the outfit. The fishing voy-
age is short, not often occujiying more than a week or len days.

The commissii)uers of tlie Hriiish herring fishery, in their report, 1839, state that in 1810,
when the board of commissioners was instituted, the whole numln'r of barrels of herrings cured
Was only about 90,000 ; whereas the number iu the first mentioned year was 555,559 barrels.
Th(y' state, further, that this fishery, as a nursery fi>r seamen, is invaluable; that it enqjloys
50.000 fishennen, (meJi and boys,) and 1],3.")7 boats, and that " many of the best of our sailors "
were drawn from it during the \^;^rs in wiiicli Eiiglaud had been recently engaged.

The herring fishery of Sweden, three centuries ago, was extensive. Gotteiiburgh was its
principal seat. The fish finally disappeared from the coast, as is said, and did not again
appear for a long time. About the year KiOO tlie business was ne.-irly extinct; but the catch
Was large during the liftcen succeeding years. From 107.5 to 1747 the herring disai)peared.
From the last nu'utioned year U^ 1770, lish were abundant, the jjroduce of the fishery averaging,
probably, 150,000 barrels. In 1833, upwards of 48, ()()() barrels of herrings were imported into
Sweden : aud in 1840 the Gotteaburgh fishery was declared to be at aa end.

193

'ihe United States. Notice of the fisliery In particular towiis and neio-h-
borhoods is not necessary, and our attention will be confined to such
places as will serve to give a general view of it as prosecuted on both
rivers and seas.

Washington, in describing his Mount Vernon estate to Arthur Young,
remarked that its margin was "washed by more than ten miles of tide-
water;" that "several valuable fisheries appertained to it;" and that
"the whoje shore, in short, was one entire fishery." A shad or herring
fishery appurtenant to an estate on the Potomac adds much to its value
at the present time. As elsewhere, the herring sometimes fails to ap-
pear in this river, and the disappointment of the planters and their
servants is extreme. There are 3a"ars of great success. In 1831, fifty,
and even one hundred thousand fish were frequently taken at a hau'l.
In 1836 no less than three hundred wagons were at one place at one
time, each teamster " waiting his turn." On the other hand, the fishery
in 1843 was. unprofitable and disastrous; the outfit was large, and
many new landings were opened, but the fishermen cut out their seines
at the close of the season unrewarded and in sadness. Better results
followed in 1844, and the businessof catching, buying, counting, dress-
ing, washing, and salting, was animated at most of the principal land-
ings on both sides of the river, from Alexandria to the vicinity of the
Capes. In 1851, fourteen, twenty-five, and in one case ninety-five
thousand herrings were taken at a haul, and those engaged in the fishery
were fairty rewarded tt)r their capital and labor.

The sea fishery in Maine, from the Penobscot to the frontier, and in
the Bay of Fundy, is the most important. The herring in this region
is cured by salting and smoking, and by salting and pickling. When
by the first method, it is paeked in boxes; when by the latter, in
barrels. They were caught for many years by means, principally, of
lighted torches, made of the outer bark of the white birch. The prac-
tice w^as, and, to some extent, still is, to place a light of this description
in the bow of a small boat, about the favorite resorts of the herring, on
very dark nights, and to bail in, with a dip-net, all that w-ere attracted
to the surface of the water. A boat requires four men; one to dip, two
to row, and one to steer. While in pursuit, the boat moves with great
velocity, that the fish may be induced to follow the light, and that they
may be kept within reach of the man with the net, who stands in the
bow. The islanders in the Bay of Passamaquoddy have a story that
the discovery of the attracting properties of light was accidental. They
relate that a fishermnn who lived on Campo Bello,* and who chanced
one night to be on the side of one of its little harbors opposite to his
own house, on remembering that he had no fire at home, took some
chips and coals in a skillet to carry across; that, during the passage,
the chips took fire and blazed up; and, on his landing, he f)und that a
large number of herrings had Ibllowed him to the shore ; and that this
circumstance induced experiments, which resulted in abandoning the
former practice of using "set-nets" and "wears." But whatever the
origin of the torch-lights, they afford to the inhabitants of the frontier

* An island opposite Eastport, and on the British side of the bay, and owned by Admiral
Owcti, of the royal navy.
13

194

towns of Maine, and to the sojourners among tliem, an attractive scenev
To watch, from the liead-lnnds and beaches, the movements of the
"herring-drivers," has been a recreation there, of some, for years. The
spectator sees a spacious liarbor, and the coves and indentations in its
neighborhood, most beautiiiilly hghted up, as with hundreds of lamps,
and each Hght heaving and falling with the motion of the sea. Far m
the offing the torches, no larger to the eye than a candle's flame, move
and dance, approach and cross each other, and then vanish away;
while nearer, and perhaps within a stone's throw of the position which
he occupies, their red flare will reveal every act of the fishermen, as,
lime after time, the fish are bailed into the boat. On ship-board, too,
when entering or leaving the Passamaquoddy, these lights, seen in all
directions, serve to relieve lonehness, and to excite interesting imagin-
ings. Set-nets and wears are becoming favorites again, and it is not
impossible that in a few years the torch-lights will be completely ex-
tinguished in some of the harbors, and be very much diminished in all.
The herrings intended for smoking are washed soon after they are
caught, and the scales of all that are Iht enough to shed them are lorced
oft" b}- tiiction, when they are salted away in casks. As soon as they
are sufliciently " struck" with the salt, they are again washed, spitted
or strung upon small round sticks, and hung up in the smoke-house.
In spitting, as well as in hanging them up, great care is necessar}'" to
prevent the fish from touching each other. They are placed, tier above
tier, upon wooden fixtures supported by joists until the house is full.
The distance irom the lower tier to the floor is commonly about seven
feet. Fires of wood are now lighted ; and the great art is to manage
these fires in a proper manner, inasmuch as they must neither be too
quick nor too slow, and at times they require to be extinguished. Rock-
maple wood is best ; but any kind of fuel green from the forest is prefer-
able to the old and water-soaked wood sometimes used, to the serious
injury both of the color and the flavor of the fish. The smoking occu-
pies several weeks. To cure herrings well, good w^eather is quite as
necessary as good fuel and carei'ully-tended fires. After being suffi-
ciently smoked, the fires are allowed to go out ; and as soon as the
house has become cool the fish are taken down, slipped from the sticks,
sorted into three qualities, and packed in boxes. The houses in which
tlie smoking is done are mere huts, without floors, and without other
finish than rough-board walls, and roofs of the same, battened with
slabs. In some cases, however, a wiser use is made of money, and
sufficient expense is incurred to erect durable buildings. The upper
part and the roof are always intended to be tight, both to retain the
smoke and to exclude the rain and damp. These houses are of various
sizes — some being large enough to hold one thousand boxes of the fish
on the sticks, while others will contain no more than a fourih part of
that quantity. The largest and best finished are the most economical.
The business of smoking herrings is confined mainl}" to the region of
which we are now speaking. The price in the markets to which they
are usually sent is sometimes ruinously low, and the fishermen are often
deprived of adequate recompense for their labor. The quantity ex-

Sorted from the eastern part of Maine often exceeds eighty thousand
oxes in a year, while the average of ten years may be estimated at

195

three fotirths of that quantity. Besides these, some thousands of bar-
rels are annually pickled. The kind known among dealers as the
gibbed kerring, when properly dressed and cured, is a good article of
food, and a substitute for the second quality of mackerel.

Another sea fishery is that at the JVIagdalene islands, in which our
citizens are allowed to participate by treaty stipulation. It has been
thought to be of considei'able value as a means of employing vessels
(too small for carr3'-i.ng freight with profit) in the early part of the sea-
son. It has been prosecuted with various success. Our vessels visit
these islands in " spawning time," when the herrings are poor, and
the quality, if well cured, is not such to command a high price. For-
merly, so little time and care were bestowed upon them that many were
unfit for human food. Salted in bulk, as it is termed, they remained in
the hold of the vessel until her arrival in port, where they were packed
without being washed, and sv>?eltering in all their impurity. Some
masters and owners, to their credit, liave always been at the labor and
expense of curing them in a proper and wholesome manner. Of late,
smoking has been found preferable to pickling ; and whenever the fish-
ery is successful, many thousand boxes are sent to market. The seine*
is in commoa use at the Magdalene islands. The kind best adapted to
the fishery is large, requires some twenty or thirty men to manage it,
and is capable of enclosing and bringing to the shore several hundred
barrels at a haul. Captain R. Fair, in command of her Majesty's ship-
of-war the Champion, visited these islands officially in May, 1839,
and after the commencement of the fishery. He found the " quantity
of herrings very great, exceeding that of any former year; and the ex-
pertness and perseverance of the American fishermen" to be " far
beyond that of the" colonists. "About one hundred and forty-six sail
of American fishing schooners, of from sixty to eighty tons, and eacFf
carrying seven or eight men," were engaged in it, he continues, and
caught " nearly seven hundred barrels each ;" making for the number
stated "a, presumed product of one hundred thousand barrels, of the
value of one hundred thousand pounds sterling; the tonnage about ten
thousand, and the number of men about one thousand." Whatever the
statistics of the year in question, the average quantity of herrings caught
by our vessels is not probably forty thousand barrels ; v>^hile the price —
a iiound sterlivg the barrel — is quite fifty per cent., I suppose, above that

* The machine for the manufacture of "bobbinet" is connected sufficiently with our general
subject to justify brief refei'ence to it. The first machine was iierfected in the year 18'J'J.
From a minute account of the invention the fiillowing fects are obtained. A workman of Xot-
tiughg.m, England, employed in making machinery for the manufacture of fishing-nets, seized
upon a hint furnished by a child at play, and discovered by that means a mode of forming the
bobbia aud carriage, as now used in the bobbinet machine. At first, the invention was con-
fined to the manufacture of fishing-nets, but was finally, and after many failures, extended to
the matking of lace. The value of lace made by machinery thus introduced is now immense.
By reference to the statistics of 1831, it appears that, in seven towns and cities in England,
thirty-one thousand persons are employed in making, and cue hundred rhousand women and
children e-btain a considerable portion of their subsistence by embroidering it. The quantity
of cotton required yearly is 2,400,0()U peunds, the annual manufacture is 30,771,000 square
yards, and the aauu-al value is £1,850,650, and the permanent capital employed about
£'2,000,000. Nor is this oX\\ the manufacture has been extended to the continent, and
10,000,0(>0 yards, or about one-third of the quantity made in Great Britain, it i-s estimated, is
produced there.

196

generally received in any market in tbe United States for the article of
" Magdalene hernnsjs."

Herrings fatten as the season advances ; hence those taken occasion-
ally by vessels employed in the cod-fisbery on the coast of Labrador
are as unlike those just mentioned as possible. It is to be regretted that
so few fat and well-fiavored herrings are procured for consumption at
home, inasmucli as a more abundant su[)ply of the gibbtd fish, caught
in the Bay of Fundy and more distant regions iyi autumn, would doubt-
less lead to the disuse of the inferior kinds of dried figh, and render
poorer and badiv cured herritigs entirely unsaleable.

In America this fishery has ever occupied a subordinate place. But
some of the cities of Europe owe much of their present commerce and
importance to the wealth acquired in its prosecution. To persons who
are famihar with the character and rank of the mass of herring-catchers
of our day, an account of the mania on this subject in England two cen-
turies ago seems almost incredible.* Without space ibr details, or
even to relate incidents to show how vast were the projects, and how
magnificently rich were the joint stock associations, which were formed
by noblemen and princes of the blcwd — to catch herrmgs — I can only
remark that the "operators" in timber lands and corner lots of cities

" Fishing manias iu Great Britain have been frequent. We will briefly uotice several of
them. To comiiieiice no earlier, there was one in 1G77, wheu the Duke of York, ami other
personages of rank, were incorporated into a body entitled the " Couipauy of the Royal Fishery
of England." This cO'ir.pauy seems to have exhati-sted its capital in titting. out "fc«»ses,"or
vessels built in Holland, and manned with Dutch berrsug-ciitchevs, and to have been nisneJ
by the capture of a large part of their vessels iu a war with France.

A second was m 172i), when two thojisand of the prmcipa) gentlemea of Scotland foi-aaed a
company for the proseeurion of the herria^ fi«hery. This was a time noted for speculations ;
and the .Scotch Con^pany — a mere bubble — soon burst, leaving the shiU'ehol tiers to uiourii
over their tolly.

A third occfirred in 1750, when a company \vas incorpoi-ated with a capital of £500,000,
of which the Prince of Wales was president, or governor. His associates were amosg tho
lirst men in the kingdom. General Jauios Oglethorpe, the founder of the Stute of Georgia,
was a prominent member, and, on delivering the Prince the act of incorporation, made a
speech, which was published. The public excitement \ra3 intense ; the .stock was subscribed
for immediately; vessels rvere built and ecjwipped with the ntmost rapidity, aiwl artifiee* wer»?
resorted to in order to ascertain the Dutch utethod of curing the h-vrring Bvit the project
failed — as the Earl of Winehelsea and some other peers predicted it would — at the outset.
The suspension of this compauy was very injarious to the British herring-tishery generally for
a considerable period.

Men have been ruined in our wvw times for iiidtilging m tho same risjonary schemes.

la l^-OS, some English theorists of rank and iudneiu-e recommended a natidnni iishery on a
rase scale. The plan was plausible, b>it too complicated. Tiiese gentlemeji proposed " tl;a*
there should be a grand national corporation, under tlie inmiediale profectioji and superin-
tendence <>f Parliament,"' with a capital stock of , Mliich was to bp raised iu shares by

the seaport towns and corporations, proportioned to the advantages of locality and the amounS
of their trade and tonnage, and aJi annual dividend of 5 per cent, was to be guarantied on the
capital. ' Conveuiencvs for shipping, storehouses, shed.',' Ac, were to be 'constructed in
jilaces contiguous to the best fi.shing-gronnds.' ' A free u:<e of salt' was to be granted to 'the
managers without any inrerferenee of the revenue ollicers.' 'The fish taken and cured,' were
'to be exempt from all duties whatever,' and, * on the other hand, bo bounties' were *tobo
given.' ' Finhermen. disabled by accident, age, or infirmity, and the widows and^diildrea of
fisbc'-men,' were ' to be provided for.' Fiyally, 'the corporation' was ' to be authorized to
propose rules for the regulation and discipline of the lisbery.'''

As late as the year 18'25 we have similar projects, (though of prirate companies;) ss^ice,
among the immense joiat-stock c(mcerns which burst during the eonnuercial revulsion of
that period, we lind three fishing companies wliose aggregate capital (nominally) amounted to
the enormous sum of £ 1 ,600,(X)0, or nearly eight milliou* of dollars.

197

under water, of 1S34, were more sensible, as well as more successiul,
than these speculators of former days.

THE HALIBUT FISHERY.

The halibut fishery on George's Bank is a new enterprise. It was
commenced within a few years by the adventurous fishermen of Cape
Ann. Pursued in mid-winter, it is as hazardous an employment as can
well be imagined.

While the fishery was confined to the coast, the consumption of the
fish was very limited. In April, 1S43, the Norfolk Herald announced
that "Our market, yesterday morning, was enriched with a delicacy
from the northern waters, the halibut — a strange fislt m tltese imrts, known
only to epicures and naturalists.^''

The New Orleans Picayune, in May of the same year, contained a
similar paragraph. At present, the fish, packed in boxes with ice, is
sent sound and sweet, b}'^ railroads and vessels, to the most distant sec-
tions of the countiy.

Vessels emploj^ed on the bank are absent from port from six to four-
teen days. The average catch of halibut is perhaps two hundred to a
vessel, though some obtain double that number. The weight of the fish
is from fifty to two hundred pounds.

For some time, dealers in Boston purchased, packed, and shipped
the fish almost exclusively; but a company was finalh'' formed at Glou-
cester for the purpose of transacting this part of the business, as well as
the other. The fishermen, however, resort again to Boston; for this
company, after losing a considerable part of their capital, relinquished
their design.

The growth of the fishery has been rapid. The number of vessels
employed in it, owned at Gloucester, was thirty in 1844; sixty-three in
1S4S; and al>out seventy-five in April, 1S52. The present fleet con-
tains many new, well-modelled, and fast-sailing vessels. The value of
the halibut caught in 1851 was upwards of sixty thousand dollars.

The earnings of the vessels sent to the bank are generally ample;
but the fishery is not profitable, in consequence of the extraordinary
wear and tear of sails and rigging, and the frequent loss of cables and
anchors. More than all, hardly a season passes without appaUing dis-
asters. Wheiiever a vessel is lost on George's, all on board perish.

An Americaa citizen may contend, if he will, for the repeal of our
bounty laws ; he may favor a low dutjr, or no duty whatever, on foreign
fish; but he is bound to honor the courage and the perseverance of the
halibut catchers of Cape Ann, who, mid the storms and gales of a
northern winter, procure for him the luscious napes and ins which, gar-
nish his boai"d-

198

CONCLUSION.
PUBLIC SERVICES AND CHARACTER OF FISHERMEN".

The interval in our annals between the discovery and the settlement
of North America is often regarded as a mere blank; and the opinion
is prevalent that our fisheries have no history, but such as relates to the
quantity and quality of" food which they annuall}' produce. It may be
"hoped that something has been done in this report to correct these
errors, as well as others which exist with regard to our subject gener-
ally. We have seen that fishermen were the pioneers of British and of
French civilization in America; thnt by their severe toils tlie}^ taught
other adventurers to the New World to rest their hopes of success on
regular and useful employments ; that the intercourse which they main-
tained between the two continents kept alive desires which otherwise
might have become extinct ; that they persevered when all others Avere
defeated or discouraged; and that the arrival upon our coast, for nearly
or quite a century, of hundreds of fisliing vessels, gave rise to events of
momentous consequence.

In the course of our inquiries, we have ascertained that France was
directly indebted to her fishermen for the immense domains which she
acquired in this hemisphere; and that the failure of several attempts to
found English colonies at Newfoundland hastened permarsent settle-
-mcnts in more ijenial re2;ions. We have seen that lono; before an Eno^-
lishman had a home in America, a law was passed to correct abuses on
our fishing grounds; and that, contemporaneous with the founding of
New England, Parliament, after an excited debate, broke down the
company of court favorites who claimed the monopoly of our seas, and
asserted the principle of "/free fishing with all its incidents" as the
right of every subject. We have seen, too, that the strong and repeated
declarations of Smith, the father of Virginia, that the waters of New
England were richer and its soil and climate were better adapted to hus-
bandry than were those of Newfoundland, were known to the Puritans
who came to Plymouth and to those who came to Massachusetts proper,
and had a controlhiig influence with other Englishmen whose thoughts
were turned, by persecution or the love of adventure, to the northerly
part of America; while it has also appeared that the founders and pro-
prietors of New Hampshire, INIaine, and Maryland, before obtaining
these possessions, were interested in the fisheries of" Newfoundland.

We have seen that the founders of Venice, and of the cities of Am-
sterdam and Rotterdam, were fishermen; that the same humble class
of men gave the first impulse to the commerce of Holland and Den-
mark, and an immense increase to that of England; that, previous to
the development of other resources, the fisheries were the lif"c-blood of
our own commerce, not only with the mother country, but with every
other people with whom we had lawful or illicit trade. We have seen,
that through all the wars and territorial and maritime disputes between
France and England, touchifig their respective possessions in America ;
through all the changes and chances of our colonial submission, from
its commencement to its termination ; through tlie war of the RevoliL*

199

tion, and the negotiations for peace; in the convention that framed,
and in the State conventions that considered, the constitution of the
United States; in the first Congress; and in the negotiations at the
close of the war of 1S12, the fisheries occupy a prominent place, and
were often the hinge on which turned questions of vast importance.

We have seen, that once, entire communities seemed to believe that
no way to wealth was so sure and so rapid as adventures for herrings
and codfish; and that men of the highest rank, and of the most shining
talents, accordingly, set their hopes and f )rtunes on the cast of the net
and the line. We have found that eminent writers on matters of com-
merce and navigation, and statesmen of world-wide fame, have de-
<dared that "the English navy became formidable alone by the dis-
covery of the inexpressibly rich fishing banks of Newfoundland ;" that
writers of acknowledged judgment have observed, that "by the cod-
fishery in America, the navy of France became formidable to all Eu-
rope;" that our own statesmen of the revolutionary era considered that
we also must look to our fishermen to man o?/rnavy; and that a French
minister of the present time expressed the opinion, in 1836, "that with-
out the resources which were found in the sailors engaged in the fish-
eries, the expedition to Algiers* could not have taken place."

The grateful duty of speaking of the patriotism and public services
of American fishermen remains to be performed, and will now occupy
our attention. That, during the whole period of our colonial vassal-
age, they were ever among the foremost to en'er the ships and armies
furnished by the colonies to aid England in her struggles with France ;
that they were engaged in every strife in French America ; that they
lie buried on every battle-ground in Canada and Nova Scotia; and
that their remains were committed to every sea, are facts which have
already appeared.! I would not magnify their exploits in the war for
freedom; for, as we all know, "the mailed hand ol that war was
thrust into the casements of our fathers' houses, his blood-stained foot-
steps were in the streets, over the fields, upon the thresholds, and at
the hearths of our mothers ;" but I may still say, that the fishermen
were driven from their employment; that they were absent as soldiers
in the army, and as seamen on board of the public and private armed
ships commissioned by Congress ; that their vessels were stripped
naked to the masts, and rotted at the wharves and on the beaches;
and that their families, deprived of their usual means of support, were
reduced to despair.

The people of Plymouth depended almost entirely for subsistence

* Algiers was conquered by the Freuch in 1830, wlien Abd'el Kader, who, next to Mehemed
Ali, is '-the most remarkable individual in the existing Mohammedan world," commenced his
public career.

t Fishermen fought the battles of their country in remote ages. Four hmidred years before
the Chiistian era, and in the time of Nieias, Plutarch relates, that in an engagement between
the Syracusans and Athenians, " Not only the men from the ships, but the very boys from the
fishing-boats and small barks, challenged the Athenians to come out, and oflered them every
kind of insult. One of these boys, named Heraclides, who was of one of the ))est families in
Syracuse, advancing too far, was pursued by an Athenian vessel, and came very near being
taken. His uncle, Pollichus, seeing his danger, made up with ten galleys which were imderhis
command; and others, in fear for Pollichus, advanced to support him. A sharp conflict en-
sued, in which the Syracusans were victorious, and Eurymedon and numbers were killed."

200

upon the seventy-five vessels which ihey employed in the cod-fishery j
and though the ditticulties widi the mother country, if civil war ensued,
threatened them with ruin, they espoused the Whig cause with alacrity.
When the tidings of the bloodshed at Lexington reached them, sixty of
these vessels were in their harbor ; the fishermen, supplying themselves
with arms, marched to meet the royal troops, and by the time they
arrived at Marshfield, their number, by accjuisitions from diHl-reni
towns, was nearly one thousand men. The people of Salem and
Beverly were like zealous : from the opening to the close of the con-
test, they were extensively engaged in fitting out and manning priva-
teers ; and in a single season, despatched to sea, to prey upon British
commerce, fifty-two vessels,* which mounted about seven hundred and
filty guns, and carried crews of nearly four thousand men.

At the revolutionary era, Gloucester was a place of inconsiderable
note; yet sixty-five men for the Wliig army at Cambridge were en-
listed there in lour days, and two companies of Gloucester fishermen
shared in the glories of Bunker's Hill. Upon the ocean they were
even more numerous; and thirty married men, belonging to that town,
perished in the wreck of a single privateer.

The privateers owned in Boston, Salem, Marblehead, Beverly, and
Newburyport, and other ports in Massachusetts, in the single port of
New Hampshire, in Rhode Island, and elsewhere in New England,
were among the most efficient instruments emploj^ed to harass the
enemy, and their success had no inconsiderable influence upon the
result of the struggle. It is stated that the private armed vessels oi
the Whigs captured more than fifty thousand tons of British shipping
in the year 1777, alone; while Curwen, a Salem loyalist, who fled to
England, mentions in his journal, that Llo3'd's coffee-house books show,
that from May, 177G, to February, 1778, the American privateers (one
hundred and seventy-three in number) made prize of seven hundred
and thirt3'-three British vessels, which, with their .cargoes, were worth
more than twenty-five millions of dollars, alter deducting the value of
the property retaken and restored. Omitting details, it may be stated,
on the authority of other accounts, that from the commencemeni: to the
termination of the war of the Revolution, quite two hundred thousand
tons of British ship[)ing were captured and destroyed ; that such were
the losses, and such was the terror of the "rebel privateers," that the
underwriters finally demanded, and the merchants paid, premiums of
thirty, fort}', and even fifty per cent., to insure ships and cargoes irg>m
England to America; and that the mercantile interest became, at last,
so clam'orous as to render the war unpopular, and ta embarrass the
ministry in their measures to continue it.

The services of the people of Marblehead are entitled to particular
notice. They were invaluable upon the sea and upon the land. When,
in 1774, the port of Boston was shut by act of Parliament, they ten-
dered to their suffering brethren of the capital the use of their wharves
and store houses free of charge. The first actual avoioal of offensive
hostility against England which is to be found in the revolutionary
annals, is an act passed b}' the Prov'mcial Congress of Massachusetts

* " Chiefly owned hi Salem and Beverly."

201

in November, 1775. It was framed by Elbridge Gerry, a merchant of
Marblehead, whose business depended upon the fisheries. It author-
ized captures wpon the sea. With "its preamble, it was printed in the
London Magazine as a pohtical curiosity;" and John Adams calls it
'• one of the most important documents in the history of the Revolution."
Wh« "hoisted the first American Hag?" and to whom "the first British
flag was struck?" are questions in dispute between the friends of differ-
ent claimants; but Mr. Adams confers both honors upon John Manly,*
of Marblehead, who captured a transport having on board a mortar,
which, transferred to Dorchester heights, "drove the English army
from Boston, and the navy from the harbor." The fishermen of this
town appear to be entitled to the same precedence in naval affiiirs
under' commissions authorized by the Continental Congress, since it is
stated that John Selman and Nicholas Broughton were the first com-
manders appointed by Washington after he assumed the direction of
affairs. Another commander of merit was Mugfbrd, who took a
powder ship early in the war, and perished in the enterprise. And
still another was Samuel Tucker, who, successful beyond his com-
peers, is said to have captured more British guns and British seamen
than Paul Jones, or any other captain in the service of the thirteen
States.t Of the exploits of individuals of humbler rank, two examples
must suffice. In 17S3 "three lads" were put on board of a brig at
Quebec to be sent prisoners to England; on the passage they gained
possession of the vessel and carried her safely to Marblehead, their
native town. The same year, three other young fishermen — all
minors — prisoners in the British armed ship Lively, conceived the plan
of ca.pturing her; and, inducing ten other prisoners to join ihem, were
successful; and conducting their prize to Havana, made sale of her
for a large sum.

For service in the field, Marblehead raised one entire regiment. It
has been remarked of these "fishermen soldiers" that, inured to fatigue
and hardship, they were not reduced by sickness or camp diseases
during the war. This regiment composed a part of the force of the
illustrious commander-in-chief in his retreat through New Jersey, and
in the crisis of the Whig cause. The American army, composed of
regulars and militia, hardly three thousand in number, almost desti-
tute of tents and utensils for cooking, badly armed, nearly naked and
barefooted, dispirited by losses, and worn down by sufferings, were
pursued, in November and December, to the northerly bank of the

* Capt. John Manly received a naval commission ft'om Washington, October, 1775. His first
command was the schooner Lee. He was subsequently in command of the frigates Hancock
and Hague. He died in Boston in 1793, and was buried with distinction.

t Captain Tucker took John Adams to Europe in 1779. On the passage he fell in ^vith an
enemy. It was agreed to fight her, and also that Mr. Adams should retire below ; but Tucker
8oon observed him, with a gun, fighting as a common marine, and in tones of authority
ordered him to leave the deck. Mr. Adams, however, continued at his post, when, at last,
Tucker seized him and forced him away, exclaiming as he did so, " / am commanded by the
Continental Congress to carry you in safety to Europe, and I tcill do it!" It is believed that
Tucker was as brave a man as ever lived. After the Revolution, he removed to the " Ancient
Pemaquid," or Bristol, Maine, where for some years* he was interested in hi.s old avocation.
He died at Bristol in 1833. The government, in their tardy justice, granted him a pension of
$600 per annum a few months previous to his death. He was much respected, and received
several gratitylng tokens of regard from the people of Maine.

202

Delaware, by the well-appointed army of the enemy, flushed by suc-
cess, and panting for a last decisive victory. For a moment, the
destruction of Washington, either from the waters in front or from the
royal troops in rear, seemed certain. The heroic daring of the men
who, perhaps, saved him, and with him their country, is nowhere
related in histor}'. But Henry Knox,* the chief of artillery, whose own
services on the occasion will ever be remembered and excite admira-
tion, has done them justice. After the peace, and while Gen. Knox
was a member of the legislature of Massachusetts, an application was
made by citizens of Marblehead for the charter of a bank. Their
petition was opposed. He rose and stated their claims. "lam sur-
prised," he said, "that Marblehead should ask so small a privilege as
that of banking, and that there should be opposition to it. Sir, I wish
the members of this body knew the people of Marblehead as well as I
do. I could wish that they had stood on the banks of the Delaware
river in 1777, in that bitter night when the commander-in-chief had
drawn up his little army to cross it, and had seen the powerful current
bearing onward the floating masses of ice which threatened destruction
to whosoever should venture upon its bosom. I wish, that when this
occurrence threatened to defeat the enterprise, they could have heard
that distiaguishcd warrior demand, 'Who will lead us on?' and
seen the men of Marblehead, and Marblehead alone, stand Jorward to lead
the army along the perilous path to unfading glories and honors in the
achievements of Trenton. There, sir, went the fishermen of Marblehead,
alike at home upon land or water, alihe ardent, patriotic, and unjlinching,
whenever they iinfurlcd the flag of the coimtry.^'f

To remark now, that, in 1772, the tonnage of Marblehead was up-
\vards of twelve thousand, and the number of polls was twelve bunded
and three; that in 1780 the polls were but five hundred and forty-four;
and that the tonnage at the peace was only fifteen hundred and nine ;
to state that nearly every able-bodied citizen was abroad, engaged in
the public service, either "upon land or water;" to show from a docu-
ment presented to the general court of Massachusetts, that, at the close
of the contest, there were within the borders of this single town four
hundred and fifty -eight widows, and nine hundred and sixty-six father-
less children — is to sum up its sufferings in the cause of freedom, and to
prove that, as has been averred, "it was a mere wreck and ruin,"
when we emerged from the war. No other town in the United States,
of the same population and properly, lost so large a proportion of both,
probably, as Marblehead.

It is related that Nelson, on his return to England after the attack on
Copenhagen, visited his wounded in the hospital, and that, as he
stopped opposite to a bed on which lay a sailor wlio had lost an arm,

* General Henry Kuox was a native of Boston. In the Revolution he was chief of artillery.
He held the office of Secretary at War after the peace, under the Confederation, and the same
place under the administration of Wasliington. His wife was of a loyalist family, whose prop-
erty was confiscated. The " Waldo patent," in Maine, formed a part of her father's estate,
and the General, purchasing a largo pai;p of it, settled upon it, at Thomaston, where he built
an elegant mansion, and where he died in IHDG, at the age of 56.

t From a speech of Hou. Johu Davis, of Massachusetts, in the Seuate of the United States,
January 21, l6'Sd.

203

he looked at his own empty sleeve, and exclaimed, "Well, Jack, you
and I are spoiled for fishermen!" How many men of Marblehead, of
Beverly, Salem, Newburyport, Plymouth, and of the towns on the two
capes of Massachusetts, of Portsmouth and the Isles of Shoals, and of
the fishing towns and islands of Maine, who served in the war of 1812,
returned home with an "empty sleeve," and "spoiled" for their former
avocation! I regard it as strictly true to say, that without our fisher-
men we could hardly have manned a frigate, or captured one, from the
beginning of that war to its end. Fishermen composed a large part of
the crew of "Old Ironsides" in her two earliest victories; and I believe
that the number was not much diminished when that favorite ship
passed into the hands of Stewart and won her last battle. Without
going into details, it may be said that the men of Marblehead,* and of
other places engaged in the same pursuits, were in almost every national
or private-armed ship that bore our flag.

At present it is affirmed, the official tables show that the number of
our fishermen in the national service in case of war would be small. I
admit it; and were it not so, and were not further decrease to be ap-
prehended, much of my labor might be spared. It is hard, first to
wound an important branch of industiy, and then to accuse it of inel-
ficiency ; to fill our ships, public and private, whh foreign seamen,
and then tauntingly show figures to prove how contemptible the fish-
eries are as a means <^f supply. But I contend that official statis-
tics (erroneous or unsatisfactory quite often) do not, m this matter,
convey the whole truth. The fact is, that hundreds, nay, thousands,
who first learned to "rough it," in imikies, pogies, and jiggers., on the
coast, or in the larger class of vessels that visit Labrador and New-
foundland, have abandoned such craft, and are now either masters,
mates, or seamen, of merchant vessels. Many others, retired wholly
from the sea, are to be found quietly settled as traders in small towns
along the sea-board, or are to be met with daily on 'Change in our prin-
cipal cities. The reasons for these changes are obvious. The more
ambitious and intelligent seek to better their condition, while aU per-
ceive that their employment is of but questionable repute, and of un-
certain rewards. It may be urged with force that an avocation in
which men are educated to become masters of merchant vessels, is
entitled to protection ©n this account alone, since every good mariner
is a source of strength and wealth to the country. To preserve the
school — so to speak — in which the business character of such men is
formed, is an object of national concern, to say nothing of the immense
benefits to be derived from an abundant supply of common seamen,
both in peace and m war.

The question may be argued still further. Every American citizen
desires a wife, and a home. Marriage conduces to morality, and wise
rulers in every age and country have endeavored to promote it. In
this regard, then, let us inquire what are the just hopes of fishermen —
who reflect — as determined by experience and by ascertained facts.
A distinguished statesman, in advocating the repeal of the "bounty

*It is believed tliat five huudred meu who belonged to Marblehead aloue, were released fi'om
Dartmoor prison at the peace.

204

system," a few years ago, estimated that the common fishermen shnred
three hundred and thirty dollars each, in addition to the bounty, for
three and a half months' labor. He was mistaken. A gentleman of
Gloucester, who had been engaged in the fisheries for a consitlerable
period, made an accurate calculation, by which it appeared that the
average earnings was only one laindred. cnid fifty-seven dollars for a nuui,
and seventy-nine dollars for a boy, for fee and a half months'' service in the
cod-fishery, and three and a lialf months'' in the mackerel fishery , or for the
u-]iole working year of nine months. By adding the bount}" to the earn-
ings, the share, per man, was increased to one hundred and seventy-
five dolhirs. In the proceedings of a public meeting of citizens of the
same town, subsequently, it is stated that the average earnings for the
ten i^revious years had Iiardly been one hundred and forty dollars in
a season., for each man.

In the "Memorial of citizens of Marblehead against the repeal of the
fishing bounty," &c., presented to the Senate of the United States,
March, 1846, the misrepresentations made on the subject of the amount
earned by fishermen are thus answered: "And though it has been
stated before your honorable body, in support ot" an effort to repeal the
aid and protection which the present laws afford, that the poor fisher-
man earns his five hundred dollars for what is called "his three and a half
months' labor," yet your memoriahsts well know that there is no truth
in the assertion. The fishermen of this town, engaged in the bank cod-
fishery, are usually employed from March to November and December,
from the time they begin the labor of fitting the vessel for sea, until
they return to their winter quarters, being a period of eight months on
an average; and your memorialists aver, from their own j^crsonal know-
ledge, that it is no uncommon occurrence for fshcrmen to be thus constantly toil-
'ing through the working j'ortion of the year, and not earn a single dollar
(bounty and all included) over and above their outft, €xpe?ises, and the ad-
vances during their absence.* And it is thus that, in seasons of scarcity,
it often happens that crews cannot be obtained by vessels engaged in
the business, except the owner will first guaranty that they shall make
something (a sum to be first agreed on) in return for their labor, over
and above their shares of fish, after deducting the outfits of the vo}'^-
•age." "It is true," continue these memorialists, "that in seasons when
fish happen to be plenty, and a good market is obtained for them, that
in such cases both owners and fishermen realize a remunerating profit
for their capital and their labor. But this state of things is rare rather
than otherwise ; and such is the uncertainty, and, as it were, lottery
nature of the business, that, in looking around among those who have been
s .

* Fishennen sometimes pursue their avocation when of very advanced an;e. A remarkable
instiinee occurred in 1^42, wiieii tiie schooner Elizabeth Rebecca arrived at Beverly with a
full fare of fish; her master, Isaac Preston, beini; seventy-two, and one of the crew upwards
of eighty years old. The late Cai)tain Andrew Harrington, of Eastport, Maine, an excellent
man, used the hook and line without intermission for half a century.

There was a jubilee at Ghent in 1H41, in honor of a fisherman who had fidlowed his avocation
for fifty years; his companions repaired to his house, accompanied with twenty violin and
trumpet players, and after greeting the old man partook of a plentiful feast.

In Wade's History of England there is an account of one Henry Jenkins, a poor fisherman
of Yorkshire, who, born in the year 15011, lived in the reigus of eight kings and (jueeus, and
died in ItuO, at the age of one hundred and seventy years. Wade speaks also of John
Chambers, au English fisherman, who died iu 1752, aged uiuety-uiue years.

205

engaged in it all their lives, they cavnot j)oi7ii ovt a solitary owner who has
become wealthy from the irrofits of the fishing business alone, nor a single
fisherman, ivith a family dej)endi)ig iqw^i him for sviiport, who has been able
to lay up, from the earnings of the bunvess, a siaylus for his old age.''"'

In 1S4S many crews of fishing vessels owned in Newburyport, on
settling with their owners, for six and seven months' hard toil at sea,
received only about ten dollars per month ; and on this miserable pit-
tance they were to eke out the year. They had obtained good fares
offish, but were sufferers from the depressed state of the market.

With facts like these before us, can we wonder that the more ambi-
tious young men abandon the employment at every opportunity?
Should we not wonder, rather, that any who seek to marry and to have
homes, and who are anxious to "lay up a surplus for old age," remain
in if? As a class, their condition has been without change. Sixty
years ago Fisher Ames said, in the first Congress, that "the fishermen
are too poor to remain, too poor to remove."*

* The report of a select committee of Parliament iu 1833, on the British channel fisheries,
contains many interesting facts touching the same point. This committee was appointed in
consequence of the petitions of British fishermen, who complained of their distressful condi-
tion. The committee, after inquiries, which embraced the whole coast between Yarmouth and
Land's End, reported that the channel fisheries, and the interests which were connected with
thein, were in a declining state ; that " they appear to have been gradually sinking since the
peace of 1815, and more rapidly during the ten years innnediately preceding the investigation;
that the capital employed in them did not yield a profitable return ; that the number of vessels
and boats, as well as of men and boys, was much diminished ; and that the fishermen's fami-
lies, who formerly paid rates and taxes, were then, in a greater or less degree, dependent upon
tlie poor rates."

The causes assigned by the committee for this deplorable state of things were three ; first,
the interference of French fisliermen; second, the quantity of f )reigu-caught fish sold in Lon-
don; third, the decrease and scarcity of fish iu the channel. AVith regard to the first, they
had evidence that, for a long period, large fleets of French fishermen had frequented the coasts
of Kent and Susse.x, and that they had greatly increased in number since 1815, inasmuch as
there were no less than three hundred sailing out of Boidogne alone. The I'rench vessels
were declared, indeed, to be more numerous than the Englisli vessels, to be of larger size, and
to cany, frequently, double the number of men, as well as to use better nets and other fishing
pear. The committee remarked, further, that so disastrous to British fishermen had been
French interference, that while many were unable to earn a livelihood, some had been quite
ruined, or had withdrawn from the business.

Such statements, it might seem, were sufficiently humiliating ; but the committee averred
that the French had been in the habit of meeting at sea boats from the Tliames and elsewhere,
which took the foreign-caught fi.sh tt> the London market, where, it is to be inferred, they were
sold as of the produce of the British fisheries. This practice they condenmed in strong teniis.
Of the third cause of distress, the committee expressed the opinion, that the scarcity of fish
in till.' channel was occasioned by the great destruction of spawn, contrary to existing laws on
the subject.

To remedy these several evils, they suggested that foreigners should not be allowed to come
within a certain disti^ice to be prescribed ; that such fishermen be required to conform to de-
fined and rigid rules; and that officers of the revenue, and vessels cruising upon the coast,
should be hi.structed to enforce whatever regulations might be adopted. They suggested, also,
the revision of the statutes relative to the destruction of spawn and joung fish, and to the use
of particular kinds of nets, and the repeal of other laws not specially relating to coasts whioh
they mentioned.

The story of " figgressions," whether luade by British subjects on this side of the Atlantic,
or on the other, is always to be examined before it is received as truth. In tlie case before us,
as iu the many tales related by the committees of the colonial assemblies, there is something
to be allowed; for it appears that the English were "aggressors," also, on the fishing-grounds
of France at the very moment that this report was under the consideration of Parliament. Iu
1834, says a British writer of authority, "A rencontre took place between some Jersey fishing'
boats which had in tliAi night trespansed within the ristrictcd limits of eight miles off the French
coast, and a French armed cutter. One boat was taken, and the master of another shot." The

206

Again : The fearful disasters and loss of human life are not to be
overlooked in this connexion. Our time is too limited for general de-
tails ; and a few examples will serve to show why, in addition to the
causes already mentioned, " official statistics" furnish so few arguments
in favor of protection to the fisheries as "a nursery for seamen."

In 1837 seventy-eight men perished, who belonged to the fishing-
towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, Chatham,
Harwich, Brewster, Dennis, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Falmouth, and
Sandwich; and in these thirteen towns nine hundred and fourteen
widows were ascertained to be then living.

In the great gale of October, 1841, the town of Truro alone lost fifty-
seven men, whose homes were within a circuit ot two miles ; twenty-
seven ot" them were married, and only eight were more than thirty years

two governmentB, soon after this affray, concluded a convention, in which provision is made to
avoid similar difficulties.

In this connexion, we may barely glance at the condition of things across the channel. The
eea-fisheries of Ireland are not of great importance ; but the river and lake-fisheries are luci'a-
tive to the owiiers of the soil. The herring and the pilchard might be caught in many places
on the coast in abundance, but the catch of neither is large.

As late as 1847, a debate occurred in Parliament on the subject of encoui-agement to the
Irish sea-fisheries, when the following facts were elicited :

" Sir Heniy Winston Barron moved for a select committee ' to inquire into the means of im-
proving the fisheries in Irekuid, and thereby afibrding profitable employment.'

"In the ten yeai"s ending ISSo, Parliiunent granted £143,791 to stimulate Scotch fisheries;
only £12,000 for Irish fisheries. The Scotch fislieries are the most prosperous in Europe ; and
it is a melancholy fact, that Scotch fisli to the value of £60,000 is annually imported for the
consumption of the poor Irish. Government has established six curing-houses and two depots;
there ought to be at least a hundred curing-houses on the coasts.

" Mr. Labouchere agreed as to the necessity of encouraging fisheries in Ireland, but opposed
the motion :

" It is a mistake to suppose that official encouragement has been the chief cause of the
prosperity in Scotland. Private entei'prise is the real cause. There are two modes in which
government may advantageously interfere — by constructing piers, and by establishing curing-
etations. Tiie late govenmient granted £50,000 — the present has proposed £40,000 — as
loans for the construction of piers. Curing-stations have been established at a cost of £5,000,
with such good results that Irish fish is fast driving Scotch ling out of the market, and private
speculators even from England are beginning to turn their attention to the Irish fisheries.
The increase of railroads and steam navigation will aftbrd a further encouragement. As to
inquiry, Mr. Labouchere objected, that a committee could only reproduce the information
which is already in their possession.

The motion was supported by Lord George Bentinck, Mr. Hume, Mr. Montague Gore, and
Mr. Hiuhson.

" Sir Henry Barron said, that after Mr. Labouchere's statement, he thought that he should
do injury rather tiian good by pressing his motion; and lie therefore begged to withdraw it.

" This Jed to a fracas. Several of the opposition members met the liint at withdrawal by loud
objections. The gallery was cleared for a division, but none took place ; and when Mr. Agli-
onby urged gentlemen to sutter the withdrawal, Mr. Disraeli replied by a disch)sure. Sir Henry
Barron had sent to Lord George Bentinck, privately, to request support for the motion, as a
personal favor ; and, accordingly. Lord George Bentiuck's friends liad taken care to ' keep a
House.' This assertion was disputed; some members averring that during Sir Henry Bar-
ron's speech only twenty-three members were present. Mr. Di.sraeli afterwards recurred to
the charge, accusing the Irish members of interrupting real and serious discussion of other
subjects by a ' fiashy demonstnition.' Mr. Laboueliert' inijmted Mr. UisraeH's heat to disap-
pointment at not having been able to practise a little trick upon the government, and so to
place it in a minority. Apparently more angry than ever. Lord George Bentinck declared that
the good wishes for Ireland entertained by his party were thwarted by the Irish members.
Notiiing had really been gained by this ' sham attempt' to obtain a committee. Sir Henry
Barron denied that it was a 'sham attempt.' His object was to develop tlw opinion of the
Hotise, not to bring about a party divisi(Ui ; and m hen he saw it turning to a party question, he
owned that he shrank from it. (Ironical cheers from the Opposition.) Eventually, the House
divided, and the motion was negatived by 73 to 22.

207

of age. The population of Truro at that time was about nineteen hun-
dred ; the number of widows, one hundred and five.

Twenty-eight men who belonged to Dennis were lost in the same
gale; of whom but six were past thirty years old, and nine left families.
In one, day, immediately after this storm, nearly or quite one hundred
bodies were taken up and buried on Cape Cod.

In a gale September, 1846, eleven vessels owned atMarblehead were
wrecked or foundered, and sixty-five men and boys perished in them.
By this calamity the number of widows in that town was increased
forty-three, and the number of orphan children one hundred and fifty-
one. In the same year sixty fishing skiffs were totally wrecked at
Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, and the loss of life and property along
the shores of that island w^as appalling.

Between 1837 and October, 1S52, my record (which is probably
imperfect) shows that the single town of Gloucester lost thirty-one ves-
sels, and one hundred and ninety-four men. In many cases every
person on board perished.

After the memorable gale of October, 1851, on the coast of Prince
Edward Island and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the beaches were
strewed with the wrecks of American and British vessels, and with the
bodies of men. The exact number of those of both flags who lost their
lives is hardly to be ascertained. But it is known that fifty bodies
floated on shore within about twenty hours from the cessation of the
storm, in a distance of twenty miles ; that ninety-seven persons, belong-
ing to thirteen American vessels, were found on different parts of the
coast ; that upwards of eighty of our vessels were driven on shore ; and
that the aggregate number of American fishermen who perished was
more than one hundred and fifty.*

It remains, in conclusion, to speak of the character of the fisherman.
It is said that he " is credulous and superstitious." Admit that " Kidd's
money" has been dug for in every dark nook of the coast, or talked
about in every cuddy, for a century and a half, and that horse-shoes are
nailed upon the masts of fishing-vessels to keep off' watches; what then?
Is he the only one who has been, or still is, guihy of the same follies ? t

* Among the fishermen of Europe smiilar disasters occur. In 1836, six fishing vessels be-
longing to a village on the Bay of Biscay, France, foundered in a violent storm, and all on
board, seventy-three in number, perished. An aflecting ceremony for the repose of their soula
was performed under the direction of the late Cardinal Cheverus.

The Galway Vindicator, 1842, contained an account of the loss of thirty-five fishing boats,
with crews of from five to six persons each, making a total loss of more than one hundred and
seventy fishenuen in a single gide.

An English paper, 1843, details the destruction of human life on the coast of Ireland, in
January of that jear; from which it appears that forty-six fishermen perished at one place,
and twenty-seven at another ; that sixteen women were made widows ; that eleven women,
who had previously lost their husbands, were deprived of support by the loss of sons and other
relatives ; and that fifty-eight children were left tatherless. In December of the last mentioned
year, says a Loudon newspaper, " On Sunday week sixty-nine fishermen, who had been saved
from shipwreck during the awful storm of the 28th ultimo, publicly returned thanks to Almighty
God, in Cromer church, Norfolk. They all rose when their names were called over by the
officiating minister, and then, on their knees, jomed in the beautiful foiin of thanksgiving in the
church service."

t In 182.5 the Duchess de Bern visited a watering place in France, and indulged in sea-
bathing. Sea-water and fish which were afterwards taken from the spot were articles of im-

208

It is said ihat he "is ignorant." What then? If ignorance be ne-
cessarily despicable, then those who were called eighteen hundred
years ago to be "fishers of men," were proper objects of contempt. But
he is not always destitute of knowledge, and sometimes retorts upon
his accusers. The poor fisher-boy Jones acquired in his boat, and
bef()re he reached tlie age of twenty years, the Greek, the Hel)row,
Latin, French, and Itahan languages; and read the Ihad, and many
works of a similar description, in the original tongue. In a word, his
astonishing attainments in the darkest recesses of ancient learning
were a kingdom's wonder. When asked his opinion of the celebrated
Dr. Parr — who, in a long conversation, had attempted to sound the
depth and accuracy of his acquirements — he answered that this great
scholar was only "less ignorant than most men!"

The fisherman is called "wasteful and improvident." What then?
If to mis-spend the mere pittance of one's own earnings be a crime
worthy of rebuke, what shall be thought of those who, born to wealth
and polished life, sport with whole patrimonies, waste large estates,
die sots, and in penury?

His rank is humble; but sometimes he inscribes his name on the
page of history. Beukels, who invented the process of preserving the
fish of Holland in pickle, and who, according to the sneer, caused the
"Dutchmen's bodies to be built of pickled herrings," was a benefactor
to his race; and the Emperor Charles the Fifth, accompanied by his
sister Margaret, of Hungary, visited his grave and ordered a magnifi-
cent monument to be erected to his memory.

Massa niello, the young fisherman of Naples, led his countrymen in
their revolt against Spanish rule, and rose to supreme power more
rapidly than mortal had ever done before him; but, shot down at last
without trial, and like a dog, was dragged by the rabble set on by the
nobles, through the ditches of the city. In American annals, Phipps
and Pepperell rose to the highest rank to which colonial subjects ever
attained, and were envied and traduced in conse(]ucnce of the honors
bestowed upon them. In our own day, a Spanish fisherman of the
name of Jep-del Estango joined the party of Don Carlos as a simple
volunteer ; but, promoted step by step, was finally appointed to the
command of an army of eighty thousand men. So, too, the Count de
Morello, whose father was of the same humble occupation, and who
himself commenced life as a pauper-student, became, b}^ the force of
his talents and the circumstances of a civil war, the second general in
the Cariist army.*

mense value, iunl sold jvt ononnons jn-icrs. Indeed, tlin«e persons who could not purchase a
whole fi.sh, gladly possessed themselves of a few frtifcs, or a Jin !' The water where tlie " royal
}>erson" had been washed, when bottled and offered for sale, was known as '■'Herri liritic.'^
Have fishermen, iu any a^e, been guilty of greater folly than these fashionable people of
France 7

* In 1750, the clerk of the company of fishmongers of London, in addressing Frederick,
Prince of Wales, made the remarkable statement, that, "This comi)any, sir, is famous for hav-
ing had near three score lord mayors of the city of London, besides many of the most conside-
rable merchants and endnent citizens of it."

It appears from another source that the fishmongers' company is one of the oldest in the
realm, and that six of the lord mayors spoken of were appointed iu the space of twenty-four
years.

Died, In 1797, Solomon Southwick, aged 66 years. He was a native of Ne^vport, R. I.

The fisherman is u privileged man. In the colonization of Massa-
chusetts, when every arm and every purse were needed for the public
defcRce, he was relieved from the performance of military duty and the
payment of lax<es. In the time of William, of Orange, when the avenue
to the royal palace of Holland w^as supported by a toll of every passen-
ger, he was excused and exempted In war, and in the midst of hos-
tile fleets, he has been allowed to pursue his avocation unharmed.

He is a grateful man. In the war of the Revolution he was the
prisoner of Nelson, on the coast of Massachusetts. Released by the
young hero, whose crew were sick and d3dng of the scurvy, he con-
veyed refreshments on board of the royal ship at the peril of his own
life.

He is a patriotic man. His services, as a countryman of ours, and
in the nsivies of England and France, have been related. In the recent
struggle for liberty in Greece, he fled from the continent to the isles,
where ke was foremost in resisting the oppressors of his country. True
to the end of the contest, he gave his boats and vessels freely, and
without recompense, to be converted into war and fire ships.

He relieves distress. Mungo Park, during his travels in Africa,
passed through many fishing villages, and was kindly treated. At one
the chief magistrate was rude and surly. Park was worn and weary.
A fisherman kindly relieved him from the difficulties which surrounded
liim, b}^ transporting him to a distance from the inhospitable ruler, in a
canoe.

He is moved at the sorrows of others. Within the recollection of
many persons now living. Major Campbell, of the British army, slew a
brother officer iin a duel. The story is a long and a sad one. Suffice
it to say here, that the extraordinary circumstances of the case seemed
to place the Major on a level with common murderers ; that he was
tried and condemnefl to die ; and that great exertions were made on
the part of his friends to save him. The agony of his wife was lor a
time intense. By wonderful exertions she recovered sufficient fortitude
to enable her to leave Ireland and to set out for London, to throw herself
al the feet of majesty and implore her husband's life. No steamers
then crossed the channel ; and a gale of unusual violence interrupted
lier progres-s, for all the packet-vessels were on the opposite side.
*" The days of tlae being whom she loved best on earth were num-
bered. The storm was at its height; a mountainous sea broke into
tlie harbor while a crowd anxiously watched the progress of a fishing-
boat, which, under close-reefed canvass, was strugghng to beat up to

His fatfeer was a fisfecrnian, and, following the same business, he assisted in the sale of fish in
the market place. While thus employed, he attracted the attention of Henry Collins, a
wealthy and pliilaiitliropic citizen of Newport, who, pleased with his activity, handsome person,
and spixghtliness, took him from the fish stand and provided for his education, and finally es-
tablis.ked him in cwnmerciid business. But as a merchant Mr. Southwick was unfortunate,
and Ifecame a bankrupt. He retrieved his fortune, however, by marrying a daughter of Col.
John Gardiner, who had been governor of Rhode Island. In the Revolution he was a whig, and
peiiormed good service to his countiy. A sufferer by continental money, his fortune was im-
paired a second time, and hia latter "days were embittered with poverty and many infirmities.
He was a man of decided character and talents. His sou, Solomon Southwick, of New York,
h&s borne a distinguished part in the XJolitics of that State.
14

oLio 212

the nncliorn,a:c." The hard}' crew triumphed over the wind and the
sea; and, mid the cheers of the throng and the caresses of their wives^
the}^ disembarked. "At this moment the sorrow of the lady attracted
the notice of the crowd, and it was whispered that she was wife to tlie
unhapfjy convict whose fate, even in that remote region, had excited un-
usual sympathy. An aged fisherman stood near ; she asked " if the weather
was hkely to moderate "/" The mariner hjoked at the sky attentively
and shock his head. "Oh God! he will be lost," she murmured;
"could I but cross that angry sea, he might be saved." Her words
were heard by the crew of the fishing-boat, who were securing its
moorings. With one consent the}^ oflered to carry her across. "It i&
madness," said the old man ; "no boat can live in yonder broken sea."
But the courage of the noble-hearted fishermen was unshaken. She
embarked ; they set part of a single sail, and reached the shore of Eng-
land in safet}". She would have paid them generously : they refused
her money, and invoked blessings on her mission.

He is true to the laws. Thousfh his distresses were as sreat as-
could be borne, at the time of "Shay's insurrection" he was not
tainted with the spirit of disaffection; and in some of the fishing towns
there was not a sohtary individual of his calling who countenanced
rebellion or armed combinations to ol)tain redress lor the real or sup-
posed grievances of the period. After the adoption of the present
constitution of the United States, he caused the apprehension of Bird^
the first murderer and pirate, who was tried and executed.*

His wife may not be fitted to adorn the higher walks of life ; but she
IS a woman in her aflections and sympathies, for all thai. It was a
"fish-woman" who carried Chateaubriand to a hut, who waited upon
his wants, and to whom he owed his life, when sick, destitute, and
about to perish. So, when Giflbrd, the critic, whose unsparing severity
will not soon be forgotten or forgiven, was forlorn and in rags, and, in
his misery, had ceased to hope, almost to wish, for a change, the pity
of fish(!rmen's wives, and their continual rehearsal of the story of his
sufferings to others, caused his removal from a vessel to a school, and
thus laid the foundation of his subsequent fmie as a scholar. And
who has not been touched at reading of the custom of the fish wives
of Venice, who, repau'ing to the shores of the Adriatic sea, as evening
approacljes, chant a melody, and listen until they hear an answer from
their husbands, who are guided by the sounds to their own \illagc?

Last of all, and moie than all, the fisherman is loyal to dut}^
"Jesus of Nazareth reigned in the fishing-boat from which he taught."'
The faithless one who betrayed him was not among the disciples who
had cast their nets in the sea of Galilee: he who took the thirty pieces-
of silver was neither Andiew, the first chosen one, nor Peter hi*
brother, nor Thomas, nor James, nor that disciple who, ever present
with his beloved mu.sterj has come down to us as the one whom Jesus
loved, t

* In Maine. Bird's counsel, as tliis was tho Jirst caso, endeavored to move the clemency of
the President on that account. Washiimtdn was inexorat)le.

t'lTie lake cf Oennesareth was the chief scene of the miiacles and preaching of our Sa-
viour. It abounds in fish of several kinds peculiar to its waters, lu the time of Vcspasiaa

209

The same fidelity is found in profane history. Caius Marius, as he
fled from the court of Hierapsel of Numidia, uttered the prophetic
words, "Go. say to the Roman governor that thou hast seen the exile
Marius sitting on the ruins of Carthage," and, embarking in a fishing-
boat, was borne beyond the reach of his enemies and pursuers. The
illustrious Pompey was overthrown on the plains of Pharsalia: shel-
tered in the hut of a fisherman the night which followed his ruin, he
set sail on the morrow to meet his wife, Cornelia — and to perish.

The beautiful Mary of Scotland suffered a tlecisive defeat from her
rebel lord-s: adopting the resolution of throwing herself on the protec-
tion of Elizabeth of England, she crossed the Frith of Solway in a
fishing-bark, and was safe from her own subjects; but the act was
fatal to herself, and gave a new and a strange coloring to the subse-
quent part of Elizabeth's life and reign. The battle of Worcester was
lost to the second Charles, and he fled ini his hfe; and who was more
true to him in his hour of need than the fisherman Tattersal, who, as
he bore the fallen monarch [rom the shores of England, exclaimed,
'•By the grace of God, I will venture my Hfe and all for him, and set
him safe in France, if I can!" So, too, the battle of Culloden sealed
the fate of Prince Charles Edvv'-ard, the Pretender, and he also fled :
thirt}'" thousand pounds was the price which tempted men to betray
him; but he sought the huts and boats of the "ignorant, the super-
stitious, and the imj^rovident class of men" who had been fiitiiful to
his dynasty, and eluded the vigilance of his enemies.*

it became the seat of war. The poor Galileeans in their light fishing boats couhl not witlistand
the heavy barks of the Romans, and were overcome, and were slaughtered by thousands. " The
blue waters of ths whole lake," says a historian of the Jews, "were tinged with blood, and its
clear surface exhaled for several days a foetid steam. The sliores were strewn with the wrecks
of boats aiid swollen bodies that lay rotting in the sini, and infected the air till the conquerors
themselves .shrunk from the effects of their own barbarities."

Sir Thomas Browne, an English physicuni of great fame in his time, who died in 1632, wi'ote
a tract entitled " A letter on the fishes eaten by our Saviour with his disciples after his resur-
rection from the dead." But this treatise, remarks his biographer, " is unsatisfactory in its re-
sult, as all the information that diligence or learning could supply consists in an enumeration
of the fi.shes produced in the waters of Judea."

The travels of modern times contain some information which relates to our subject. "In
the dirty town of Tiberias," says Elliott, in 1838, "where Christians and Jews are ban-
ished to a distance from their mussulman lords, a church, with an arched stone roof in the
form of a tent upside dov^ai, perpetuates the memory of the house occupied by St. Peter; or,
as others maintain, of the spot where the disciples conveyed to the .shores the miracidous
draught of fishes." Again, says the same traveller, on the shore of Galilee U the village of
Miijdal, which gave its name to Mary Magdalene, and was the spot whither our Saviour re-
tired after the miracle of the loaves and fishes." On the northern extremity of the lake he
came to a "mass of ruins cdled Tabghoorah, which mark the site of au ancient town. The
only indications of life are a mill and a few huts made of rushes, occupied by two or three
fishermen. Its position points it out as an eligible fishing place ; and such is the import of the
word Bethsaida, which city, if not situate on this spot, could not have been very far oft". Here
Ave halted, and requested the tenant of one of the huts to throw in his line and let us taste the
produce of the sea. In a few minutes each of us was presented with a fisB broiled on a plate
<if iron, according to the custom of the country, and wrapped in a large flat wafer-like cake, a
foot in diameter, of which one was spread as a taljle-cloth, and two others served as napkins.
Thus we made a repast, on the banks of the sea of Tiberias, of what was almost literally 'five
loaves and two small fishes.' "

From the villages of Mount Lebanon, and from points far above the bed of the sea, Elliott
procured fossil shell-fish, and a box of fish found imbedded in lime.

* The fishermen, as a class, were, I suppose, loyal to the Stuarts. Readers of English
history, and particularly of diaries and lette-rs of the seventeenth century, arrive, probably,
•at the same couclusiou.

It wiis said in ItJUO, after the Restoration, by the royalists, that during the time of " Red-

210

My task is finished. I have traced, witli a rapid hand, the outlines
of the civil, statistical, political, and diplomatic history of the principal
American sea fisheries, from their origin to the present time. I have
endeavored to be careful in my authorities, and accurate in my state-
ments. That, however, I have sometimes arrived at erroneous conclu-
sions, is probable; and that I have occasionally misapprehended facts,
is almost certain. In the performance of such a duty, some mistakes
are unavoidable. I have spoken earnestl}'', and, permit me to add,
honestly, in behalf of a great branch of national industry.

My case is so like that of the renowned "John Smith, Admirall,"
that 1 cannot forbear once more to quote his words. " But because,"
said he, "1 speak so much of fishing, if any take me for such a devout
fisher as I dream of nought else, they mistake me. I know a ring of
gold from a grain of barley as well as a goldsmith; and nothing is
here to be had which fishing doth hinder, but further us to obtain."

nosed Noll," as Cromwell was called, the Jish forsook the seas in very disgust at his wicked
mle, and one of theui, in rejoicing over the return of Charles, declares that "our mischiefa
began with tumult and sedition, and we are restored to our fonner felicity with miracles ; that
the sea-coast, famous for fisheiy, was barren since his Majesty went from Scotland to Worces-
ter, insomuch that the poor men who subsisted by the trade were reduced to go a begging ;
but that now, blessed be God, since his Majesty's return, the seas are so plentifid that in some
places" sole were even used to dress the laud; "an argument," continued the pious monarch
ist, "suificient to stop the black mouths of those wretches that would have persuaded the peo*
p'a that curses were entailed upon the royal family."

215 <3>P

PART IV.

HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE CONTROVERSY AS TO THE INTENT AND IVIEAN-
ING OF THE FIRST ARTICLE OF THE CONVENTION OF 1818.

•The documents* submitted by the President, in answer to the reso-
lution of the Senate of July 23, 1S52, embracing as they do the able
and spirited defence of our rights, by Mr. Everett, never before pub-
lished, as well as several other papers of interest, afford much valuable
information. But yet, it is apparent that our archives are singularly
deficient in documentary evidence to show both sides of the contro-
versy as it really exists. We have already seen that the loyalists, or
*'tories," opposed any stipulations whatever, at the peace of 1783, and
we are now to find that the principal cause of our difficulties since that
time — whether past or present — on the question of the fisheries, is to
be traced to the same source.

At the close of the Revolution, justice and good policy both required
of oar fathers a general amnesty, and the revocation of the laws of
disability and banishment; so that all adherents of the crown who de-
sired, might become American citizens. Instead of this, however, the
State legislatures, generally, continued in a course of hostile action,
and treated the conscientious and the pure, and the unprincipled and
corrupt, with the same indiscrimination as they had done dui'ing the
struggle. The tories were ruined and humbled men. Most of them
would have easily fallen into respect lor the new state of things, old
friendships and intimacies would have been revived, and long before
this time all would have mingled in one mass; but in some parts of
the United States there seems to have been a determination to drive
them from the country at all hazards, as men undeserving of human
sympathy. Eventually, popular indignation diminished; the statute-
book was divested of its most objectionable enactments, and numbers
were permitted to occupy their old homes, and to recover the whole or
a part of their property ; but by far the greater part of the loyalists,
who quitted the thirteen States at the commencement of or during the
war, never returned ; and of the many thousands who abandoned their
native land at the peace, and while these enactments were in force,
few, comparatively, had the wish, or even the means, to revisit the
country from which they were expelled. It cannot be denied, and we
of this generation should admit, that our fathers dealt harshly with
many, and unjustly with some, of their opponents. Indeed, whoever
visits the British colonies will be convinced that persons were doomed
to misery who were as true in heart and hope as was Washington him-
self; that, in the divisions of families which everywhere occurred, and
which formed one of the most distressing circumstances of the conflict,
there were wives and daughters who, although bound to loyalists by
the holiest ties, had given their sympathies to the whigs from the be-

* Executive Document, No. 100.

^;. 21G

ginning, and who, in the tnumj)h of tlie cause which hnd hnd their
pray( IS, went meekly — as woman ever meets a sorrowlul lot — into
hopeless, interminable exile. It is to be lamented that better counsels
did not prevail. Had New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia espe-
cially, been either merciful or just, transactions which, in ages to come,
will be very likely to put us on our defence, would not stain our nnnals.
The example of South Carolina should have been followed by all. As
it was, whigs whose gallantry in the field, whose prudence in the
cabinet, and whose exertions in diplomatic stations abroad, had cgn-
tributed essentially to the success of the conflict, were regarded with
enmity on account of their attempts to produce a better state of feeling
and more humane legislation.

As a matter of expediency, how unwise was it to continue to per-
petuate the opponents of the Revolution, and to keep them a distinct
class, for a time, and for harm yet unknown! How ill-judged the
measures that caused them to settle the hitherto neglected possessions
of the British crown! Nova Scotia had been won and lost, and lost
and won, in the wars between France and England, and the blood of
New England had been poured upon its soil like water; but when we
drove thousands and tens of thousands of our countrymen to seek a
refage there, what was it? Before the war, the fisheries of its coast —
f()r the prosecution of which Halifax its(df was founded — comprised, in
public estimation, its chief value ; and though Great Britain had quietly
possessed it for about seventy years, the emigration to it of loyalists
from the United States, in a single year, more than doubled its popula-
tion. By causing the expatriation, then, of the adherents of the British
crown, among whom were the well-educated, the ambitious, and the
well-versed in politics, we became the Ibunders of two British colonies,
for it is to be remembered that New Brunswick formed a part of Nova
Scotia until 17S4, and that the necessity of the division then made
was of our own creation. In like manner, we became the founders of
Upper Canada. The loyalists of our Revolution were the first settlers
of the tcrritoiy thus denominated by the act of 1791;* and the princi-
pal obje(;t of the line of division of Canada, as established by Mr. Pitt's
act, was to place them, as a bod}', by themselves, and to allow them to
be governed by laws more congenial than those which were deemed
requisite for the subordination of the French on the St. Lawrence. The
government for which they had become exiles was liberal to them; it
gave tb(>m lands, tools, materials for buildings, and means of subsist-
ence for two 3'ears, and to each of their children (at the age of twent}''-
one) two hundred acres of land. And besides this, of the offices
created by the organization of a new colonial government, they were
the cliief recipients.

Should it be replied that Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada
West, without accessions from the United States, would have risen to
importance ere this, I answer, that there is good reason to doubt it;

* It wus in a debate on tliiv bill, tliat Fox and Buvke severed the ties of friendsbip which
had existed between them for a lonu period. The scene was one of tho most interesting that
had e^ver oeciirred in the House of Commons. Fox, overcome by his emotions, wept aloud.
Burke's previous course with regard to the French revolutiou had rendered a rupture at 80ia&
time probable, perhaps certain.

213 J.

because, in the first place, of the man}' thousnnds who annually come
from Europe to America, but a small proportion land on the shores of
these colonies, and because the most of those who do, soon leave for
*'the States," notwithstanding the inducements held out to emigrants
by the colonial and home governments to settle on the territories of the
crowE. But were it otherwise, the force of the remark is in no degree
diminished, for the obvious reason, that, had we pursued a wise course
at the peace of 'S3, people of American origin would not have become
our rivals in ship-building, in the carriage of our great staples to Eu-
rope, in the prosecution of the fisheries, and in the production of wheat
and other breadstuffs. Nor is this all. We should not have had the
hatred, the influence, and the talents of persons of loyalist descent, 1o
contend against, in the long and vexed controversy relative to our
northeastern boundary, nor continual difficulty about, and upon, the
fishing grounds. It is to be observed, moreover, that the operation
of these causes has been, and will continue to be, no slight obstacle in
the way of adjusting such questions, since the children and kinsmen
of the 'loyalists have no inconsiderable share in determining colonial
councils, and in the shaping of remonstrances and representations to
the British ministry. And whoever takes into view the fact that the
sufferings and sacrifices of the fathers are well remembered by the
descendants, and that, under the monarchical form, hereditary descent
of official station is veiy common, will agree with me in the belief,
that evils from this source are far from being at an end. There are
still those in the colonies, who, remembering onh' that they are de-
scended from the exiled losers in the revolutionary strife, would keep
alive, and perpetuate for generations to come, the dissensions of the
past; but their number, we may hope, is rapidly diminishing. To ex-
tend and strengthen the sympathies of human brotherhood is a
Christian duty ; and to unite kinsmen, who were severed by events
which dismembered an empire, is a work in which all may noiv en-
gage, without incurring the reproach of disloyalt}^ on the one hand, or
of the want of patriotism on the other.

These remarks explain, and account for, the pertinacity of the colo-
nists, and serve to indicate that ihey, and not the British government,
are the real part}'' opposed to us in this controversy. As we progress
in our inquiries, we shall find abundant evidence to show, that England
has moved with great, with avowed reluctance, against us; and that
%vhile the colonies of Canada, Prince Edward Island, and New
Brunswick, have remained almost indifferent, down to a very recent
day, Nova Scotia, on the contrar}^ has pressed the subject of "Ameri-
can aggressions" upon the attention of the ministry, with hardly an
intermission, for a term of years. The last named colony, it may be
pertinent to observe, maintains extreme opinions upon all political
questions, demanding concessions and privileges entirely inconsistent
with colonial dependence, and asserting and insisting on doctrines
which no whig of our Revolution, in his loftiest mood, even so much
as wrote or spoke to his most cherished friend; as the letters of the
Hon. Joseph Howe to Lord John Russell, in 1S46, and the course of
the "Liberals," generally, prove beyond dispute.

Some well-informed persons have expressed the opinion, that, until

214

within a few yenrs, our fishormen have bnd no cause to complain of
iheir colonial competitors. It is not so. Those who consult our state
papers will find, tliat, as early as 1806, the inhabitants of the counties
of Barnstable and Plymouth, Massachusetts, who stated that they pro-
cured their livelihood by lishing, memorialised Concress on the subject
of existing grievances, and desired redress. They represented that
they were much injured in the sale of their fish in consequence of the
American market bemg glutted with English fish; that they were firet^
upon and brought to by English cruisers when falling in with them in
going to, and coming from, the fishing grounds; that they were im-
posed upon; that they were compelled to pay light-money if they
passed through the Strait of Canso; that their men were imprisoned ;
and that if they anchored in the colonial harbors, they were compelled
to pay anchorage money. Thus the complaints in 1S06 were nearly
identical with those in 1852.

In the year 1807 the colonists appealed to the British gtn-ernment
on the subject of the fisheries within colonial jurisdiction, and the "ag-
gressions" of their republican neighbors. Looking with jealolis eyes-
upon the extent of our adventures to their waters, they errjployed a
watchman to count the number of An>erican vessels which passed
through the Strait of Canso in a season. This watchman reported
that he saw nine hundred and thirtj'-eight. As many passed in fogs,.
and in the night-time, and were unseen by him, the whole number
was not less, probably, than thirteen hundred. Without enumerating
other acts of the colonists which show their hostile feelings towTjrds us,
I will barely add that many of them preferred that the difficulties then
pending between England and the United States should terminate in a
war; for, as was believed and said, a war would put an end to our
rights of fishing in British America, inasmuch as it would annul the
stipulations of the treaty of 1783.*

The event which so many of our banished couintrymen anticipated
with complacency, occurred in 1812. In the year following, a deter-
mination was manifested to exclude us from the colonial fishing-gro^iuids
on the return of peace. It was represented in memorials, that the Ameri-
can fishermen abused their privileges to the injury of his Majesty's sub-
jects; that the existence of Great Britain as a power of the first rank,
depended mainly upon her sovereignty of the seas; and that sound
policy required the exclusion of both France and the Uiaited States
States from any participation in the fisheries. It was, furtherm>>re, insisted

* A highly respectable gentleman, of loyalist descent, related to me the followlnj^ incident,,
which will seiTe to illustrate the temper of the time: "I went," saiil he, "to see my uiu-le^
who, as I entered the lioiise, accosted me thus, in fjreat gh'e: 'Well, Willie, rliore'll be war,
mvl I siiall die on the old farm after all.' ' How so.'' rejoined my informant. 'How does it
follow that, if a war really occurs, you will die on the old larni ?'' ' How!' peStJantly replied
the UUcle; "ichy, iron't Eui;litnd vliip the hliislal rebels, and slum't ire nil get our Itinils Ixtek
aaain?'' " This loyal old j^entleman is now dead. He was a native of Ncat York, and h)st
hi.s property— the "old farm"— under the Confiscation act of that State. At die close of the-
Kevolution he settled on the liritish side of the St. Croix, where many persons of his lineage
still live. This is by no memis u solitary instance of xXw hojjes entertained as to the result of
a conflict between the two nations. In 1^07 many of our banislied countrymen were Hot only
alive, but in full vig(u-; and the exj)ectiiti(m was ciunmou ;«iioiig them that, m the eveatof hos-
rilicies, their intercut would Ix- prmuoted,. either by Kti|)ulaii()ns iu clieir favo-v in the Wyaty oJ
peace, or by the abrogation of our lishiug rights, as stuied in the te-xt.

219 ^/^

that fifteen hundred American vessels had been engaged in the Labra-
dor fishery alone, in a single season ; that these vessels carried and dealt
out teas, coffee, spirits, and other articles, on which no duty was paid ;
that these smugglers and interlopers exercised a ruinous influence upon
tlie British fishery and the morals of British fishermen ; that men, provis-
ions, and outfits were cheaper in the United States than elsewhere, and
that of consequence British fishermen on the coast could buy Avhat they
needed on better terms of the American vessels than of the colonial mer-
chants; and hence the memorialists expressed the hope that foreigners
would no longer be permitted to visit the colonial waters for the pur-
pose of fishing. These representations created a sensation in Massa-
chusetts, and were the topic of comment there and in other parts of tl:ie
country. The Boston Centinel pithily said, that they were '■'■ alarmingly
interesting;''^ and as far south as Baltimore the New England senti-
ment of "wo iwace without the fisheries,^'' was echoed and approved.

In 1814, Mr. Canning, in the British Parhament, urged upon tte
government the necessity of giving due consideration to the question of
the fisheries, in the adjustment of terms of peace. In our treaty of
1783, said he, "we gave away more than we ought; and we never
now hear of that treaty but as a trophy of victory on the one hand, or
the monument of degradation and shame on the other. We ought tt)
refer, in questions with America, to the state in w^hich we now stand,
rather than that in which we once stood."

The principle asserted by the American commissioners at Ghent,
Mr. Russell alone excepted, has been stated and need not be repeated
here. It was assumed in England, and in the colonies, that that prin-
ciple was in contravention of public law, and British statesmen and
British colonists claimed to exclude our vessels from the fishing-
grounds, and even to seize them when found there. The government
of Nova Scotia was especially zealous and prompt in protecting her
supposed interests, and in proclaiming the penalty of confiscation to
American intruders upon her coasts. In 1815 the commander of his
Majesty's ship-of-war the Jasseur, heeding the clamors of the colonists
more than the quahfied instructions of the admiralty, commenced the
seizure of our fishing vessels ; and in one day in June of that year,
sent no less than eight into the port of Halifax as lawful prizes. This
outrage, and the right assumed by the commander of this ship to warn
our fishermen not to come within sixty miles of the coast, (as else-
where remarked,) led to negotiations and to the convention of 1818.
Mr. Baker, the British charge d'affaires, in reply to Mr. Monroe's
note of July 18, 1815, declared that the commander of the Jasseur had
transcended his authority, and gave the assurance that orders had been
transmitted to the naval oflScers on the Hafifax and Newfoundland
stations, which would "prevent the recurrence of any similar interrup-
tion;" but the schooner Nabby was seized by his Majesty's ship Sara-
cen, Captain Gore, and proceedings in the admiralty court of Nova
Scotia were instituted agaiast her in August, 1818, only two months
before the convention was concluded. Eleven other American vessels
were seized by Captain Chambers, under orders from Admiral Milne,
for alleged violations of British maritime jurisdiction. That some of
these vessels were captured for good cause, is quite probable; but yet,

^;-- 220

the comity between nations, nsidc from the assurance of tlio British
ch;irge d'affaires, recjuired thnt while negotiations were pending, the
officers of the British navy on the American station should have been
instructed to suspend captures, and to have merely warned off such
vessels as were found infringing upon what were held to be British
rights; for it is to ])e recollected that, claiming, as we did, to fish under
the treaty of 17S3, we were entitled essentially to exercise all the
j)rivileges o^ catching enjoyed by British sul)jects, until the differences
between the two cabinets were adjusted.

On the 14th of June, 1819, Parliament passed "An act to enable his
Majesty to make regulations with respect to the taking and curing fish
on certain parts of the coasts of Newfoundland, Labrador, and his
M.'ijesty's other possessions in North America, according to a conven-
tion made between his Mnjesty and the United States of America."

It is now pretended that this law asserts the recent construction of
the convention, as relates to our exclusion from the great ^'-Ijai/sy
That pretension will be examined in due time. The act, after reciting
the first article of the convention, provides, first, that "it shall and may
be lawful for his Majesty, by and with the advice of his Majesty's
privy council, by any order, or order in council, to be from time to
time nnde for that piu'pose, to make such regulations, and to give such
directions, orders, and instructions to the governor of Neufoundhnid, or
to any officer or officers on that station, or to any other person or per-
sons, whomsoever, as shall or may be from time to time deemed
proper and necessaiy for the carrying into effect the purposes of the
said convention, with relation to the taking, dr3^ing, and curing of fish
by inhabitants of the United States o^ America, in common with British
subjects, within the limits set forth in the said article of the said con-
vention, and hereinbefore recited; any act or acts of Parliament, or
any law, custom, or usage, to the contrary in any wise notwithstand-

Second, that "it shall not be lawful for any person or persons, not
being a natural-born suiiject of his INIajesty, in an}^ foreign ship, vessel,
or boat, nor for any person in any ship, vessel, or boat, other than such
as shaU be navigated according to the l^ws of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, to fish for or take, dry, or cure, any fish of
any kind whatever, within three marine miles of any coasts, bays,
creeks, or har])()rs whatever, in any port of his Majesty's dominions in
America, not included within the limits specified and described in the
first article of the said convention, and hereinbefore recited ; and that
if any such foreign ship, vessel, or boat, or any persons on board there-
of, shall be found fishing, or to have been fishing, or preparing to fish
within such distance of such coasts, baj's, creeks, or harbors, within
such parts of his Majesty's dominions in America, out of tlie said limits as
aforesaid, all such ships, vessels, and boats, together with their cargoes,
and all guns, ammunition, tackle, apparel, furniture, and stores, shall
be forfeited."

Third, that "it shall and may be lawful for any fisherman of the said
United States to enter into any such ba^'s or harbors of his Britannic
Majesty's dominions in America as are last mentioned, for the purpose
of shelter and re2:)airing damages therein, and of purchasing wood and

217 ^/9

of obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever — subject, never-
theless, to such restrictions as may be necessary to prevent such fisher-
men of the said United States from taking, drying or curing fish in the
said bays or harbors, or in an}^ other manner whatever abusing the said
privileges b}^ the said treaty and by this act reserved to them, and as
shall for that purpose be imposed by any order or orders to be from
time to time made by his ]Majesty in council, under the authority of this
act, and by any regulations which shall be issued by the governor, or
person exercising the office of governor, in any such parts of his Majes-
ty's dominions in America, under or in pursuance of an}' such order in
council, as aforesaid."

Fourth, that " if any person or persons, upon requisition made by the
governor of Newfoundland, or the person exercising the office of gov-
ernor, or by any governor, or person exercising the office of governor, in
any other parts of his Majesty's dominions in America as aforesaid, or by
any officer or officers acting under such governor, or person exercising the
office of governor, in the execution of any oixlers and instructions from
his Majesty in council, shall refuse to depart from such bays or harbors;
or if any person or persons shall refuse or neglect to conform to any
regulations or directions which shall be made or given for the execution
of any of the purposes of this act; every such person so refusing or
otherwise offendins: against tliis act shall forfeit the sum of two hun-
dred pounds."

Reserving comments upon this statute for another place, we proceed
with our narrative. The four years succeeding the ratification of the
convention, were years of comparative quiet and securit3^ But in
1S23, the ships-of-war Argus* and Sparrow-hawk spread alarm among
our fishermen who were employed in the Bay of Fundy, and elsewhere
in the waters of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. They molested
some, and ruined the voyages of others; but the Charles of York,
INIaine — a prize to the Argus — is believed to be the only vessel captured
and sent into port for trial.

In 1824, Captain Hoare, of his Majesty's brig Dotterel, seized nine
vessels.t The conduct of this gentleman caused much excitement and
indignation. I personally witnessed many of his proceedings. How-
ever censurable liis general course, it is not remembered that he dis-
turbed the humble men who fish in small open boats in the Bay of
Passamaquoddy, and in waters always considered free and common
to the people of the two flags. Of the vessels which he captured, one
was retaken Toy her crew, assisted by one of his own men ; and two
others were rescued by their crews, aided by an armed party from
Eastport.

In September, three memorials, signed by citizens of Maine who
were aggrieved by the acts of Captain Hoare, were transmitted to the
President. These papers, with the accompanying protests and depo-
sitions as to the wrongs complained of, formed the subject of a corre-
spondence between the Acting Secretary of State and the British
char26 d'affaires. No results followed. Our countrymen demanded

* Formerly of the United States navy, aud captured in the war of 1612.
tTke documents submitted to the Senate by the President, August, 1852, contain several
papers connected with matters m the Bay of Fundy at tliis period.

218

indemnity and reparation. The British functionary required, on the
other hand, " the punishment of tlie transgressors for the ;ict of violence
perpetrated on persons bearing his Majesty's commission while engaged
m the discharge of their public duties." Meantime, the President di-
rected Ether k>hepley,* the attorney of the United States for Maine, to
proceed to the frontier and make inquiry into the circumstances of the
matters in dispute, ;md especially those attending the recapture of the
three vessels just referred to. That Captain Hoare was sometimes
unjustly reproached by our fishermen, was admitted by the calm and
considerate in 1824; and this fact, in common fairness, ought to be
stated in this brief record of the troubles which are connected with his
command of the Dotterel, and which will not soon be forgotten by those
who live on the eastern border of Maine. The charge preferred against
him that he converted the vessels which he seized into tenders for
assisting him in his operations " prior to their adjudication in the courts,"
he deni(!d in the most explicit terms. It was never proved to be true.
It may be said, also, that the capture of seven of his prizes was held to
be justifiable by the British charge d'affaires in his correspondence
with Mr. Adams. The accuracy of this opinion, however, we shall
have occasion to dispute.

The excitement occasioned bv'the zeal with which Captain Hoare
" guarded the coasts from the intrusion of foreign fishermen and smug-
glers," did not suddenly cease. In 1S25, his conduct, on motion of the
Hon. Jeremiah O'Brien, who represented the frontier district of Maine,
became a subject of inquiry in Congress; and the United States
schooner Porpoise, under the command of Lieutenant Parker, was des-
patched to the Bay of Fundy for the protection of our flag-
Early in 1S26, the Dotterel was again the terror of our fishermen.
The presence of the United States sloop-of-war Lexington, Captain
Shubrick, under orders to cruise upon the fishing gi-ounds, relieved
their fears ; and the season passed away without any serious disturb-
ance. But there had been no adjustment of the difficulties which
occurred in 1824. The note of the British charge d'affaires to our
government, relative to the recapture of two of the Dotterel's prizes,
had not, in fact, been answered. Meantime, Mr. Adams had passed
from the Department of State to the Executive Mansion. Mr. Clay
had succeeded him ; and a new British minister had arrived in the
United States to treat with the new administration. To have delayed
a reply to that note for a year and a half, was equivalent to a refusal;
and it could liardly be hoped by Mr. Vaughan, that Mr. Adams would
permit, as President, what he had declined as Secretary of State. Yet,
on the 29th of April, t that functionary called the attention of Mr. Clay
to the fact that his predecessor, on the fifth of October, 1824, had in-
formed our government " that an outrage had been committed by some
armed citizens of the State of Maine, in forcibly rescuing, off Eastport,
two American vessels, the Reindeer and Ruby, which had been cap-
tured by his Majesty's cruisers while fishing in the Bay of Fundy in
places where the United States Ijad by treaty renounced the right so

* The present chief justice of the supreme court of Maine.
t Executive Document 100, pages 54,55.

223 ^^w'

to do;" and in renewing the request "for an acknowledgment of the
improper conduct of the persons engaged in " the enterprise, he re-
marked that " the British government was disposed to waive all demand
for the punishment of the offenders, as the act resulted apparently from
unpremeditated violence."

It does not appear that Mr. Clay ever replied to this letter, or that
the required " acknowledgment" was ever made in any form.

The naval and diplomatic officers of his Majesty attached far more
importance to this affair than it deserved. Admiral Lake stated, and
the British charge d'affaires repeated to Mr. Adams, that the Reindeer
and Ruby were rescued " by two schooners and an open boat, under
American colors, full of armed men, with muskets and fixed bayonets,
amounting to about one hundred, headed by a Mr. Howard,* of East-
port, who is said to be a captain in the United States militia." But the
truth is, that "Mr. Howard" was a mere stripling, and a merchant's
apprentice. I was a witness to the whole affray. The two vessels
in question were partly owned by young Howard's employers. As
they hove in sight under charge of Captain Hoare's prize-masters, a
party of some thirty persons, many of whom were boys, and without
" muskets " or weapons of any sort, were hastily collected and em-
barked. The deed was bravely clone, and at the moment won the
plaudits of grave men. Persons of mature years who deliberately arm
themselves to expound treaty stipulations, are not to be justified; but
the acts of generous, impulsive youth, admit of apology and extenua-
tion.

The period of quiet which followed the transactions last noticed indi-
cates that Captain Hoare was too zealous, or that his successors were
remiss in the performance of their duty, or that the masters of our fish-
ing vessels suddenly reformed their practices, and conformed to the
provisions of the convention. In January, 1836, Mr. Bankhead, the
British charge d'affaires, at the instance of the colonial authorities,
called the attention of Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of State,t to '•'■ repeated
acts of irregularity committed by fishermen of the United States;" but
the papers which accompanied his note specify the encroachments of
a single vessel only — namely, the schooner Bethel, of Provincetown,
Massachusetts. Still, the President, " without waiting for an examina-
tion of the general complaint," or that of the solitary instance cited,
"directed the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the collectors to in-
form the masters, owners, and others engaged in the fisheries, that com-
plaints have been made, and to enjoin upon those persons a strict ob-
servance of the limits assigned for taking, drying, and curing fish by
the American fishermen, under the convention of 1818."

In March, of the same year, an act was passed by Nova Scotia of
extreme, and, in some of its provisions, of inexcusable severity. It pro-
vides (among other things not material to our present purpose) —

That "officers of the colonial revenue, sheriffs, magistrates, and any

* William A. Howard, subsequently a midshipman in the United States navy, and a cap-
tain in the revenue sei-vice. He was in command of the steam cutter McLane at the attack
on Vera Cruz, during the late war with Mexico. *

t Executiva Document, 100, p. 55.

224

other person diil}' commissioned for that purpose, may go on bonrd any
vessel or boat within any harbor in the province, or hovering within
three miles of any of" the coasts or harbors thereof, and stay on board
so long as she may remain within such place or distance."

Tiiat "ii'such vessel or boat be bound elsewhere, and shall continue
within such harbor or so hovering for twenty-ibur hours after the master
shall have been required to depart, any one of the officers above men-
tioned may bring such vessel or boat into port and search her cargo,
and also examine the master upon oath, and if the master or person in
commantl shall not truly answer the questions demanded of him in such
examination, he shall forfeit one hundred pounds; and if there be any
prohibited goods on board, then such vessel or boat, and the cargo
thereof, shall be forfeited."

That "if the vessel' or boat shall be foreign, and not navigated ac-
cording to the laws of Great Britain anrl Ireland, and shall have been
found fishing, or preparing to fish, or to have been fishing, within three
marine miles of such coasts or harbors, such vessel or boat and the
cargo shall be forfeited."

That "if an}^ seizure take place and a dispute arise, the proof touch-
ing the illegality thereof shall be upon the owner or claimant."

That "no person shall enter a claim to an3'thing seized until security
shall have been given, in a penalty not exceeding sixty pounds, to an-
swer and pay costs occasioned by such claim; and in default of such
securit}', the things seized shall be adjudged forfeited and shall be con-
demned."

That " no writ shall be sued out against any officer or other person
authorized to seize for anything done until one month after notice in
writing, delivered to him or left at his usual place of abode l)}^ the per-
son intending to sue out such writ, his attorney or agent, in which no-
tice shall be contained the cause of action, the name and place of abode
of the person who is to bring the action, and of his attorne}^ or agent;
and no evidence of any cause of action shall be produced, except such
as shall be contained in such notice."

That "everv such action shall be brought within three months after
tlie cause thereof has arisen."

That "if on any information or suit brought to tiial on account of
any seizure, judgment shall be given for the claimant, and the judge
or court shall certify on the record that there was probable cause of
seizure, the claimant shall not recover costs, nor shall the person who
made the seizure be liable to any indictment or suit on account thereof.
And if any suit or prosecution be brought against any person or. ac-
count of such seizure, and judgment shall be given against hitn, and the
judge or court shall certify that there was probable cause for the seiz-
ure, then the plaintilfj besides the thing seized or its value, shall not
recover more than twopence damages, nor any costs of suit, nor shall
the defendant be fined more than one shilling."

That "the seizing olHcer may, within one month after notice of ac-
tion received, tender amends to the party complaining, or his attorney
or agent, and plead such tender.".

That "all actions for the recovery of penalties or forfeitures imposed
must be commenced within three j-ears afler the offence committed."

221 -^^^

.- And that "no appeal shall be prosecuted from any decree or sentence
of any court in this province touching any penalty or forfeiture, nnless
tlje inhibition be apphed for and decreed within twelvemonths Irom tlie
decree or sentence being pronounced."

The next measure of JNova Scotia was in 1S37, when an elaborate
report on the subject of the fisheries was submitted to the House of
Assembly, which embraced a plan of protection by the employment
of steamers on the part of the home government, and of a preventive
force on the part of the government of the colony. Tlie latter recom-
mendation was adopted.

But the design of committing the ministry to the plans of political
leaders in this loyal possession of the British crown was not aban-
doned. Early in 1838 a joint address of the Legislative Council and
House of Assembly was transmitted to the Queen, complaining of tiie
habitual violation of the convention of ISIS by American citizens, and
praying for an additional naval force to put an end to these aggressions.
In November, of that year, Lord Gienelg, the colonial secretary, in a
despatch to Lieutenant General Sir Colin Campbell, lieutenant governor
of Nova Scotia, remarked, in reply to this address, that —

" In obedience to her Majesty's commands, this subject has engaged
the seric-us attention of her Majesty's government, and it has been de-
termined for the future to station, during the fishing season, an armed
force on the coast of Nova Scotia to enforce a more strict observance
of the provisions of the treaty by American citizens, and her ]Majesty's
minister at Washington has been instructed to invite the friendly co-
operation of the American government for that purpose.

" The necessary directions having been conveyed to the lords com
missioners of the admiralty, their lordships have issued orders to the
naval commander-in-chief on the West Indian and North American
station to detach, as soon as the fishing season shall commence, a small
vessel to the coast of Nova Scotia, and another to Prince Edward
Island, to protect the fisheries. The commanders of tliese vessels will
be cautioned to take care that, while supporting the rights of British
subjects, they do not themselves overstep the bounds of the treaty.
You will of course aflu)rd them every information and assistance which
tliey may require for the correct execution of this duty. I trust that
measures will prove satisfactory to the legislature of Nova Scotia."

In March, 1839, the consul of the United States at Pictou addressed
a letter to Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of State, in which, after referring to
the seizure of several of our fishing vessels during the previous year,
he said that —

" The Bi-itish o;overnment has decided to send out two armed ves-
sels, to be stationed during the fishing season on these coasts, for the
purpose of preventing any infringements of the treaty ; and although I
am well aware that much of the outcry which has been made on this
subject has had its origin in the disappointed feelings of Nova Scotia
fishermen, on seeing themselves so far outstripped in the successful pur-
suits of so valuable a branch of commerce by superior perseverance
and skill of their enterprising neighbors, yet I know that, within my
consular district, a tempting shoal of fish is sometimes, either from ig-
norance or the excitement of the moment, followed across the prescribed

222

limits; and I suppose that during the ensuing season the greatest vigi-
lance will be displa3^ed in looking alter oflenders."

The seizures in the course of the year were numerous. The Java,
Battelle, Mayflower, Charles, Eliza, Shetland, Hyder Ally, Independ-
ence, Hart, Ocean, Director, Atlas, Magnolia, Amazon, and Three
Brothers, were among the number ; whether for justifiable cause, will
form the subject of inquiry in another place. Her Majestj^'s cruisers
spread consternation on the fishing-grounds throughout the season. The
Hon. Keith Stewart, in command of the Ringdove, was as much
dreaded by our fishermen in the Bay of Fundy as Captain Hoare had
been, in the Dotterel, in the year 1824. In July, a gentleman of one of
the frontier ports of Maine informed an official personage at Washing-
ton that four or five hundred American fishing vessels were then in
that bay ; that the complaints of the colonists of the island of Grand
Menan had caused the commanders of the British cruisers to refuse
shelter to our flag even in stormy weather ; that nearly one hundred ot
our vessels, which had been driven from positions secured to them by
the treaty, had fled for refuge to a single harbor on the American side
of the line ; and that our fishermen were generally armed, and would
not bear the" indignities to which they were exposed. He added that
*' they can furnish some thousands of as fearless men as can be found
anywhere, at short notice ; and, unless our government send an armed
vessel without delay, j-ou will shortly hear of bloodshed." Such was
the condition of things, now well remembered, at and near the border.
Elsewhere there was so much difficulty and excitement that the mas-
ters of our vessels, whether at sea or at anchor, felt themselves unsafe ;
and, molested along the entire coast of Nova Scotia, many of them ad-
justed their affiurs at the close of the season without reward lor their
toil and exposure, and in sadness of spirit as to the future. In a word,
there seemed to persons of calm judgment a determination on the part
of colonial politicians to drive our countrymen to extremities. To ex-
clude us from the Bays of Fundy and Chaleurs, and other large bays,
by lines drawn from headland to headland; to deny to us resort to the
colonial ports and harbors for shelter and to procure wood and water,
except in cases of actual distress; to dispute our right to fish on the
shores of the Magdalene islands, and thus to render the treaty stipula-
tion valueless ; and to close against us the Strait of Canso, and of con-
sequence to compel us to make the dangerous voyage round the island
of Cape Breton, when bound to or from the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
are among the pretensions of Nova Scotia seriously asserted in the
memorable year 1839. The seizures of our vessels, and the other pro-
ceedings which we have briefly noticed, attracted the attention of our
government, and the United States schooner Grampus, under the com-
mand of Lieutenant John S. Paine, was despatched to the scene of
alarm and commotion. Lieutenant Paine informed himself of the mat-
ters in dispute, and performed his duty with zeal and efficiency. In
his official report to Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of State, he observes that
** the injustice and annoyance suffered b}^ our fishermen had so irritated

225

them, that there was grotind to behave that violence would be resorted
to, unless some understanding should be had before another season."*

In March, 1S40, the Assembly of Nova Scotia passed another address
to the Queen, in which her Majesty was again reminded of the griev-
ances of her subjects of that colony. Our government in the followin<y
month, and, as now appears, for the first time, communicated with our
minister at the Court of St. James on the subject of the fisheries, but
yet without instructions to make a statement of our wrongs to the
government to which he was accredited.

The early part of the year 1841 is fruitful of events which show the
progress of the controversy, and the development of colonial plans and
pretensions. On the 20th of February, Mr. Forsyth, Secretary of
State, addressed Mr. Stevenson, at London, a letter of definitive in-
structions, in which he reviewed the points in dispute, and stated that
he was directed by the President to convey his desire that a represent-
ation should be made to her Majesty's government, immediately on
receipt of the despatch, earnestly remonstrating "against the illegal
and vexatious proceedings of the authorities of Nova Scotia towards
our fishermen," and requesting of the ministry "that measures be
forthwith adopted" to remedy "the evils arising out of this misconcep-
tion on the part of the provincial" government, "and to prevent the
possibility of the recurrence of similar acts." Mr. Stevenson's atten-
tion to the representations of Mr. Forsyth was prompt. On the 27th
of March he wrote to Lord Palmerston as follows :*

"The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary from the United States, has the honor to acquaint Lord Viscount
Palmerston, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, that he has been instructed to bring to the notice of her Ma-
jesty's government, without delay, certain proceedings of the colonial
authorities of Nova Scotia, in relation to the seizure and interruption of
the vessels and citizens of the United States engaged in intercourse
with the ports of Nova Scotia and the prosecution of the fisheries on
its neighboring coasts, and which, in the opinion of the American gov-
ernment, demand the prompt interposition of her Majesty's govern-
ment. For this purpose the undersigned takes leave to submit to Lord
Palmerston the following representation:

" By the first article of the convention between Great Britain and the
United States, signed at London on the 20th October, 1818, it is pro-
vided :

" 1st. That the inhabitants of the United States shall have forever,
in common with the subjects of Great Britain, the liberty to take
fish of every kind on that part of the southern coast of Newfoundland
which extends from Cape Ray to the Rameau islands, on the western
and northern coast of Newfoundland, from the said Cape Ray to the
Quirpon islands, on the shores of the Magdalene islands; and also on
the coasts, bays, harbors, and creeks, from Mount Joly, on the southern
coast of Labrador, to and through the Straits of Bellisle, and thence

* Executive Document 100, page H3.
15

226

northwardly indefinitely along the coast, without prejudice, however,
to the exclusive rights of the Hudson Bay Company.

"2d. That the Americans shall also have libert}-, forever, to dry and
cure fish in any part of the unsettled baj^s, harbors, and creeks, of the
southern portion of the coast of Newfoundland before described, and
of the coast of Labrador, the United States renouncing any liberty be-
fore enjoyed by their citizens to take the fish within three miles of any
coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors of the British dominions in America,
not included within the above limits, i. e., Newfoundland and Labra-
dor.

"3d. That American fishermen shall also be admitted to enter such
bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter, and of repairing damages
therein, and also of purcliasing wood and obtaining water, under such
restrictions only as might be necessary to jprcveiit their taking, drying or
curing fish therein, or abusing (he jprivileges reserved to tliem. Such are the
stipuhitions of the treaty, and they are believed to be too plain and
explicit to leave room for doubt or misapprehension, or render the dis-
cussion of the respective rights of the two countries at this time neces-
sary. Indeed, it does not appear that any confiicting question of right
between them has as yet arisen out of the differences of opinion re-
garding the true intent and meaning of the treaty. It appears, how-
ever, that in the actual application of the provisions of the convention,
(committed on the part of Great Britain to the hands of subordinate
agents, subject to and controlled by local legislation,) difficulties, grow-
ing out of individual acts, have unfortunately sprung up, among the
most important of which have been recent seizures of American ves-
sels for supposed violations of the treaty. These have been made, it
is believed, under color of a provincial law, (Gth Wm. 4, chap. S, 1S36,)
passed, doubtless, with a view to restrict vigorously, if not intended to
aim a fatal blow at the fisheries of the United States on the coast of
Newfoundland.

"It also appears, from information recently received by the govern-
ment of the United States, that the provincial authorities assume a right
to exclude the vessels of the United States from all their bays, (even
including those of Fundy and Chaleur,) and likewise to prohibit their
approach within three miles of a line drawn from headland to headland,
instead of from the indents of the shores oi \he, provinces! They also
assert the right of excluding them from British ports, unless in actual
distress, warning them to depart or get under weigh and leave harbor
whenever the provincial custom-house or British naval officer shall sup-
pose that they have remained there a reasonable time, and this without
a full examination of the circumstances under which they may have
entered the poit. Now, the fishermen of the United States believe (if
uniforn! practice is any evidence of correct construction) that they can,
with propriet}^, take fish anywhere on the coasts of the British prov-
inces, if not nearer than three maiine miles to land, and have the right to
their ports for shelter, wood and water; nor has this claim, it is be-
lieved, ever been seriously disputed, based, as it is, on the plain and
obvious terms of the convention. Indeed, the main object of the
treaty was riot only to secure to American fishermon, in the pursuit of
their employment, the right o'i fishing, but likewise to insure him as

227

large a proportion of the conveniences afforded t.y the neighboring
coasts of British settlements as might be reconcihible with just riehts
and interests of British subjects, and the due administration of^her
Majesty's dominions. The construction, therefore, which has been at-
tempted to be put upon the stipulations of the treaty by the authorities
of Nova Scotia, is directly in conflict with their object, and entirely
subversive of the rights and interests of the citizens of the United
States. It is one, moreover, which would lead to the abandonment, to
a great extent, of a highly important branch of American industry,
which could not for a moment be admitted by the government of the
United States. The undersigned has also been instructed to acquaint
Lord Palmerston that the American government has received informa-
tion, that in the House of Assembly in Nova Scotia, during the session
of lS39-'40, an address to iier Majesty was voted, suggesting the ex-
tension to adjoining British colonies of rules and regulations relating to
the fisheries, similar to those in actual operation in that province, and
which have proved so onerous to the fishermen of the United States;
and that efforts, it is understood, are still making to induce the other
colonies to unite with Nova Scotia in this restrictive system. Some of
the provisions of her code are of the most extraordinary character,
Among these is one wdiich declares that any foreign vessel preparing
to fish within three miles of the coast of any of her Majest3^'s dominions
in America, shall, together with the cargo, be forfeited; that in all
cases of seizure, the owner or claimant of the vessel, &c., shall be held
to prove his innocence or pay treble costs ; that he shiill be forced to
try his action wdthin three months, and give one month's notice, at least
to the seizing officer, containing eveiy^thing to be proved against him,
before any suit can be instituted; and also prove that the notice has
been given. The seizing officer, moreover, is almost wholly irrespon-
sible, inasmuch as he is hable to no prosecution, if the judge certifies
that there is probable cause ; and the plaintiff, if successful in his suit,
is only to be entitled to twopence damages, without costs, and the de-
fendant fined not more than one shilling. In short, some of these rules
and regulations are violations of well established principles of the
common law of England, and of the principles of the just laws of all
civilized nations, and would seem to have been designed to enable her
Majesty's authorities to seize and confiscate with impunity American
vessels, and embezzle, indiscriminately, the property of American citi-
zens employed in the fisheries on the coasts of the British provinces.
It may be proper, also, on this occasion, to bring to the notice of her
Majesty's government the assertion of the provincial legislature, 'that
the Gut or Strait of Canso is a narrow strip of water completely within
and dividing several counties of the province,' and that the use of it
by the vessels and citizens of the United States is in violation of the
treaty of 1818. This strait separates Nova Scotia from the island of
Cape Breton, which was not annexed to the province until the year
1820. Prior to that, in 1818, Cape Breton was enjoying a government
of its own entirely distinct from Nova Scotia, the strait forming the
line of demarcation between them, and being then, as now, a thorough-
fare for vessels passing into and out of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The
union of tlie two colonies cannot, therefore, be ad:xiit:ed as vesting in

228

the province the right to close a passage which has been freely and in-
disputably used bv the citizens of the United States since the year
1783. It is impossible, moreover, to conceive how the use on the part
of the United States, common, it is believed, to all other nations, can
in any manner conflict with the letter or spirit of the existing treaty
stipulations. The undersigned would, thcreti^re, fain hope that her
Majesty's government would be disposed to meet, as far as practicable,
the wishes of the American government in the accomplishing, in the
fullest and most liberal manner, the objects which both governments
had in view in entering into the conventional arrangement of 1818.
He has accordinglv been instructed to bring the whole subject under
the consideration of the British government, and to remonstrate on the
part of this government against the illegal and vexatious proceedings
of the authorities of Nova Scotia against the citizens of the United
States engaged in the fisheries, and to request that measures may be
forthwith adopted by the British government to remedy the evil arising
out of the misconstruction, on the part of the provincial authorities, of
their conventional engagements, and prevent the possibility of the re-
currence of similar acts. The undersigned renews to Lord Palmer-
ston, &c.

''A. STEVENSON''^ j
" 32, Upper Grosvenor street, ,

''March 21, 1841."

This despatch was transmitted to the Secretary for the Colonies on
the 2d of April, and (seven days later) a copy of it was sent to Lord
Falkland, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, with a request that
his lordship would make immediate inquiry into the allegations con-
tained in it, and furnish the Colonial Office with a detailed report on
the subject, for the information of her Majesty's government. On the
28th of the same month, Lord Falkland wrote to Lord John Russell,
that " The greatest anxiety is felt by the inhabitants of this province
that the convention with the Americans, signed at London on the
20th October, 1818, should be strictly enforced; and it is hoped that
the consideration of the report may induce your lordship to exert
your influence in such a manner as to lead to the augmentation of the
•force (a single vessel) now engaged in protecting the fisheries on the
Banks of Newfoundland, and the south shore of Labrador, and the em-
ployment, in addition, of one or two steamers for that purpose.

" The people of this colony have not been wanting in efforts to re-
press the incursions of the natives of the United States upon their
fishing grounds, but have fitted out with good effect some small armed
vessels, adapted to follow trespassers into shoal water, or chase them
on the seas;" and that, "finding their own means inadequate to the
suppression of this evil, the Nova Scotians earnestly entreat the further
intervention and protection of the mother country. "

His lordship's letter enclosed a copy of a report of a committee
on the fisheries of Nova Scotia, which had been adopted by the House
of Assembly, and a "case" stated, at the request of that body, "for
the purpose of obtaining the opinion of the law officers of the crown
in England." The preamble of the latter document recites the rights

229

stipulated in the treaty of 1783; the fact of the war between England
and the United States in 1812 ; the first article of the convention of
1818; and refers to the act of Parliament of 1819, passed to meet
the conditions of the convention, and also to the act of Nova Scotia
of 1836 ; and concludes with submitting to the consideration of the
Queen's advocate, and her Majesty's attorney general, the following
seven queries :

1. Whether the treaty of 1783 was annulled by the war of 1812,
and whether citizens of the United States possess any right of
fishery in the waters of the lower provinces other than ceded to
them by the convention of 1818; and if so, what right ?

2. Have American citizens the right, under that convention, to
enter any of the bays of this province to take fish, if, after they have
so entered, they prosecute the fishery more than three marine miles
from the shores of such bays; or should the prescribed distance of
three mDrine miles be measured from the headlands, at the entrance
of such bays, so as to exclude them ?

3. Is the distance of three marine miles to be computed from the
indents of the coasts of British America, or from the extreme headlands,
and what is to be considered a headland '(

4. Have American vessels, fitted out for a fishery, a right to pass
through the Gut of Canso, which they cannot do without coming
within the prescribed limits, or to anchor there or to fish there ; aad
is casting bait to lure fish in the track of the vessels fishing, within
the meaning of the convention '?

5. Have American citizens a right to land on the Magdalene islands,
and conduct the fishery from the shores thereof, by u<ing nets and
seines ; or what riglit of fishery do they possess on the shores of those
islands, and what is meant by the term shore '?

6. Have American fishermen the right to enter the bays and harbors
of this province for the purpose of purchasing wood or obtaining
water, having provided neither of these articles at the commencement
of their voyages, in their own country ; or have they the right only of
entering such bays and harbors in cases of distress, or to purchase
wood and olitain water, after the usual stock of those articles for the
voyage of such fishing craft has been exhausted or destroyed?

7. Under existing treaties, what rights of fishery are ceded to the
citizens of the United States of America, and what reserved for the
exclusive enjoyment of British subjects V

These queries were sent to the law officers of the crown on the 8th
of June, and on the 30th of August they communicated their reply to
Lord Palmerston. They state that, in answer to xhejiist query —

"We have the honor to report that we are of opinion that the treaty
of 1783 was annulled by the war of 1812; and we are also of opinion
that the rights of fishery of the citizens of the United States must now
be considered as defined and regulated by the convention of 1818;
and with respect to the general question, 'if so. what right?'' we can
only refer to the terms of the convention as explained and elucidated
by the observations which will occur in answering the other specific
queries.

230

"2. Except within certain defined limits, to which the quer^'- put to
us does not apply, we are of opinion that, by the terms of the treaty,
American citizens arc exchided from the right of fishing within tliree
miles of the coast of British America; and that the prescribed distance
of three miles is to bs measured from the headlands or extreme points
of land next the sea of the coast, or of the entrance of the bays, and
not from the interior of such bays or inlets of the coast ; and conse-
quently that no right exists on the part of American citizens to enter
the bays of Nova Scotia, there to take fish, although the fishing, being
within the bay, may be at a greater distance than three miles from the
shore of the bay, as we are of opinion that the term headland is used
in the treaty to express the part of the land we have before mentioned,
excluding the interior of the bays and the inlets of the coasts.

*'4. By the treaty of 181S it is agreed that American citizens should
have the liberty of fishing m the Gulf of St. Lawrence, within certain
defined limits, in common with British subjects; and such treaty does
not contain any words negativing the right to navigate the passage of
the Gut of Canso, and therefore it may be conceded that such right of
navigation is not taken away by that convention ; but we have now
attentively considered the course of navigation to the gulf by Cape
Breton, and likewise the capacity and situation of the passage of
Canso, and of the British dominions on either side, and we are of
opinion that, independently of treaty, no foreign country has the right
to use or navigate the passage of Canso; and attending to the terms of
the convention relating to the liberty of fishery to be enjoyed by the
Americans, we are also of opinion that that convention did not either
expressly or by implication concede any such right of using or navi-
gating the passage in question. We are also of opinion that casting
bait to lure fish in the track of any American vessels navigating the
passage would constitute a fishing within the negative terms of the
convention.

"5. With reference to the claim of a right to land on the Magdalene
islands, and to fish from the shores thereof, it must be observed that
by the treaty the liberty of drying and curing fish (purposes which
could only be accomplished bv landing) in any of the unsettled bays,
&c., of the southern part of Newfoundland, and of the coast of Labra-
dor, is specifically provided for; but such liberty is distinctly nega-
tived in an}'' settled bay, &c. ; and it must therefore be inferred that if
the liberty of landing on the shores of the Magdalene islands had been
intended to be conceded, such an important concession would have
been the sul)ject of express stipulation, and would necessarily have
been accompanied with a description of the inland extent of the shore
over which such liberty was to be exercised, and whether in settk^l or
unsettled parts; but neither of these important particulars is provided
for, even by implication ; and that, among other considerations, leads
us to the conclusion that American citizens have no right to land or
conduct th(! fishery from the shores of the Magdalene islands. The
Word 'shore' does not appear to be used in the convention in any other
than the general or ordinary sense of the word, and must be construed
with reference to the liberty to be exercised upon it, and would there-

231

tore compromise the land covered widi water as far as could be avail-
able for the due enjoyment of the liberty granted.

" 6. By the convention, the liberty of" entering the bays and harbors
of Nova Scotia for the purpose of purchasing Wood and obtaining
water is conceded in general terms, unrestricted by any condition ex-
pressed or implied, limiting it to vessels duly provided at the com-
mencement of the voyuge ; and we are of opinion that no such condi-
tion can be attached to the enjoyment of the liberty.

"7. The rights of fishery ceded to the citizens of the United States,
and those reserved for the exclusive enjoyment of British subjects,
depend altogether upon the convention of 1818, the only existing
treaty on this subject between the two countries, and the material points
arising thereon have been specifically answered in our replies to the
preceding queries.

" We have, &c.,

"J. DODSON.
"THOS. WILDE.

"Viscount Palmerstox, K. B., S)''c., 4<"."

Fifteen months elapsed before Lord Stanley,* who, as the Earl of
Derby, is the present prime minister of England, sent the answer of
the crown lawyers to Lord Falkland. That it was communicated with
reluctance, even in November, 1842, is apparent. The subject to
which it relates, said he, "has frequently engaged the attention of my-
self and my colleagues, with the view of adopting further measures, if
necessary, for the protection of British interests in accordance with the
law as laid down" by these functionaries. "We have, however, on
full consideration, come to the conclusion, as regards the fisheries of
Nova Scotia, that the precautions taken by the provincial legislature
appear adequate to the purpose ; and that bemg practically acquiesced in
bij the Americans, no furtlur measures are recpdreciy (The closing decla-
ration, which I have placed in italics, will not fail to attract notice.)

Meantime (between August, 1841, and November, 1842,) Lord Falk-
land had forwarded to the colonial secretary two additional reports
made by committees of the House of Assembly, " complaining of the
encroachments of American citizens on the fisheries of British North
America, and pra3nng the establishment of a general code of regula-
tions for their protection. A change had occurred in the ministry of
England, and Mr. Everett had succeeded Mr. Stevenson as our envoy
at the court of St. James.

The colonists were not tard}^ in acting up to the suggestion of Lord
Stanley, that our government had '■'■ practicallij acquiesced''' in the con-
struction of the convention of 1818, presented in Lord Falkland's
"case," and affirmed by the crown lawyers. Early in 1843, the sub-
ject was considered at a meeting of the chamber of commerce ot^ Hali-
fax ; and the opinion of the Queen's advocate, and her Majesty's
attorney general, was received with great satisfaction by the merchants
of that city. Henceforth, in the judgment of some, competition be-
tween the colonial fishermen and our countrymen was at an end. The

* The successor of Lord Jolin Eussell as Secretary for the Colonies.

232

latter, excluded from the great bays by lines drawn from headland to
headland, refused passage tlirough the Strait of Canso, and deprived of
the right of landing on the sliorcs of the iMagdalene islands, were, in
effect, to be confined to the Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries.
Assumino;, as the colonial authorities did, that ive were bound 1)V a
private and ex parte opmion, of which our government had no official
knowledge, the schooner Washington, of Newburyport, was seized for
no reason, as appears, other than "fishing broad" (to use a term of
fishermen) in the Bay of Fundy. The fact w^as communicated to Mr.
Upshur, Secretary of State, who, on the 30th June, 1843, addressed
Mr. Everett in the following terms :*

*' Sir : I have the honor to transmit to you, herewith, copies of a let-
ter and accompanying papers, relating to the seizure, on the 10th of
May last, on the coast of Nova Scotia, by an officer of the provincial
customs^ of the American fishing schooner Washington, of Newbury-
port, Massachusetts, Cheney, master, for an alleged infraction of the
stipulations of the convention of October 20, 181S, between the Uni-
ted States and Great Britain.

" Upon a reference t > the files of the legation at London, you will find
that this complaint is not the first of a similar character which has
arisen out of the proceedings of the authorities of Nova Scotia under
their construction of the convention, and that representations upon tlie
subject have heretofore been made to the British government on behalf
of American citizens, but, so far as this department is advised, without
leading to a satisfactory result.

♦'For a full understanding of the whole question involved, I would par-
ticularly point your attention to the instructions of this department to
Mr. Stevenson, Nos. 71 and 89, of the respective dates of April 17,
1840, and February 20, 1841, and to the several despatches addressed
by that minister to the Secretary of State, numbered 97, 99, 108, 120,
and 124, during the years 1840 and 1841.

" I need not remark upon the importance to the negotiating interests of
the United States of having a proper construction put upon the first ar-
ticle of the convention of 1818 by the parties to it. That which has
hitherto obtained is behoved to be the correct one. The obvious neces-
sity of an authoritative intervention to put an end to proceedings on the
part of the British colonial authorities, alike conflicting with their con-
ventional obligations, and ruinous to the fortunes and sul)versive of the
rights of an enterprising and deserving class of our fellow-citizens, is
too apparent to allow this government to doubt that the government ol
her Britannic Majesty will take efficient steps for the purpose. The
President's confident expectation of an early and satisfactory adjust-
ment of these difficulties is grounded upon his reliance on the sense of
justice of the Queen's government, and on the fact that from the year
1818, the date of the convention, until some years after the enactment
of the provincial law out of which these troubles have arisen, ajtracti-
cal construction has been given to the first article of that instrument
which is firmly relied on as scttHng its meaning in favor of the rights
of American citizens as claimed by the United States.

*■ Executive Document 100, p. 117.

233

" I have, therefore, to request that you will present this subject again
to the consideration of her Majesty's government by addressing a note
to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, remindino; him
that the letter of Mr. Stevenson to Lord Palmerston remains unan-
swered, and informing him of the anxious desire of the President that
proper means should be taken to prevent the possibility of a recurrence
of any like cause of complaint."

Mr. Everett, on the 10th of August of the same year, thus ably and
clearly stated his views :*

"The undersigned. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary of the United States of America, has the honor to transmit to the
Earl of Aberdeen, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, the accompanying papers relating to the seizure on the 10th of
May last, on the coast of Nova Scotia, by an officer of the provincial
customs, of the American fishing schooner Washington, of Newbury-
port, in the State of Massachusetts, for an alleged infraction of the
stipulations of the convention of the 20th of October, 1818, between
tlie United States and Great Britain.

*' It appears from the deposition of William Bragg, a seaman on
board the Washington, that at the time of her seizure she was not within
ten miles of the coast of Nova Scotia. By the first article of the con-
vention above alluded to, the United States renounce any liberty here-
tofore enjoyed or claimed by their inhabitants to take, dry, or cure fish
on or within three marine miles of any of the coasts of her Majesty's
dominions in America, for which express provision is not made in the
said article. This renunciation is the only limitation existing on the
right of fishing upon the coasts of her Majesty's dominions in America,
secured to the people of the United States by the third article of the
treaty of 1783.

" The right, therefore, of fishing on any part of the coast of Nova
Scotia, at a greater distance than three miles, is so plain, that it would
be difficult to conceive on what ground it could be drawn in question,
had not attempts been already made by the provincial authorities of her
Majesty's colonies to interfere with its exercise. These attempts have
formed the subject of repeated complaints on the part of the govern-
ment of the United States, as will appear from several notes addressed
by the predecessor of the undersigned to Lord Palmerston.

"From the construction attempted to be placed, on former occasions*
upon the first article of the treaty of 1818, by the colonial authorities,
the undersigned supposes that the 'Washington' was seized because
she was found fishing in the Bay of Fundy, and on the ground that the
lines within which American vessels are forbidden to fish are to run
from headland to headland, and not to follow the shore. It is plain,
however, that neither the words nor the spirit of the convention admit
of any such construction ; nor, it is believed, was it set up by the pro-
vincial authorities for several years after the negotiation of that instru-
ment. A glance at the map will show Lord Aberdeen that there is,
perhaps, no part of the great extent of the seacoasts of her Majesty's
possessions in America in which the right of an American vessel to

* Executive Document 100, page 120.

undersigned invites the attention of Lord Aberdeen to a note of INIr
Stevensfm, addressed to Lord Palmerston on the 27th of March, 1S41
The receipt of tliis note was acknowledged by Lord Palmerston oi
the 2(1 of" April, and Mr. Stevenson was informed that the subject wa:
referred by his lordsliip to the Secretary of State for the colonial de
partmcnt.

"On the 28th of the same month Mr. Stevenson was further in
formed by Lord Palmerston, that he hnd received a letter from th<
colonial department, acquainting his lordship that Mr. Stevenson's com
munication would be forwarded to Lord Falkland, with instructions t(
inquire into the allegations contained therein, and to furnish a detailec
report upon the subject. The undersigned does not find on the files o
this legation any further communication from Lord Pahnerston in replj
to Mr. Stevenson's letter of the 27th March, 1S41, and he believes tha
letter still remains unanswered.

"In reference to the case of the 'Washington,' and those of a simila;
nature which have formerly occurred, the undersigned cannot but re
mark upon the impropriety of the conduct of the colonial authoritie;
in undertaking, without directions from her Majesty's government, t(
set up a new construction of a treaty between the United States anc
England, and in proceeding to act upon it by the forcible seizure o
American vessels.

*' Such a summary procedure could only be justified by a case of ex
treme necessity, and where some grave and impending mischief requirec
to be averted without delay. To proceed to the capture of vesseL
of a friendly power for takmg a few fish within limits alleged to b<
forbidden, although allowed by the express terms of the treaty, mus
be regarded as a very objectionable stretch of provincial authority
The case is obviously one for the consideration of the two governments
and in which no disturbance of a right exercised without question fbi
fifty years from the treaty of 1783 ought to be attempted by an}
subordinate authority. Even her Majesty's government, the undersignec
is convinced, would not proceed in such a case to violent measures o
suppression without some understanding with the government of thf
United States, or, in the failure of an attempt to come to an under-
standing, without due notice given of the course intended to be pursued

" The undersigned need not urge upon Lord Aberdeen the desira-
bleness of an authoritative intervention on the part of her Majesty'^
government to put an end to the proceedings complained of The
President of the Unitfxl States entertains a confident expectation of" ar
early and equitable adjustment of the difliculties which liave becumow
for so long a time under the consideration of her Majesty's government
This expectation is the result of the President's reliance upon the sense
of justice of her Majesty's government, and of the fact that from the
year 1818, the date of the convention, until some years after the at-
tempts of the provincial authorities to restrict the rights of American

235

vessels by colonial legislation, a practical construction was given to the
first article of the convention, in accordance with the obvious pur-
port of its terms, and settHng its meaning as understood by the United
States.

"The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to tender to Lord
Aberdeen the assurance of his distinguished consideration."

Lord Aberdeen did not reply to Mr. Everett's letter until the 15th of
April, 1844. In his answer of that date, which follows, it will be seen
that his lordship decHned to enter into a defence of the course adopted
by Nova Scotia ; aud that he confined himself to the seizure of the
Washington, and to an argument upon the term "bay" as used in the
convention. It will be seen, also, that he justified the detention of the
Washington on the ground, solely, that she '• was found fishing within
the Bay of Fundy." He says :*

" The note which Mr. Everett, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, addressed to the un-
dersigned, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
on the 10th of August last, respecting the seizure of the American fish-
ing vessel Washington, by the officers of Nova Scotia, having been duly
referred to the Colonial Office, and by that office to the governor of Nova
Scotia, the undersigned has now the honor to communicate to Mr. Ev-
erett the result of those references.

" The complaint which Mr. Everett submits to her Majesty's govern-
ment is, that, contrary to the express stipulations of the convention con-
cluded on the 20th of October, 1818, between Great Britain and the
United States, an American fishing vessel was seized by the British
authorities for fishing in the Bay of Fundy, where Mr. Everett affirms
that, by the treaty, American vessels have a right to fish, provided
they are at a greater distance than three marine miles from the coast.

"Mr. Everett, in submitting this case, does not cite the words of the
treaty, but states, in general terms, that by the first article of said treaty
the United States renounce any liberty heretofore enjoyed or claimed
by their inhabitants, to take, dr}-, or cure fish, on or within three
miles of any of the coasts of any Majesty's dominions in Amer-
ica. Upon reference, however, to the words of the treaty, it will be
seen that American vessels have no right to fish, and indeed are ex-
pressly debarred from fishing, in any bay on the coast of Nova Scotia.

"The words of the treaty of October, 1818, article 1, run thus : 'And
the United States hereby renounce forever any liberty heretofore en-
joyed or claimed by the inhabitants thereof, to take, dry, or cure fish,
on or loithin three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or har-
bors of his Britannic Majesty's dominions in America, not included
within the above-mentioned limits, [that is, Newfoundland, Labrador,
and other parts separate from Nova Scotia :] provided, however, that
the American fishermen shall be admitted to enter such bays or harbors
for the purpose of shelter,' &c.

"It is thus clearly provided that American fishermen shall not take
fish within three marine miles of any bay of Nova Scotia, &c. If the

** Executive Document 100, page 122.

236

treaty was intended to stipulate simply that American fishermen should
not take fish within three miles of" the coast of Nova Scotia, Sec, there
was no occasion for using the word ^bay^ at all. But the proviso at the
end of the article shows that the word 'bay' was used designedly ; for
it is expressly stated in that proviso, that under certain circumstances
the American fishermen may enter bays, by which it is evidently meant
that they may, under those circumstances, pass the sea-line which forms
the entrance of the bay. The undersigned apprehends that this con-
struction will be admitted by Mr. Everett.

" That the Washington was found fishing within the Bay of Fundy,
is, the undersigned believes, an admitted fact, and she was seized ac-
cordingly."

It is possible that the contents of Lord Aberdeen's letter were imme-
diately communicated to Lord Falkland, since the latter, a few weeks
after its date, issued a proclamation charging all officers of the customs,
the sheriflfs, and other officials of Nova Scotia, to be vigilant in en-
forcing the provision of several recited acts of the imperial and pro-
vincial legislatures, and the stipulations of the convention with the Uni-
ted States, relative to illicit fishing within certain distance of the coasts,
bays, and harbors of British America. Mr. Everett again addressed the
British minister on the 25th May, 1844, in a state paper which, for
spirit, dignity, and force of argument, is a model.* It is here inserted
entire :

" The undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
tiary of the United States of America, had the honor duly to receive
the note of the 15th of April, addressed to him by the Earl of Aber-
deen, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affiiirs, in
reply to the note of the undersigned of the 10th of August last, relative
to the seizure of the American vessel the Washington, for having been
found fishing within the limits of the Bay of Fundy.

" The note of the undersio;ned of the 10th of Auijust last, although
Its immediate occasion was the seizure of the Washington, contained a
reference to the correspondence between Mr. Stevenson and Viscount
Palmerston on the subject of former complaints of the American gov-
ernment of the manner in which the fishing vessels of the United States
had, in several ways, been interfered with by the provincial authorities,
in contravention, as is believed, of the treaty of October, ISIS, between
the two countries. Lord Aberdeen's attention was particularly invited
to the fact that no answer as yet had been returned to Mr. Stevenson's
note to Lord Palmerston, of 27th March, 1841, the receipt of which,
and its reference to the Colonial Department, were announced by a
note of Lord Palmerston of the 2d of April. The undersigned further
observed that, on the 28th of the same month, Lord Palmerston ac-
quainted Mr. Stevenson that his lordship had been advised liom the
Colonial Office that ' copies of the papers received from Mr. Steven-
son would be furnished to Lord Falkland, with instructions to inquire
into the allegations contained therein, and to furnish a detailed report on
the subject ;' but tliat there was not found on the files of this legation
any further communication from Lord Palmerston on the subject.

* Executive Document No. 100, page 123.

237

*' The note of Lord Aberdeen of the 15th of April last is confined
exclusively to the case of the Washington ; and it accordingly be-
comes the duty of the undersigned again to invite his lordship's at-
tention to the correspondence above referred to between Mr. Steven-
son and Lord Palmerston, and to request that inquiry may be made,
without unnecessary delay, into all the causes of complaint which have
been made by the American government against the improper inter-
ference of the British colonial authorities with the fishing vessels of the
United States.

" In reference to the case of the Washington, Lord Aberdeen, in
his note of the 15th of April, justifies her seizure by an armed provin-
cial vessel, on the assumed fiict that, as she was found fishing in the
Bay of Fundy, she was within the limits from which the fishing vessels
of the United States are excluded by the provisions of the convention
between the two countries of October, 1818.

" The undersigned had remarked, in his note of the 10th of August last,
on the impropriety of the conduct of the colonial authorities in proceed-
ing in reference to a question of construction of a treaty pending between
the two countries, to decide the question in their own favor, and in vir-
tue of that decision to order the capture of the vessels of a friendly
State. A summary exercise of power of this kind, the undersigned is
sure, would never be resorted to by her Majesty's government, except
in an extreme case, while a negotiation was in train on the point at
issue. Such a procedure, on the part of a local colonial authority, is,
of course, highly objectionable, and the undersigned cannot but again
invite the attention of Lord Aberdeen to this view of the subject.

*' With respect to the main question of the right of American vessels to
fish within the acknowledged limits of the Bay of Fundy, it is neces-
sary, for a clear understanding of the case, to go back to the treaty of
17 S3.

" By this treaty it was provided that the citizens of the United States
should be allowed 'to take fish of every kind on such part of the coast
of Newfoundland as British fishermen shall use, (but not to dry or cure
the same on that island,) and also on the coasts, bays, and creeks of all
other of his Britannic Majesty's dominions in America, and that the
American fishermen shall have liberty to dry and cure fish in any
of the unsettled bays, harbors, and creeks of Nova Scotia, Magdalene
islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled; but
so soon as the same or either of them shall be settled, it shall not be
lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish at such settlement with-
out a previous agreement for that purpose with the inhabitants, propri-
etors, or possessors of that ground.'

" These privileges and conditions were in reference to a country of
which a considerable portion was then unsettled, likely to be attended
with differences of opinion as to what should, in the progress of time, be
accounted a settlement from which American fishermen might be exclu-
ded. These differences in fact arose, and by the year 1818 the state of
things was so far changed that her Majesty's government thought it neces-
saiy, in negotiating the convention of that year, entirely to except the
province of Nova Scotia from the number of the places which might be
Irequented by Americans as being in part unsettled, and to provide that

238

the fishermen of the United States should not pursue their oc(.upntion
within three miles of the shores, bays, creeks, and harbors of that
and other parts of her Mnjesty's possessions similarly situated. The
privilege reserved to American fishermen by the treaty of 1783, of taking
fish in all the Avaters, and drying them on all the unsettled portions of
the coast of these possessions, was accordingly, by the convention of
iSlS, restricted as follows :

" * The United States hereby renounce forever any liberty heretoftjre
enjoyed or claimed by the inhabitants thereof, to take, dr}'^, or cure fish
on oV within three miles of any of the coasts, baj's, creeks, or harbors of
his Britannic Majesty's dominions in America, not included within the
above-mentioned limits : provided, however, that the American fisher-
men shall be admitted to enter such bays or harbors for the purpose of
sheltering and repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood, and of
obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever.'

" The existing doubt as to the construction of the provision arises from
the fact that a btoad arm of the sea runs up to the northeast, between the
provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. This arm of the sea
being commonly called the Bay of Fundy, though not in reality pos-
sessing all the characters usually implied by the term ' bay^' has of
late years been claimed by the provincial authorities of Nova Scotia to
be included among ' the coasts, bays, creeks, and harbors' forLiidden to
American fishermen.

" An examination of the map is sufficient to show the doubtful nature
of this construction. It was notoriously the object of the article of the
treaty in question to put an end to tlie difficulties which had grown out
of the operations of the fishermen from the United States along the
coasts and upon the shores of the settled portions of the country, and
for that purpose to remove theh vessels to a distance not exceeding
three miles from the same. In estimating this distance, the undersigned
admits it to be the intent of the treaty, as it is itself reasonable, to have
regard to the general line of the coast ; and to consider its bays, creeks,
and harbors — that is, the indentations usually so accounted — as included
within that line. But the undersigned cannot admit it to be reasonable,
instead of thus following the general directions of the coast, to draw a
fine from the southwesternmost point of Nova Scotia to the termination
of the northeastern boundary between the United States and New
Brunswick, and to consider the arms of the sea which will thus
be cut off, and which cannot, on that line, be less than sixty miles
wide, as one of the bays on the coast from which American vessels are
excluded. By this interpretation the fishermen of the United States
would be shut out from the waters distant, not three, but thirty miles
from any part of the colonial coast. The undersigned cannot perceive
that any assignable object of "the restriction imposed by the convention
of 1818 on the fishing privilege accorded to the citizens of the United
States by the treaty of 1783, requires such a latitude of construction.

"It is obvious that (by the terms of the treaty) the llirthest distance to
which fishing vessels of the United States are obliged to hold themselves
from the colonial coasts and bays, is three miles. But, owing to the
peculiar configuration of these coasts, there is a succession of bays in-
denting the shores both of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, within die

239

Bay of Fundy. The vessels of the United States have a general right
to approach all the bays in her Majesty's colonial dominions, within
any distance not less than three miles — a privilege from the enjoyment
of which they will be wholly excluded — in this part of the coast, if the
broad arm of the sea which flows up between New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia is itself to be considered one of the forbidden bays.

"Lastly — and this consideration seems to put the matter beyond
doubt — the construction set up by her Majesty's colonial authorities,
would altogether nullify another, and that a most important stipulation
of the treaty, about which there is no controversy, viz : the privilege
reserved to American fishing vessels of taking shelter and repairing
damages in the bays within which they are forbidden to fish. There
is, of course, no shelter nor means of repairing damages for a vessel
entering the Bay of Fund}'', in itself considered. It is necessary, before
reliefer succor of any kind can be had, to traverse that broad arm of
the sea and reach the bays and harbors, properly so called, which in-
dent the coast, and which are no doubt the bays and harbors referred
to in the convention of 1818. The privilege of entering the latter in
extremity of weather, reserved by the treaty, is of the utmost import-
ance. It enables the fisherman, whose equipage is always very slender,
(that of the Washington was four men all told,) to pursue his laborious
occupation with comparative safety, in the assurance that in one of the
sudden and dangerous changes of weather so frequent and so terrible
on this iron-bound coast, he can take shelter in a neighboring and friendly
port. To forbid him to approach within thirty miles of that port, ex-
cept for shelter in extremity of weather, is to forbid him to resort there
for that purpose. It is keeping him at such a distance at sea as wholly
to destroy the value of the privilege expressly reserved.

"In fact it would follow, if the construction contended for by the Brit-
ish colonial authorities were sustained, that two entirely different limit-
ations would exist in reference to the right of shelter reserved to Amer-
ican vessels on the shores of her Majesty's colonial possessions. They
would be allowed to fish within three miles of the place of shelter along
the greater part of the coast ; while in reference to the entire extent of
shore within the Bay of Fundy, they would be wholly prohibited from
fishing along the coast, and would be kept at a distance of twenty or
thirty miles from any place of refuge in case of extremity. There are
certainly no obvious principles which render such a construction prob-
able.

" The undersigned flatters himself that these considerations will go
far to satisfy Lord Aberdeen of the correctness of the American under-
standing of the words ' Bay of Fundy,' arguing on the terms of the
treaties of 1783 and 1818. When it is admitted that, as the under-
signed is advised, there has been no attempt till late years to give them
any other construction than that for which the American government
now contends, the point would seem to be placed beyond doubt.

" Meantime Lord Aberdeen will allow that this is a question, however
doubtful, to be settled exclusively by her Majesty's government and
that of the United States. No disposition has been evinced by the lat-
ter to anticipate the decision of the question; and the undersigned must
again represent it to the Earl of Aberdeen as a matter of just complaint

240

and surprise on the part of his government, tliat tlie opposite course has
been pursued by her Majesty's colonial authorities, who have proceeded
(the undersigned is confident without instructions from London) to cap-
ture and detain an American vessel on a construction of the treaty which
is a matter of discussion between the two governments, and while the
undersigned is actually awaiting a communication on the subject prom-
ised to his predecessor.

" This course of conduct, it may be added, objectionable under any
circumstances, finds no excuse in any supposed urgency of the case.
The Washington was not within three times the limit admitted to be
prescribed in reference to the approach of American vessels to all other
parts of the coast, and in taking a few fish, out of the abundance which
exists in those seas, she certainly was inflicting no injury on the inter-
ests of the colonial population which required this summary and violent
measure of redress.

" The undersigned trusts that the Earl of Aberdeen, on giving a re-
newed consideration to the case, will order the restoration of the Wash-
ington, if still detained, and direct the colonial authorities to abstain
from the further capture of the fishing vessels of the United States un-
der similar circumstances, till it has been decided between the two
governments whether the Bay of Fundy is included among ' the coasts,
bays, creeks, and harbors,' which American vessels are not permitted
to approach within three miles.

" The undersigned requests Lord Aberdeen to accept the assurances
of his distinguished consideration."

On the 6th September, 1844, Mr. Calhoun* (who had succeeded
Mr. Upshur as Secretary of State) called the attention of Mr. Everett
to the seizure of the American fishing schooner Argus, by the British
cutter Sylph, off the coast of Cape JBreton. From the representation
which accompanied the Secretary's despatch, it appears that the Argus,
when captured, was at a distance of "fifteen miles from any land."
This was the second case of seizure under the new construction of the
convention of 1818. Mr. Everett, in presenting the matter to Lord
Aberdeen, on the 9th of October of that year, stated t that "The
grounds assigned for the capture of this vessel are not stated with great
distinctness. They appear to be connected partly by the construction
set up by her Majesty's provincial authorities in America, that the line
within which vessels of the United States are forbidden to fish is to be
drawn from headland to headland, and not to follow the indentations of
the coast, and partly with the regulations established by those authori-
ties, in consequence of the annexation of Cape Breton to Nova Scotia."
That, "with respect to the former point, the undersigned deems it ui>
necessary, on this occasion, to add anything to the observations con-
tained in his note to Lord Aberdeen, of the 25th of May, on the subject
of limitations of the right secured to American fishing vessels by the
treaty of 1783 and the convention of 1818, in reply to the note of his
lordship of the 15th of April on the same subject. As far as the cap-
ture of the Argus was made under the authority of the act annexuig

* Executive Document 100, page 128. t Executive Document 100, page 131.

211

Cape Breton to Nova Scotia, the undersigned would observe that he is
under the impression that the question of the legality of that measure
is still .pending before the judicial committee of her Majesty's privy
council. It would be very doubtful whether rights secured to American
vessels under public compacts could, under any circumstances, be im-
paired by acts of subsequent domestic legislation ; but to proceed to
capture American vessels, in virtue of such acts, while their legality is
drawn in question by the home government, seems to be a measure as
unjust as it is harsh."

And he remarked, further, that "it is stated by the captain of the
'Argus' that the commander of the Nova Scotia schooner, by which he
was captured, said that he was within three miles of the line beyond
which, ' on their construction of the treaty, we were a lawful prize, and
that he seized us to settle the question.'

"The undersigned again feels it his duty, on behalf of his govern-
ment, formally to protest against an act of this description. American
vessels of trifling size, and pursuing a branch of industry of the most
harmless description, which, however beneficial to themselves, occasions
no detriment to others, instead of being turned off the debatable fishing
ground — a remedy fully adequate to the alleged evil — are proceeded
against as if engaged in the most undoubted infractions of municipal
law or the law of nations, captured and sent into port, their crews de-
prived of their clothing and personal effects, and the vessels subjected
to a mode of procedure in the courts which amounts in many cases to
confiscation; and this is done to settle the construction of a treaty.

"A course so violent and unnecessarily harsh would be regarded by
any government as a just cause of complaint against any other with
whom it might differ in the construction of a national compact. But
when it is considered that these are the acts of a provincial government,
with whom that of the United States has and can have no intercourse,
and that they continue and are repeated while the United States and
Great Britain, the only parties to the treaty, the purport of whose pro-
visions is called in question, are amicably discussing the matter, with
every wish, on both sides, to bring it to a reasonable settlement. Lord
Aberdeen will perceive that it becomes a subject of complaint of the
most serious kind.

"As such, the undersigned is instructed again to bring it to Lord
Aberdeen's notice, and to express the confident hope that such meas-
ures of redress as the urgency of the case requires will, at the instance
of his lordship, be promptly resorted to."

The events of 1845 were highly interesting and important. The
colonists had, apparently, accomplished their long-cherished plans.
The opinion of the crown lawyers in 1841 ; the declaration of Lord
Stanley in 1842, that our government "prarfic«% acquiesced'^ in the new
construction of the convention; and the capture of the Washington in
1843, for an infringement of that construction, and f(3r no other offence
whatever, were all calculated to impress them with the belief that the
contest was at an end. Such, I confess, was the inclination of my
own mind. My home was on the frontier ; I was a dealer in the pro-
ducts of the sea, and was in the daily transaction of business with fish-
ermen of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and was well advised of
16

242

the measures which were adopted by the colonists, from lime to time,
to induce the ministry at home to sustain their pretensions. The zeal
which was manifested by those who managed the British side of the
case, and the seeming apathy of the American press and the American
people ; the rumors from the Government House at Halifax, and the want
of all information from the White House at Washington, gave rise to
much alarm. Official silence on our part was at last broken; and such
of our citizens as were engaged in the fisheries, or were otherwise
involved in the issue of the controversy, were astounded, in June, at
the following paragraph which appeared in the "Union," a newspaper
supposed to enjoy the confidence of our government, and said, in the
popular sentiment, to be its "organ." " We are gratified," said that
paper, "to be now enabled to state, that a despatch has been recently
received at the Department of State from Mr. Everett, our minister at
London,with which he transmits a note from Lord Aberdeen, containing
the satisfactor}"" intelligence that, after a reconsideration of the subject,
althougli the Queen's government adhere to the construction of the con-
vention which they have always maintained, they have still come to
the determination of relaxing from it, so far as to allow American fish-
ermen to pursue their avocations in any part of the Bay of Fundy, pro-
vided they do not approach — except in the cases specified in the treaty
of ISIS — within three miles of the entrance of any bay on the coast
of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.

•' This is an important concession, not merely as removing an occasion
of frequent and unpleasant disagreement between the two governments,
but as reopening to our citizens those valuable fishing grounds within
the Bay of Fundy which tliey enjoyed before the war of 1S12, but
from \vhich, as the British government has since mainlained, they were
excluded b}^ the convention of 1818."

The assertion, from such a source, that the British government had
** always ma'mtaincd^^ the construction of the convention contended for in
the "case " submitted to the crown lawyers by Lord Falkland, in 1841 ;
the annunciation that our vessels were no longer to fish ^^ivithin three
miles of the entrance of amj hay on the coast of Novq, Scotia or New
Brunswick,''^ the Bay of Fundy alone excepted ; the further declaration
that the fishing grounds of that bay "enjo^-'cd before the war of 1812,"
and lost to us by that event, were now "reopened" to us by "an im-
portant concession" — excited the liveliest sensibihty, and were regarded
in the fishing towns of Maine and Massachusetts with dismay. The
colonists had pushed their claims so secretly and so adroitly, that the
crowning acts of their policy were hardly known to our countrymen who
resorted to their seas; and the fict that the Bay of Fundy was in dis-
jmte, was first ascertained by many of them on the seizure of the
"Washington" for fishing there. It was expected that some more defi-
nite annunciation would be made, or that the correspondence between
Mr. Everett and the British government, which preceded and led to the
"concession," would follow the article just quoted from the "Union;"
but the precise terms of the arrangernc^nt of 1S45 were never stated,
either in that paper or elsewhere, and the citizens whose property was
exposed to capture by British cruisers and colonial cutters were left to
pursue their business in apprehension and doubt. Under these circum-

243

stances, the writer of this report assumed the task of attempting to
impress the public mind with the probable state of affairs. He wrote
for the periodical and for the newspaper press ; he addressed letters to
persons interested in enterprises to ihe British colonial seas, and to
persons in official employments ; he continued his labors, in various
other wa3^s, for quite a year : he was unsupported, and abandoned the
design finall^'^ in despair.

The American people remained in ignorance of the tenor of the cor-
respondence referred to above until August, 1S52, when it was em-
braced in the documents submitted by the President to the Senate, in
answer to a resolution of that body.* Lord Aberdeen's letter of March
10, 1845, t consenting to admit our fishermen into the Bay of Fundy,
"as the concession of a privilege,'''' and in relaxation of the new construc-
tion of the convention, and Mr. Everett's reply, of the 25th of the same
month,! accepting the same as the continuation of "a right" always
enjoyed, and never impaired, are properly inserted in this connexion.
The letter of our minister, it is to be observed, was among his last official
acts, as he was recalled almost innnediatel}^ alter communicating to
our government the conditions which, in opposition to the remonstrances
of the colonists, and the alleged "practical acquiescence" of our own
cabinet in the opinion of the crown lawyers, he had been able to se-
cure ; it closed the correspondence. In ability, it is in no respect infe-
rior to his letter of May 25th, 1844, already copied, and is among the
most valuable state papers in our archives, inasmuch as it is the only
one which we can cite to show our dissent to the British claim to the
Bay of Fundy, "as a haxj within the meaning of the treaty of 1818."

His lordship said :

" The undersigned, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for
Foreign Affiiirs, duly referred to the colonial department the note which
Mr. Everett, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the
United States of America, did him the honor to address to him on the
25th of May last, respecting the case of the ' Washington,' fishing ves-
sel, and on the general question of the right of United States fish
ermen to pursue their caUing in the Bay of Fundy ; and having shortly
since received the answer of that department, the undersigned is now
enabled to make a reply to Mr. Everett's communication, which he trusts
will be found satisfactory.

"In acquitting himself of this duty, the undersigned will not think
it necessary to enter into a lengthened argument in reply to the obser-
vations which have at different times been submitted to her Majesty's
government by Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Everett, on the subject of the
right of fishing in the Bay of Fundy, as claimed in behalf of the United
States citizens. The undersigned will confine himself to stating that
after the most deliberate reconsideration of the subject, and with every
desire to do full justice to the United States, and to view the claims
put forward on behalf of United States citizens in the most favor-
able light, her Majesty's government are nevertheless still constrained to
deny the right of United States citizens, under the treaty of 1818, to
fish in that part of the Bay of Fundy which, from its geographical

*Ex. Doc. 100. tEx. Doc. 100, p. 135. X Ex. Doc 100, p. 136.

244

position, may properly be considered as included within the British
possessions.

"Her Majesty's government must still maintain — and in this view they
are fortified by high legal authority — that the Bay of Fundy is right-
fully claimed by Great Britain, as a bay within the meaning of the
treaty of 1818. And they equally maintain the position which was laid
down in the note of the undersigned, dated the 15th of April last,
that, with regard to the other ba\^s on the British American coasts, no
United States fisherman has, under that convention, the right to fi.sh
within three miles of the entrance of such bays as designated by a line
drawn from headland to headland at that entrance.

"But while her Majesty's government still feel themselves bound to
maintain these positions as a matter of right, the}'' are nevertheless not
insensible to the advantages which would accrue to both countries from
a relaxation of the exercise of that right; to the United States as con-
ferring a material benefit on their fishing trade ; and to Great Britain
and the United States, conjointly and equally, b}' the removal of a fer-
tile source of disagi^eement between them.

" Her Majesty's government are also anxious, at the same time that
they uphold the just claims of the British crown, to evince by every
reasonable concession their desire to act liberally and amicably towards
the United Stares.

" The undersigned has accordingly much pleasure in announcing to
Mr. Everett the determination to which her Majesty's government have
come, to relax in favor of the United States fishermen that right which
Great Britain has hitherto exercised, of excluding those fishermen from
the British portion of the Bay of Fundy, and they are prepared to di-
rect their colonial authorities to allow henceforward the United States
fishermen to pursue their avocations in any part of the Bay of Fund}^
provided they do not approach, except in the cases specified in the
treaty of 1818, within three miles of the entrance of any bay on the
coast of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.

" In thus communicating to Mr. Everett the liberal intentions of her
Majesty's government, the undersigned desires to call Mr. Everett's at-
tention to the fact that the produce of the labor of the British colonial
fishermen is at the present moment excluded by prohibitory duties on
the part of the United States from the markets of that country ; and
the undersigned would submit to I\fr. Everett that the moment at which
the British government are makino: a liberal concession to United
States trade, might well be deemed favorable for a counter concession
on the part of" the United States to British trade, by the reduction of
the duties which operate so piejudicially to the interest of the British
coloniid fishermen.

"Tlie undersigned has the honor to renew to Mr. Everett the assu-
rances of his high consideration."

Mr. Everett rejoined :

" The undersigned, Envo}- Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the United States of America, has the honor to acknowledge the re-
ceipt of a note of the 10th instant from the Earl of Aberdeen, her
Majest3^'s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in reply to

245

the communication of the undersigned of the 15th of May last, on the
case of the ' Washington,' and the construction given by the govern-
ment of the United States to the convention of 1818, relative to the
right of fishing on the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

" Lord Aberdeen acquaints the undersigned, that, after the most de-
liberate reconsideration of the subject, and with every desire to do fuU
justice to the United States and to view the claims put forward on be-
half of their citizens in the most favorable light, her Majesty's govern-
ment are nevertheless still constrained to deny the right of citizens of
the United States, under the treaty of 1818, to fish in that part of the
Bay of Fundy which from its geographical position may pioperly be
considered as included within the British possessions ; and also to main-
tain that, with regard to the other bays on the British American coasts,
no United States fisherman has, under that convention, the right to fish
within three miles of the entrance of such bay, as designated by aline
drawn from headland to headland at that entrance.

"Lord Aberdeen, however, informs the undersigned that, although
continuing to maintain these positions as a matter of right, her Majesty's
government are not insensible to the advantages which might accrue
to both countries from a relaxation in its exercise ; that the}^ are anx-
ious, while upholding the just claims of the British crown, to evince
by every reasonable concession their desire to act liberally and ami-
cably towards the United States ; and that her Majesty's government
have accordingly come to the deteimination ' to relax in favor of the
United States fishermen the right which Great Britain has hitherto ex-
ercised of excluding those fishermen from the British portion of the
Bay of Fundy, and are prepared to direct their colonial authorities to
allow, henceforward, the United States fishermen to pursue their avo-
cations in any part of the Bay of Fundy, provided they do not ap-
proach, except in the cases specified in the treaty of 1818, within three
miles of the entrance of any bay on the coast of Nova Scotia or New
Brunswick.'

" The undersigned receives with great satisfaction this communica-
tion from Lord Aberdeen, which promises the permanent removal of a
fruitful cause of disagreement between the two countries, in reference
to a valuable portion of the fisheries in question. The government of
the United States, the undersigned is persuaded, will duly appreciate
the friendly motives which have led to the determination on the part of
her Majesty's government announced in Lord Aberdeen's note, and
which he doubts not will have the natural effect of acts of liberality
between powerful states, of producing benefits to both parties, beyond
any immediate interest which may be favorably affected.

" While he desires, however, without reserve, to express his sense
of the amicable disposition evinced by her Majesty's government on
this occasion in relaxing in favor of the United States the exercise of
what, after deliberate consideration, fortified by high legal authority,
is deemed an unquestioned right of her Majesty's government, the un-
dersigned would be unfaithful to his duty did he omit to remark to
Lord Aberdeen that no arguments have at any time been adduced
to shake the confidence of the government of the United States in their
own construction of the treaty. While they have ever been prepared

246

to admit, that in the letter of one expression of that instrument there is
some reason for claiming a right to exclude United Stales fishermen
from the Bay of Fundy, (it being difficult to deny to that arm of the
sea the name of 'bay,' which long geographical usage has assigned to
it,) they have ever strenuously maintained that it is only on their ovv^n
construction of the entire article that its known design in reference to
the regulation of the fisheries admits of being carried into effect.

" The undersigned does not make this observation for the sake of
detracting from the liberaht}^ evinced by her Majesty's government in
relaxing from what they regard as their right ; but it would be placing
his own government in a false position to accept as mere favor that for
which they have so long and strenuously contended as due to them
under the convention.

"It becomes the more necessary to make this observation, in conse-
quence of some doubt as to the extent of the proposed relaxation.
Lord Aberdeen, after stating that her Majesty's government felt them-
selves constrained to adhere to the right of excluding the United States
fishermen from the Bay of Fundy, and also with regard to other bays
on the British American coasts, to maintain the position that no United
States fisherman has, under that convention, the right to fish within
three miles of the entrance of such bays, as designated by a fine drawn
from headland to headland at that entrance, adds, that 'while her Ma-
jesty's government still feel themselves bound to maintain these posi-
tions as a matter of right, they are not insensible to the advantages
which would accrue to both countries from the relaxation of that right.'

" This form of expression might seem to indicate that the relaxation
proposed had reference to both positions ; but when Lord Aberdeen
proceeds to state more particularly its nature and extent, he confines
it to a permission to be granted to ' the United States fishermen to
pursue their avocations in any part of the Bay of Fundy, provided
they do not approach, except in the cases specified in the treaty of 18 IS,
within three miles of the entrance of any bay on the coast of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick,' which entrance is defined, in another
part of Lord Aberdeen's note, as being designated by a line drawn
from headland to headland.

" Li the case of the ' Washington,' which formed the subject of the
note of die undersigned of the 25lh May, 1844, to which the present
communication of Lord Aberdeen is a reply, the capture complained
of was in the waters of the Bay of Fundy : the principal portion of
the argument of the undersigned was addressed to that part of the sub-
ject; and he is certainly under the impression that it is the point of
greatest interest in the discussions which have been hitherto carried on
between the two governments, in reference to the United States' right
of fishery on the Anglo-American coasts.

" In tlie case, however, of the ' Argus,' which w^as treated in the
note of the undersigned of the 9th of October, the capture was in the
waters which wash the northeastern coast of Cape Breton, a portion of
the Atlantic ocean intercepted indeed between a straight line drawn
fi-om Cape North to the northern head of Cow bay, but possessing
none of the characters of a bay, (far less so than the Bay of Fundy,)
and not called a ' bay' on any map w^hich the undersigned has seen.

247

The aforesaid line is a degree of latitude in length; and as far as reli-
ance can be placed on the only maps (English ones) in the possession
of the undersigned on which this coast is distinctly laid down, it would
exclude vessels from fishing grounds which might be thirty miles from
the shore.

" Lord Aberdeen, in his note of the lOth instant, on the case of the
* Argus,' observes that, 'as the point of the construction of the conven-
tion of 1818, in reference to the right of fishing in the Anglo-American
dependencies by citizens of the United States, is treated in another note
of the undersigned of this date, relative to the case of the 'Washington,*
the undersigned abstains from again touching on that subject.'

" This expression taken by itself, Avould seem to authorize the expect-
ation that the waters where these two vessels respectively were cap-
lured would be held subject to the same principles, whether of restric-
tion or relaxation, as indeed all the considerations which occur to the
undersigned as having probably led her Majesty's government to the
relaxation in reference to the Bay of Fundy exist in full and even su-
perior force in reference to the waters on the northeastern coast of Cape
Breton, where the 'Argus' was seized. Butif her Majesty's provincial
authorities are permitted to regard as a 'bay,' any portion of the sea
which can be cut off" by a direct line connecting two points of the coast,
however destitute in other respects of the character usually implied by
that name, not only will the waters on the northeastern coast of Cape
Breton, but on many other parts of the shores of the Anglo-American de-
pendencies, where such exclusion has not yet been thought of, be pro-
hibited to American fishermen. In fact, the waters which wash the
entire southeastern coast of Nova Scotia, from Cape Sable to Cape
Canso, a distance on a straight line of rather less than three hundred
miles, would in this way constitute a bay, from which United States
fishermen would be excluded.

" The undersigned, however, forbears to dwell on this subject, being
far from certain, on a comparison of all that is said in the two notes of
Lord Aberdeen of the 10th instant, as to the relaxation proposed by
her Majesty's government, that it is not intended to embrace the waters
of the northeastern coasts of Cape Breton, as well as the Bay of Fundy.

"Lord Aberdeen, towards the close of the note in which the purpose
of her Majesty's government is communicated, invites the attention of
the undersigned to the fact that British colonial fish is, at the present
time, excluded by prohibitory duties from the markets of the United
States, and suggests that the moment at which the British government
are making a liberal concession to United States trade, might be deemed
favorable tor a counter concession on the part of the United States to
British trade, by the reduction of duties which operate so prejudicially
to the interests of British colonial fishermen.

"The undersigned is of course without instructions which enable him
to make any definite reply to this suggestion. It is no doubt true that
the British colonial fish, as far as duties are concerned, enters the
United States market, if at all, to some disadvantage. The government
of the United States, he is persuaded, would gladly make any reduction
in these duties which would not seriously injure the native fishermen;
but Lord Aberdeen is aware that the encouragement of this class of

248

the seafaring community has ever been considered, as well in the
United States as Great Britain, as resting on peculiar grounds of expe-
diency. It is the great school not only of the commercial but of the
public marine, and the highest considerations of national policy require
it to be fostered.

" The British colonial fishermen possess considerable advantages over
those of the United States. The remoter fisheries of Newfoundland
and Labrador are considerably more accessible to the colonial than to
the United States fishermen. The fishins? ijrounds on the coasts of New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia, abounding in cod, mackerel and herring,
lie at the doors of the former ; he is therefore able to pursue his avoca-
tion in a smaller class of vessels, and requires a smaller outfit ; he is able
to use the net and the seine to great advantnge in the small bays and
inlets along the coast, from which the fishermen of the United States,
under any construction of the treaty, are excluded. All, or nearly all
the materials of ship-building, timber, iron, cordage and canvass, are
cheaper in the colonies than in the United States, as are salt, hooks and
lines. There is also great advantage enjoyed in the former in reference
to the supply of bait and curing the fish. These, and other causes,
have enabled the colonial fishermen to drive those of the United States
out of many foreign markets, and might do so at home but for the pro-
tection afforded by the duties.

"It may be added that the highest duty on the kinds of fish that
would be sent to the American market is less than a half-penny per
pound, which cannot do more tlian counterbalance the numerous ad-
vantages possessed by the colonial fishermen.

" The undersigned supposes, though he has no particular informa-
tion to that effect, that equal or higher duties exist in the colonies on the
importation of fish ti-orn the United States.

" The undersigned requests the Earl of Aberdeen to accept the assu-
rance of his high consideration."

At the date of these letters, Mr. Everett seems to have beheved that
♦' the negotiation was in the most favorable state for a full and satis-
factory adjustment" of every question in dispute. This is evident
from his despatch of April 23d, 1845, to Mr. Buchanan,* who had suc-
ceeded Mr. Calhoun as Secretary of State, and from other sources
which are equally authentic. The opening of the Bay of Fundy, con-
sidered in itself alone, " though nominally confirming the interpretation
of the treaty which the colonial authorities had set up, was," in fact,
"a practical abandonment of it;" and we have the highest assurance
that the British government " contemplated the further extension of
the same policy by the adoption of a general regulation that American
fishermen should be allowed freely to enter all bays of which the
mouths were more thnn six miles wide." This intention was com-
municated to Lord Falkland by Lord Stanley in a despatch of May
19, 1S45. The former, in his reply, dated June 17, rc(juestcd that, as
the plan had reference to matters deeply affecting the interests of Nova

* Executive Documeut 100, page 153.

249

Scotia, and involved so many considerations to the elucidation of which
local knowledge and information were essentially necessary, the nego-
tiation might be suspended until he should have an opportunity of
addressing the colonial secretary again. In a second despatch, written
on the 2d of July, Lord Falkland observed that in previous communi-
cations he had very fully explained the reasons why he should deeply
lament any relaxation of the construction of the treaty which would
admit of the American fishing vessels carrying on their operations
within three miles of a line drawn from headland to headland of the
various bays on the coast of Nova Scotia, and that he did not then re-
tract the opinions he had expressed on these occasions. He said,
further, that, as much technical knowledge and verbal accuracy
were required in treating the subject, he had directed the attorney
general of the colony to prepare a report, which he enclosed, and to
which he desired Lord Stanley's particular attention ; and he re-
marked, in conclusion, that " he was convinced such relaxation of the
treaty of 1818, as was apparently contemplated by Lord Aberdeen,
would, if carried into effect, produce very deep-rooted dissatisfaction
both in his own colony and in New Brunswick, and cause much injury
to a very large and valuable class of her Majesty's subjects." A copy
of the report of the Hon. J. W. Johnston, referred to by Lord Falk-
land, follows. American readers will fail to find the "technical knowl-
edge and verbal accuracy" indicated by his lordship ; while, if they
will turn to the arguments of Mr. Everett, to which it replies, they
will also find that the positions of our minister are neither fairly met
nor essentially weakened. It may be admitted that some points are
stated with force and with fairness. But this document adds nothing
to the reputation of the attorney general, who is justly considered to
be an able man ; for it is deficient in learning, upon the matters in con-
troversy, deficient in "accuracy," in the statements of facts relative to
the course and character of our fishermen, and in its tone and spirit
hardly more to be admired than the common accounts of "American
aggressions" which appear in the colonial newspapers.

Under date of June 16, 1845, Mr. Johnston says:

"My Lord: Agreeably to your excellency's desire, I have the honor
to report such suggestions as appear to arise from the despatch of the
Right Hon. the Secretary of State for the colonies, dated 10th May
last, and the correspondence accompanying it of the United States
minister at London and her Majesty's government, on the subject of the
fisheries on the coasts of her Majesty's North American provinces.

" The concession of a right to fish in the Bay of Fundy has been
followed by the anticipated consequence, the demand for more ex-
tended surrenders, based upon what has been already gained ; and it
is to be feared that the relaxations now contemplated, if carried into
effect, will practically amount to an unrestricted license to American
fishermen.

" When their right to fish within the larger bays, or at the mouths of
the smaller inlets, shall be established, the ease with which they may
run into the shores — whether to fish, or for obtaining bait, or for draw-
ing off the shoals of fish, or for smugghng — and the facility of escape

250

before detection, iiotwItli.-t;i riding every guard which it is within the
means of the province to employ, will render very difficult the attempt
to prevent violations of the remaining restrictions, while, in the case of
seizures, the means of evasion and excuse, which experience has shown
to be, under any circumstances, abundantly ready, will be much en-
larged.

"An instance has just occurred which illustrates this apprehension,
and confirms the observations to the same effect contained in the report
I had the honor to make to your excellency on the 17th September
last, on the same subject.

"An American fisherman, on the 5th of this month, was seized in
the Bay of Fundy, at anchor '■inside of the light-house at the entrance
of Digby Gut,' about a quarter of a mile from the shore, his nets lying
on the deck, still wet, and with the scales of herrings attached to the
meshes, and having fresh herrings on board his vessel. The excuse
sworn to is, that rough weather had made a harbor necessary ; that the
nets were wet from being recently washed ; but that the fish were
caught while the vessel was beyond three mil^s fi-om the shore.

"Hence, too, will be extended and aggravated all the mischiefs to
our fisheries from the means used by the Americans in fishing, as by
jigging — drawing seines across the mouths of the rivers — and other
expedients; from the practice of drawing the shoals from the shores, by
baiting; and, above all, from their still more pernicious habit of throw-
ing the garbage upon the fishing-grounds and along the shores.

"Every facility afforded the American fisherman to hold frequent,
easy, and comparatively safe intercourse with the shores, extends an-
other evil, perhaps more serious in its results — the illicit traffic carried
on under the cover of fishing — in which not only the revenue is
defrauded, and the fair dealer discountenanced, but the coasts and re-
mote harbors are filled with noxious and useless articles, as the poison-
ous rum and gin and manufactured teas, of which already too much is
introduced into the country, in exchange for the money and fish of the
settlers; and from this intercourse, when habitual and established from
year to year, the moral and political sentiments of our population can-
not but sustain injury.

" In the argument of the American minister his excellency appears
to assume that the question turns on the force of the word ' hay,'' and
the peculiar expression of the treaty in connexion with that word; but
although it was obviously the clear intention of its framers to keep the
American fishermen at a distance of three marine miles from the
'bays, creeJcs, a?id harbors,^ there does not, therefore, arise any just
reason to exclude the word coasts, used in the same connexion in the
ti'eaty, from its legitimate force and meaning; and if it be an admitted
rule of general law that the outline of a coast is to be defined, not by
its indentations, but by a fine extending from its principal headlands,
then waters, although not known under the designation, nor having the
general form of a bay, may yet be within the exclusion designed by
the treaty.

"His excellency the American minister complains of the ^essential
injustice^ of the law of this province under which the fisheries are at-

251

tempted to be guarded, and is pleased to declare that it ^possesses none
of the qualities of the law of civilized states hut its forms.''

"His excellency, in using this language, possibly supposecf that the
colonial act had attempted to give a construction to the treaty of 1818,
or had originated the penalty and mode of confiscation which he
deprecates. But had his excellency examined the act of the province
he has so strongly stigmatized, he would have discovered that, as re-
gards the limits within which foreign fishermen are restricted from
fishing, the colonial legislature has used but the words of the treaty
itself, and a comparison of the provincial act with an act of the impe-
rial Parliament, the 59 George III, ch. 38, would have shown him that,
as regards the description of the offence, the confiscation of the vessel
and cargo, and the mode of proceeding, the legislature of Nova Scotia
has, in effect, only declared what was already, and still is, the law of
the realm under imperial enactments.

"Mr. Everett adverts to what he considers Hhe extremely ohjcctionabh
diaractcr of the course pursued by the proviticial authorities in presuming to
decide for themselves a question under discussion between the two governments.^

"But it is submitted, that if the American government controverted
the construction given to the treaty, the course pursued on the part of
Nova Scotia, which made confiscation dependent on a judicial trial and
decision, was neither presumptuous nor inexpedient; nor could the ne-
cessity of security for <£G0, or the risk of costs, in case of failure,
oflTer any serious impediment to the defence in a matter which, as Mr.
Everett declares, the government of the United States deems of great
national importance.

"Upon the other hand, if the American fishermen could only seek a
relaxation of the construction given to the treaty in England and Nova
Scotia, as a matter oijavor, '■ pres^imption ' would rather seem to lie on
that side which insisted on enjoying the privilege before the boon was
conferred.

"In any view of the matter, as the American fisherman was never
meddled with until he had voluntarily passed the controverted limit, it
is difficult to comprehend why the American minister's proposition
would not stand reversed with more propriety than it exhibits in its
present form; for his excellency's regret might not unreasonably, it
would seem, have been expressed at 'Me extremely objectionable course
pursued by American subjects in presuming to decide for themselves a question
under discussion between the two governments,^ by fishing upon the dis-
puted grounds, and thereby reducing the provincial authorities to the
necessity of vindicating their claim or seeing it trampled on, before
any sanction had been obtained, either of legal decision or diplomatic
arrangement.

"When Mr. Everett says that the necessity of fostering the interests
of their fishermen rests on the highest ground of national policy, he ex-
presses the sentiment felt in Nova Scotia as regards the provincial wel-
fare in connexion with this subject. The Americans are fortunate in
seeing the principle carried into practice ; for the encouragement af-
forded their fishermen by the government of the United States is not
small, and its strenuous, persevering, and successful efforts to extend

252

their fishing privileges on her Majesty's coasts but too practically evince
its desii-e and ability to promote this element of national and individual
prosperity. As far as I can learn, a hberal tonnage bounty is given on
their fisliing craft, besides a bount}^ per barrel on the pickled fish — thus
guaixiing the fisherman against serious loss, in case of the failure of his
voyage ; and he is, I beheve, further favored by privileges allowed on
the importation of salt and other articles, while a mai-ket is secured him
at home which insures a profitable reward tor the fruit of his labor by
a protecting duty of five shillings per quintal on dry fish, equal to fiftv
per cent, of its value, and from one to two dollars per barrel on pickled
fish, according to the different kinds, equal to at least twenty per cent,
of their values.

"The dut3''on American fish imported into the colonies is much less,
and the British colonial fisherman is unsustained by bounties ; but the
cliief di'awback to his success is the want of certain and staple
markets, those on wliich he is principally dependent being very hmited
and fluctuating.

"In the contrast, therefore, drawn by Mr. Everett, between the ad-
vantages of the colonial and American fisherman, the extensive home-
mai'kets of the latter, independently of the encouragement he receives
from bounties and other sources, much more than compensates, I be-
lieve, for any local conveniences enjoyed b}" the former.

" The colonists cannot understand the principle on which concession,
in an^^ form, should be granted to the American people in a case
avowedly ^touchwg (he highest grounds of national policy ,'' even although
concession did not involve consequences, as it unhappily does in the
present case, both immediate and remote, most injurious to colonial
interests.

"The strong and emphatic language of the treaty of ISIS is, that
the United States 'renounce forever any liberty heretofore enjoyed or
claimed by the inhabitants thereof to take, 6ij, or cure fish on, or
within three marine miles of, any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or har-
bors of his Britannic Majesty's dominions in America not included
within the above-mentioned limits : provided, however, that the Ameri-
can fishermen shall be admitted to enter such ba3-s and harbors for the
purpose of shelter and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing
wood and of obtaining water and for no other purpose whatever. But
ihey shall be under such restrictions as may be necessary to prevent
their taking, drying, or curing fish therein, or in any other manner
whatever abusing the privileges hereby reserved to them.'

"If this national contract joes not exclude the Americans from fish-
ing within the indentations of our coasts and from our bays and harbors,
the people of Nova Scotia, while it remained in force, could not com-
plain of the exercise of the right.

"But we believe the treat}- does exclude them, and we but ask a
judicial inquiry and determination before these valuable privileges are
relinquished : the highest law opinions in England have justified our
belief^ — her Majesty's government, in theory, avows and maintains it.

"The compact, too, was in its nature reciprocal; and had the treaty,
in this particular, been (as it was not) hard upon the United States,

25S

there may doubtless be found, in other parts of it, stipulations at least
equally unfriendly to British interests.

"I repeat, my lord, we cannot understand why the Americans should
not be htid to their harga'm ; nor can we perceive the principle of justice
or prudence which would relax its terms in favor of a foreign people
whose means and advantages ah-eady preponderate so greatly, and that,
too, without reciprocal concessions, and at the expense of her Majesty's
colonial subjects, whose prosperity is deeply involved in the protection
and enlargement of this important element of their welfare.

"If the present concessions to the United States are hoped to end
and quiet the controversy between their fishermen and this province,
there is too much reason to fear the expectation will end in disappoint-
ment. From the gi-eater encouragement that will be given for viola-
tion of the treaty, under the modified conditions suggested to be im-
posed on the American fishermen, and from the multiplied facihties for
evasion and falsehood, increased and not diminished occasions of col-
lision can only be expected; and it may safely be asserted, from a
knowledge of the subject and of the parties, that, unless the British
government are content to maintain the strict construction of the treat}',
as a mere question of past contract and settled right, whatever that
construction may be, the encroachment of the American fishermen wiU
not cease, nor disputes end, until they have acquired unrestricted
license over the whole shores of Nova Scotia.

"It is hoped, my lord, that if an arrangement such as is contem-
plated should unhappil\^ be made, its terms may clearly express that
the American fishermen are to be excluded from fishing within three
miles of the entrance of the bays, creeks, and inlets, into which they are
not to be permitted to come.

" Some doubt on this point rests on the language of Lord Stanley's
despatch, and the making the criterion of the restricted bays, creeks,
and inlets to be the width of the double of three marine miles, would
strengthen the doubt bv rciising a presumption that the shores of these
bays, &c., and the shores of the general coast, were to be considered
in the same light and treated on the same footing.

"To avoid such a construction, no less than to abridge the threat-
ened evil, the suggestion made to your lordship by INIr. Stewart that at
least this width should be more than the double of three marine miles —
say three or four times more — ought, I think, to be strongly enforced.
'"I have the honor to be, vour lordship's most obedient servant,

"J. W. JOHNSTON.

" To the Right Hon. His Excellency

"Viscount Falkland, Lieut. Governor, Sfc, &;c., 4'^-"

Meantime New Brunswick was as active to prevent the measures
under consideration of the British ministry as her sister colony of Nova
Scotia. The Hon. Charles Simonds, speaker of the House of Asseni-
bly, and a gentleman of great wealth and of high consideration in
colonial circles, was deputed by the council of the first named posses-
sion of the crown to attend to 'its interests, and to remonstrate against
further " concessions." On his arrival in England he met the Hon.

254

George R. Young, a distinguished personage of Nova Scoti:), who was
anxious to join him in behalf of his own colony. The Gaspe Fishing
and Mining Company selected an agent to act with them, and the three
gentlemen waited upon a member of the Board of Trade, to whom
they communicated their views of the case.

Interviews with several other functionaries followed ; and, finally,
they met Lord Stanley, the secretary for the colonies, to whom I\Ir.
Simonds, as the only one who was officially authorized to address his
lordship, made "a strong representation" of the injurious consequences
certainly to result to her Majesty's American subjects, were the nego-
tiations with Mr. Everett to be concluded on the basis proposed. The
secretary assured him, in reply, that "nothing should be done to injure
the colonies ;" and Mr. Simonds, after his return to New Brunswick,
stated his entire confidence in the effect of his "representations" to
change the designs entertained by the ministry.

The liberal policy towards the United States, known to have had the
positive sanction of the first minister of the crown, (the late Sir Robert
Peel,) which was designed to remove all reasonable complaints on our
part, was abandoned. It was defeated by the means here stated, and
by memorials to the Queen, from merchants and others in New Bruns-
wick and Nova Scotia, which we need not specially mention. Tidings
of success soon reached the gratified colonists. On the 17th of Sep-
tember, 1845, Lord Stanley thus wrote to Lord Falkland :

"Her Majesty's government have attentively considered the repre-
sentations contained in your despatches Nos. 324 and 331, of the 17th
of June and 2d of July, respecting the policy of granting permission
to the fisheries of the United States to fish in the Bay of Chaleurs, and
other large bays of a similar character on the coasts of New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia; and apprehending from your statements that any such
general concession would be injurious to the interests of the British
North American provinces, we have abandoned the intention we had
entertained on the subject, and shall adhere to the strict letter of the
treaties which exist between Great Britain and the United States rel-
ative to the fisheries in North America, except in so far as they may
relate to the Bay of Fundy, which has been thrown open to the North
Americans under certain restrictions.

"In announcing this decision to you, I must, at the same time, direct'
your attention to the absolute necessity of a scrupulous observance of
those treaties on the part of the colonial authorities, and to the danger
which cannot fail to arise from any overstrained assumption of the
power of excluding the fishermen of the United States from the waters
in which they have a right to follow their pursuits."

It is possible that, had our government seconded the efforts of our
minister at the Court of St. James, and had instructed him, in positive
and earnest terms, that the pretensions jmd claims of the colonists,
which were at last adopt(^d by the British government, had not been,
and never would be, admitted as a just and proper commentary on the
convention of 1818, the despatch from whicli the preceding extract is
made would never have been written ; and that of consec|uence the
excitement and difficulties of 1852 would never have occurred. As it

255

was, the children of the "tories" triumphed over the children of the
'*\vhigs" of the Revolution.

The events of 1846, and of the three succeeding years, will not
detain us but a moment. The seizure and total loss of several Amer-
ican vessels, and the renewed efforts of the Nova Scolia House of
Assembly to close the Strait of Canso, for reasons stated in three an-
nual reports of committees of that body, are the most important, and
all which w^e need notice.

As we open upon the occurrences of 1851 we are met with a fourth
report on the very humane and favorite plan of closing Canso, which,
for reasons presently to appear, should be preserved in these pages.

"The committee appointed to consider the question of the navigation
by foreign vessels of the Gut of Canso, beg leave to report as follows:
" The question submitted to your committee involves the considera-
tion, first, of the right of the legislature of this province to impose re-
strictions or obstructions upon foreign vessels wishing the use of the
passage ; and secondly, the policy of imposing any, and what, restric-
tions or obstructions. Your committee, in the consideration of the first
point, are aided materially by the action of a committee of this house
in the year 1842, who prepared a series of questions wdiich were sub-
mitted by Lord Falkland to the colonial secretary, and by him to the
law officers of the crown in England, upon the general subject of the
rights of fishery as reserved to this country by the treaty with the
United States in the year 1818, and also respecting the navigation of
the Gut of Canso. As the consideration of your committee has been
solely directed to the latter point, it is unnecessary to advert to the
issues raised upon the other points. The investigation is, therefore,
confined to the fourth question submitted — that is to say, Have vessels
of the United States of America, fitted out for the fishery, a right to
pass through the Gut or Strait of Canso, which they cannot do without
coming within the prescribed limits, or to anchor there or to fish there;
and is casting bait to lure 'fish in the track of the vessel, fishing within
the meaning of the convention ?

"This question, with the others, was suggested by the consideration
of a remonstrance from Mr. Stevenson, then United States minister in
England, dated 27th of March, 1841, addressed to Lord Palmerston,
then and now Foreign Secretary, against the seizure of fishing vessels
belonging to citizens of the United States for alleged breaches of the
terms of the convention of 1818, a copy of which w^as forwarded to
Lord Falkland, then lieutenant-governor of this province, and submit-
ted by him to the legislature of 1842. This note contains the following
observations in respect to the navigation of the Gut of Canso : ' It may
be proper, also, on this occasion to bring to the notice of her Majesty's
government the assertion of the provincial legislature, that " the Gut
or Strait of Canso is a narrow strip of water, completely within and
dividing several counties of the province," and that the use of it by the
vessels and citizens of the United States is in violation of the treaty of
1818. This strait separates Nova Scotia from the island of Cape
Breton, which was not annexed to the province until the year 1820.
Prior to that, in 1818, Cape Breton was enjoying a government of its
own, distinct from Nova Scotia, the strait forming the fine of demarca-

256

tion between them; and being then, as now, a thoroughfare for vespels
passing into and out of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The union of the
two colonies cannot, therefore, be admitted as vesting in the province
the right to close a passage which has been freely and indisputably
used by the citizens of the United States since the year 1783. It is
impossible, moreover, to conceive how the use on the part of the United
States of the right of passage, common, it is believed, to all nations,
can in any manner conflict with the letter or spirit of the existing treaty
stipulations.'

" The questions having been previously forwarded by Lord Falkland
to Lord John Russell, Lord Falkland, on the 8th of May, 1841, ad-
dressed to Lord John Russel a very able despatch on the general sub-
ject of the fisheries, in v/hich previous provincial legislation was satis-
factorily vin(Ucated from charges made by BIr. Stevenson for the seizure,
improperly, of American fishing vessels; and clearly showed that the
provincial legislation was founded upon and sustained by previous im-
perial acts upon the same subject ; and which despatch most completely
silenced any further complaints of a like nature. This despatch also
refers to the navigation of the Gut of Canso, upon which Lord Falk-
land therein remarks, in answer to Mr. Stevenson, 'Her INIajesty's ex-
clusive property and dominion in the Strait of Canso is deemed main-
tainable upon the principles of international law already referred to,
and which it is considered will equally apply, whether the shore on
each side form part of the same province, or of different provinces be-
longing to her Majesty. This strait is very narrow, not exceeding, in
some parts, one mile in breadth, as may be seen on the admiralty
chart; and its navigation is not necessary for communication with the
space beyond, which may be reached by going round the island of
Cape Breton.'

"Lord Falkland again says: 'I have now, I trust, established, that
if the interpretation put upon the treaty by the inhabitants of Nova
Scotia is an incorrect one, they are sincere in their belief of the justice
and interpretation, and most anxious to have it tested by capable
authorities; and further, that if the laws passed by the provincial leg-
islature are really of the oppressive nature they are asserted to be by
Mr. Stevenson, they were enacted in the behef that the Iramers of them
were doing nothing more than carrying out the views of the home
government as to the mode in which the colonists should protect their
own dearest int(>rcsts. I enclose a copy of the proclamation containing
the act of the 6th William IV^, of which Mr. Stevenson complains; and
any alteration in its provisions, should such be deemed necessary, may
be made early in the next session of the provincial Parliament.

" The opinion of the Queen's advocate and her Majesty's attorney
general on the case drawn up by Lord Falkland, and upon the questions
subnjitted by the committee, was enclosed by Lord Stanley to Lord
Falkland, accompanied by a. despatch dated the 2Sth of November,
1S42. The opinion of the law officers of the crown, sustained as it
was by the British government, upon the point now under discussion,
is as follows: 'By the convention of 1818, it is agreed that American
citizens should have the liberty of fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
and wiihin certain defined limits, in common with British subjects, and

257

such convention does not contain any words negativing the right to
navigate the passage of the Gut of Canso, and therefore it may be
conceded that such right of navigation is not taken away by that con-
vention ; but we have attentively considered the course of navigation
to the gulf by Cape Breton, and likewise the capacity and situation of
the passage of Canso, and of the British dominions on either side, and
we are of opinion that, independently of treaty, no foreign country has
the right to use or navigate the passage of Canso, and attending to the
liberty of fishery to be enjoyed by American citizens. We are also of
opinion that the convention did not, either expressly or by necessary
implication, concede any such right of using or navigating the passage
in question.'

" The opinion of the British government, resting upon that of the
law officers of the crown, is, therefore, clearly expressed to the head
of the government of this province, for his direction and guidance, and
that of the legislature. The case is decided after a full examination
of the arguments on both sides. Mr. Stevenson complains of the ex-
ercise of the right asserted by the government here to control the
'passage of Canso.' Lord Falkland submitted his views, as well as
those of the committee, in opposition to those of Mr. Stevenson; and
the decision is unequivocally against the American claim. It will be
observed that Mr. Stevenson rests his opposition to the right claimed
principally upon the fact that the island of Cape Breton was a distinct
colony at the time of the convention of 1818 ; and hence argues that
the province of Nova Scolia, not having then the sole right to the waters
of the Gut of Canso, could not now claim to exercise an unlimited
cozitrol. Admitting that such did not then exist, it is clear that if a
common right is enjoyed solely by two parties, their union would
give complete control; and it may be fairly contended that Nova
Scotia and Cape Breton, being now under one government, possess the
same powers united as they did before the union, as resjDects third
parties; and that the effect of the union only operates to prevent antag-
onistic action relativel}' between them. The law officers of the crown,
however, take higher ground, and insist, first, that no foreign power
has any such right as that contended for by Mr. Stevenson, unless con-
veyed by treaty ; and, secondly, that no such right is conferred by the
treaty of 1818 to American citizens. Having such high authority in
favor of the existing control of the navigation of the passage in question,
it might be considered as conclusively settled; but as this exclusive
right is contested on the part of the American government, the opinion
of the late Cliancellor Kent, an American jurist of the highest standing,
in favor of the exercise of that right, as given in a chapter of his cele-
brated Legal Commentaries upon the Law of Nations, is of peculiar
value and importance. That distinguished lawyer, in the work just
mentioned, treating at large upon this subject, says:

" ' It is difficult to draw any precise or determinate conclusion amidst
the variety of opinions as to the distance to which a State may lawfully
extend its exclusive dominion over the sea adjoining its territories, and
beyond those portions of the sea which are embraced by harbors,
gulfs, ba3-s, and estuaries, and over which its jurisdiction unquestion-
ably extends. All that can be reasonably asserted is, that the dominion
17

258

of the sovereign of tlie shore over the contiguous sea extends as far aEs
is re(|uisite for his safet}' and for some hiwl'ul end. A more extended
dominion must rest entirel}^ upon force and maritime supremacy.
According to the cun-ent of modern authority, the general territorial
jurisdiction extends into the sea as far as cannon-shot will reach, and
no farther, and this is generally calculated to be a marine league ; and
the Congress of the United States have recognised this limitation by
authorizing the district courts to take cognizance of all captures made
within a marine league of tlie American shores. The executive author-
ity of this country, in 1793, considered the whole of Delaware bay to
be within our territorial jurisdiction, and it rested its claim upon those
authorities which admit that gulfs, channels, and arms of the sea belong
to the people with whose land they are encompassed. It was intimated
that the law of nations would justify the United States in attaching to
their coasts an extent into the sea beyond the reach of cannon-shot.
Considering the great extent of the line of the American coasts, we
have a right to claim for fiscal and defensive regulations a liberal ex-
tension of maritime jurisdiction; and it would not be unreasonable, as
I apprehend, to assume, for domestic purposes connected with our
safety and welfare, the control of the waters on our coast, though in-
cluded within lines stretching from quite distant headlands, as, for
instance, from Cape Ann to Cape Cod, and from Nantucket to Mon-
tauk point, and from that point to tlie capes of the Delaware, and from
the south cape of Florida to the Mississippi. It is certain that our
government would be disposed to view with some uneasiness and sen-
sibihty, in the case of war between other maritime powers, the use of
the waters of our coast far bej^ond the reach of cannon-shot as cruising
ground for belligerent purposes. In 1793, our government thought
they were entitled, in reason, to as broad a margin of protected navi-
gation as any nation whatever, though at that time they did not posi-
tively insist beyond the distance of a marine league from the sea shores;
and in 1806 our government thought it would not be unreasonable,
considering the extent of the United States, the shoalness of their coast,
and the natural indication furnished by the well-defined path of the
■Gulf stream, to except an immunity from belligerent warfare for the
.-space between that limit and the American shore.'

" From the foregoing extract it will be observed that Chancellor Kent
agrees with the principles put forth by the law officers of the crown,
and which justify the conclusion ' that no foreign pow(>r, independently
.of treaty, has any right to navigate the passage of Canso.' Having
thus, by the highest legal authorities of England and the United States,
^been .borne out in the assumption that no foreign power has any such
•right, the next incjuiry is, as to where the power of controlling tlie pas-
sage of Canso exists. By the act of 1820, Cape Breton was annexed
to Nova Scotia, and has since that period formed a part of this province,
which for nearly a century has enjoyed a representative form of govern-
ment, and which, in making laws, is only controlled by the operation of
imperial statutes and the veto of the crown. The right to make laws to
aflect navigation, except the registry of ships, has been enjoyed and
acted upon by this legislature. V'arious laws have also been enacted
making regulations for setting nets, and in other respects for regulating

259

the fisheries in our bays and creeks. Statutes have also been passed
here, and assented to in England, for collecting light duties in the Gut
of Canso, and American and other foreign, and also British and colo-
nial vessels, have been brought within the operation of those statutes.
The right, therefore, to legislate in respect of the fisheries and in re-
spect of the navigation of the Gut of Canso, has not only been confirmed
in England, but has been acknowledged in America in the payment of
light duties.

"The legislature of Nova Scotia may, therefore, be fairly said to
have the right to pass enactments either to restrict or obstruct the
passage of foreign vessels through the Gut of Canso.

" The second point, as to the policy of imTposm g further restriction
upon foreign vessels passing through the Gut of Canso, is yet to be
considered.

"In the consideration of that question, the treaty of 1818 affords the
best means of arriving at a sound conclusion. The American govern-
ment, by it, relinquish all right of fishery within three marine miles
of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors of this province ; and under
the construction put upon that clause in England, upon the same
principle of international law as is ackno^vledged and insisted upon
by the American government, the American citizens, under the treaty,
have no right, for the purpose of fishery, to enter any part of the Bay
of St. George lying between the headlands formed by Cape George
on the one side and Port Hood island on the other. American fisher-
men, therefore, when entering that bay for fishing purposes, are clearly
violating the terms of the treaty. It may be said that the Gut of Canso
affords a more direct and easy passage to places in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, where American fishermen would be within the terms of
the treaty; but that is no good reason why this legislature should ner
mit them to use that passage, when their doing so is attended with
almost disastrous consequences to our own fishermen. Were tliere
no other means of getting upon the fishing grounds, in the produce of
which they are entitled to participate, the Americans might then assert
a right of way, from necessity, through the Gut of Canso. When that
necessity does not exist, it would be unwise any longer to permit
American fishing vessels to pass through the Gut of Canso, for the fol-
lowing, among many other reasons that could be given, if necessary : In
the month of October, the net and seine fishery of mackerel in the Bay of
St. George is most important to the people of that part of the country, and
requires at the hands of the legislature every legitimate protection. Up
to this period American fishermen, using the passage of the Gut of Canso,
go from it into St. George's bay, and not only throw out bait to lure
the fish from the shores where they are usually caught by our own
fishermen, but actually fish in all parts of that bay, even within one
mile of the shores. It is also a notorious fact that the American fishing
vessels in that bay annually destroy the nets of the fishermen by sailing
through them, and every year in that way do injury to a great extent —
and this upon ground which they have no right to tread. Remon-
strances have therefore been made to the American government against
such conduct; but the answer has invariably been, to protect ourselves
in that respect. Had the United States government adopted suitable
measures to prevent its citizens from trespassing as before mentioned,

260

it would not be necessary for this legislature to put any restrictions
upon their use of the passage in question ; but as the onus has been
thrown upon this legislature, it is clearly its duty to adopt the most
efficient and least expensive means of protection. If the privilege of
passage is exercised through the Gutof C;inso and the bay in question,
it is next to impossible to prevent encroachments and trespasses upon
our fishing grounds by American citizens, as it would require an ex-
pensive coa.<t-guard by night and day to effect that object, and then
only partial success would result. It would be unreasonable to tax
the people of this country to protect a right which should not be in-
vaded by foreigners, and which can only be invaded and encroached
upon by our permitting foreigners to use a passage to which they are
not entitled. Without, therefore, any desire unnecessarily to hamper
American citizens in the enjoyment of that to which they are justly
entitled, your committee consider it their imperative duty to recom-
mend such measures for the adoption of the House as will in the most
effectual way protect the true interests of this country. The outlay
necessarily required to watch properly the operations of foreign fishing
vessels in the Bay of St. George, so as to prevent encroachments,
amounts to a prohibition of its being accomplished ; and it therefore
becomes indispensable that such vessels be prohibited Irom passage
througli the Gut of Canso. The strait will always be, to vessels of
all classes, a place of refuge in a storm, and American fishing vessels
will be entitled to the use of it as a harbor for the several purposes
mentioned in the treaty. It can be visited for all those purposes with-
out a passage through being permitted; and your committee therefore
recommend that an act be passed authorizing the governor, by and with
the advice of his executive council, by proclamation, either to impose
a tax upon foreign fishing vessels for such amount as may be provided
in the act, or to prohibit the use of such passage altogether."

It is of consequence to remark, that, as far as there is evidence be-
foie the public, the fisheries were not once mentioned by Mr. McLane,
(who succeeded Mr. Everett,) in his correspondence with the British
government, during his mission. Nothing, in fact, seems to have passed
between the two cabinets relative to the subject for more than six
years, though England retraced no step after opening the Bay of Fun-
dy. Our public documents do show, however, that, between the years
1847 and 1S51, overtures were made to our government for "a free
interchange of all natural productions " of the United States and
of the British American colonies with each other, either by treaty
stipulations or by legislation. In the first-mentioned year, Canada
passed an act (nnbracing this object, which was to become operative
whenever the Unitetl Slates should adopt a similar measure. A bill to
meet the act of Canada was introduced into Congress, and pressed
by its friends, for three successive sessions, but failed to become a law.
That the peoj)le of Canada were "disappointed," is a fact officially
communicated to Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, by Sir Henry Bul-
wer, tlie British minister. It is not impossible that the existence of
this feeling will sufticicnitly explain why the Canadian government be-
came a party to the following agreement, which was signed at Toronto,
on the 2ist of June, 1851, at a meeting of colonial delegates, by the

261

president of the executive council of Canada and the Hon. Joseph
Howe,* secretary of Nova Scotia :

" Mr. Howe having called the attention of his excellency and the
council to the importance and value of the gulf fisheries, upon which
foreigners largely trespass, in violation of treaty stipulations, and Mr.
Chandler having submitted a report of a select committee of the House
of Assembly of New Brunswick, having reference to the same subject,
the government of Canada determines to co-operate with Nova Scotia
in the efficient protection of the fisheries, by providing either a steamer
or two or more sailing vessels to cruise in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
and along the coasts of Labrador.

" It is understood that Nova Scotia will continue to employ at least
two vessels in the same service, and that Mr. Chandler will urge upon
the government of New Brunswick the importanceof making provision
for at least one vessel to be employed for the protection of the fisheries
in the Bay of Fundy."

Canadian fishermen are by no means numerous; and the zeal thus
manifested to aid Nova Scotia in preventing the " violation of treaty
stipulations" could hardly have been awakened by the misdeeds ot
"foreigners" on the fishing grounds of the "gulf." The motive is to
be sought elsewhere. Just three days after the date of the above agree-
ment, the British ministert addressed a note to Mr. Webster, in which
the previous propositions on the subject of reciprocal trade between
the United States and the British colonies are discussed at some length,
and the overture for an arrangement is renewed. He enclosed an offi-
cial communication from Lord Elgin, the governor general, and other
papers, which gave details of the plan as then entertained. This plan
embraced no concessions with regard to "the fisheries in estuaries and
in the mouths of rivers," and suggested no changes on the coast or
banks of Newfoundland ; but, on condition that the United States would
admit " all fish, either cured or fresh, imported from the British North
American possessions in vessels of any nation or description, free of
dut}!-, and upon terms, in all respects, of equality with fish imported by
citizens of the United States," her Majesty's government were prepared
" to throw open to the fishermen of the United States the fisheries in
the waters of the British North American colonies, with permission to
those fishermen to land on the coasts of those colonies for the purpose
of drjnng their nets and curing their fish, provided that, in so doing,
they do not interfere with the owners of private property or with the
operations of British fishermen."

* This gentleman is of loyalist descent. John Howe, his father, was a citizen of Boston,
and published there the " Massachusetts Gazette and Boston News Letter," a paper which,
in the revolutionary controversy, took the side of the crown. At the evacuation of that town
by the royal anny, he acconqjauied it to Halifax, where he resumed business, became king's
printer, and died at a good old age m 1835. His son, mentioned in the text, was educated a
printer, and conducted a newspaper for several years. As the acknowledged leader of the
" liberals" of Nova Scotia, he possessed great mtluence ; but as a member of Lord Falkland's
coalition cabinet, lost popularity with his party. His letters to Lord John Russell, in 1846,
evince great ability, but contain demands on the home government which are irreconcilable
with colonial dependence. These papers show that the Hon. Secretary is somewhat familiar
with the m-itings of the "rebels" of his father's time, and that what was treason then, and with
them, is entirely right now, and ^vith the descendants of their opponents.

t Documents accompanying President's message, December, 1851, part I, pp. 89, 90.

262

Her Majesty's minister desired Mr. Webster to inform him whether
our government was disposed to enter upon negotiations and conclude
a convention, on the terms suggested, or whether, preferring legisla-
tion, an urgent recommendation would be made to Congress, at the
earliest opportunity. The President declined to negotiate; bat in his
annual message, December, 1S51, he said: "Your attention is again
invited to the question of reciprocal trade between the United States
and Canada and other British possessions near our frontier. Overtures
for a convention upon this subject have been received from her Britan-
nic Majesty's minister plenipotentiary, but it seems to be in many re-
spects preferable that the matter should be regulated by recipj-ocal legis-
lation. Documents are laid before you, showing the terms which the
British government is willing to offer, and the measures which it may
adopt, if some arrangement upon this subject shall not be maJe."

Months passed away; "Congress did nothing, said nothing, thought
nothing on the subject,"* and the parties to the Toronto agreement
became impatient. In March, 1852, the committee on the fisheries of
Nova Scotia, in a report to the House of Assembly, unanimously re-
commended a sufficient sum to be placed at the disposal of the execu-
tive of the colony, to employ four fast-sailing vessels during the fishing
season, with authority to seize all foreign vessels found employed within
the prescribed limits; and they recommended, also, the adoption of
measures to enlist the aid of the home government, and secure the
co-operation of naval steam-vessels. This plan was substantially ex-
ecuted by the Assembly. The government of Canada promptly fol-
lowed, and a vessel to cruise in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was ready
for sea early in May. New Brunswick was tardy, but the authorities
of that colony were reminded of their duty by the newspaper press,
and finally fitted out two vessels. P^'ince Edward Island furnished
one vessel, and Newfoundland, though not included in the arrange-
ments at Toronto, joined the movement. In June, the colonists re-
ceived assurances from Sir John Packington, the secretary for the colo-
nies, that "among the many pressing subjects which have engaged the
attention of her Majesty's ministers since their assumption of office,
few have been more important, in their estimation, than the questions
relating to the protection solicited for the fisheries on the coasts of Brit-
ish North America ;" and that "her Majesty's ministers are desirous to
remove all grounds of complaint on the part of the colonies, in conse-
quence of the encroachments of the fishing vessels of the United States
upon those waters, from which they are excluded by the terms of the
convention of 1818; and they therefore intend to despatch, as soon as
possible, a small naval force of steamers, or other small vessels, to en-
force the observance of that convention."

The controversy was now rapidly approaching a crisis. As was
subsequently said by a distinguished statesman,! "this whole mat-
ter is to be explained as a stroke of policy. It may be a dangerous
step to be taken by the British government, and the colonies may be

* Speech of Hon. W. H. Seward in the Seniite of the United States, August 14, 1852.
t Hon. Jolm Davis, of Massachusetts — speech in the Senate United States, August, 1852

263

playing a game which will not advance materially the interests they
have in view."

On the 5th of July, Mr. Crampton, the successor of Sir Henry Bul-
wer, announced to the President, in a note addressed to the Secretary
of State, that he had "been directed by her Majesty's government to
bring to the knowledge of the government of the United States a meas-
ure which has been adopted by her Majesty's government to prevent a
repetition of the complaints which have so frequently been made of
the encroachments of vessels belonging to citizens of the United States
and of France, upon the fisliing-grounds reserved to Great Britain by
the convention of 1818.

"Urgent representations having been addressed to her Majesty's gov-
ernment by the governors of the British North American provinces, in
regard to these encroachments, whereby the colonial fisheries are most
seriously prejudiced, directions have been given by the lords of her
Majesty's admiralty for stationing off New Brunswick, Nova Scofia,
Prince Edward Island, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, such a force
of small sailing vessels and steamers as shall be deemed sufficient to
prevent the infraction of the treaty. It is the command of the Queen,
that the officers employed upon this service should be especially en-
joined to avoid all interference with the vessels of friendly powers, ex-
cept where they are in the act of viohiting the treaty, and on all occasions
to avoid giving ground of complaint by the adoption of harsh or unne-
cessary pr-oceedings, when circumstances compel their arrest or seizure."

Mr. Webster, in a paper dated at the Department of State, on the
following day, and published in the Boston Courier of the 19th of July,
after citing various documents which refer to the policy of the admin-
istration of Lord John Russell, and to that of his successor, the Earl of
Derby, touching the colonial fisheries, quotes from another document,
that " The vessels-of-war mentioned in the above circular despatches
are expected to be upon the coasts of British North America during the
present month, (July) when, no doubt, seizures will begin to be made
of American fishing vessels, which in the autumn pursue their business
in indents of the coast, from which it is contended they are excluded
by the convention of 1818.

" Meantime, and within the last ten days, an American fishing vessel
called the ' Coral,' belonging to Machias, in Maine, has been seized in
the Bay of Fundy, near Grand Menan, by the officer commanding her
Majesty's cutter 'Netley,' already arrived in that bay, for an alleged
infraction of the fishing convention ; and the fishing vessel has been
carried to the port of St. John, New Brunswick, where proceedings
have been taken in the adnrhalty court, with a view to her condemna-
tion and absolute forfeiture.

"Besides the small naval force to be sent out by the imperial gov-
ernment, the colonies are bestirring themselves also for the protection
of their fisheries. Canada has fitted out an armed vessel, to be sta-
tioned in the gulf; and this vessel has proceeded to the fishing-grounds,
having on board not only a naval commander and crew, with power to
seize vessels within hmits, but also a stipendiary magistrate and civU
police, to make pj'isoners of all who are found transgr-essing the laws of
Canada, in order to their being committed to jail, in that colony, for trial.

264

" The c()lom^ of Newfoundland lias fitted out an armed vessel for the
purpose of resisting the encroaclnnents of French fishing vessels on the
coast of Labrador; but when read}' to sail fioni her port, the governor
of that colony, acting under imperial instructions, refused to give the
comm;mder of this colonial vessel the necessary authority for making
prize of French vessels found trespassing. This is an extraordinary
circumstance, especially when taken in connexion with the fact that the
like authority to seize American fishing vessels, under similar circum-
stances, has never been refused to the cruisers of any of the North
American colonies.

"The colony of Nova Scotia has now four armed cruisers, well
manned, on its coasts, ready to pounce upon any American vessels who
may, accidentally or otherwise, be found fishing within the limits defined
by the crown officers of England.

" New Brunswick has agreed with Canada and Nova Scotia to place
a cutter in the Bay of Fundy to look after American fishermen there;
and at Prince Edward Island, her Majesty's steam-frigate 'Devasta-
tion' has been j)laced, under the instructions of the governor of that
colony."

Mr. Webster then recites the first article of the conventio of 1S18,
and concludes in the following terms :

"It would appear that by a strict and rigid construction of this
article, fishing vessels of the United States are precluded from entering
into the bays or harbors of the British provinces, except for the pur-
poses of shelter, repairing damages, and obtaining wood and water.
A bay, as is usually understood, is an arm or recess of the sea, en-
tering from the ocean between capes or headlands ; and the term is
applied equally to small and large tracts of water thus situated. It is
common to speak of Hudson's Bay, or the Bay of Bisca}^, although
they are very large tracts of water.

" The British authorities insist that England has a right to draw a
line from headland to headland, and to capture all American fishermen
who may follow their pursuits inside of that line. It was undoubt-
edly an oversight in the convention of 1818 to make so large a con-
cession to England, since the United States had usually considered
that those vast inlets or recesses of the ocean ought to be open to
American fishermen, as freely as the sea itself, to within three marine
miles of the shore.

"In 1841, the legislature of Nova Scotia prepared a case for the
consideration of the advocate general and attorney general of Eng-
land, upon the true construction of this article of the convention.
The opinion delivered by these officers of the crown was, ' That
by the terms of the convention, American citizens were excluded from
any right of fishing within three miles from the coast of British America,
and that tlie j^'^'cscnbcd (/isftnicc of three miles is to be medsurcd from the
headluruh or extreme 'points of land next the sea, of the coast or of the en-
trance of bays or indents of the coast, and consequently that no right
exists on the part of American citizens to enter the hays of Nova Scotia,
there to take fish, although the fishing, being within the baij, may be at a,
greater distance than tliree miles from the shore of the bay; as we are of
opinion that the term ^ lieadlajuV is tiscd in the treaty to express the part of

265

the land we have before mentioned, including the intejior of the hays and
the indents of the coast. '

"It is this construction of the intent and meaning of the convention
of 1818 for which the colonies have contended since 1841, and which
they have desired should be enforced. This the English government
has now, it would appear, consented to do, and the immediate effect
will be the loss of the valuable fall fishing to American fishermen ; a
complete interruption of the extensive fishing business of New Eng-
land, attended by constant collisions of the most unpleasant and exci-
ting character, which may end in the destruction of human life, in
the involvement of the government in questions of a very serious
nature, threatening the peace of the two countries. Not agreeing that
the construction thus put upon the treaty is conformable to the inten-
tions of the contracting parties, this information is, however, made
public to the end that those concerned in the American fisheries may
perceive how the case at present stands, and be upon their guard.
The whole subject will engage the immediate attention of the gov-
ernment.

"DANIEL WEBSTER,

" Secretary of Stated

This paper atti-acted immediate and universal attention. On the
23d of July Mr. Mason, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions, oflisred a resolution in the Senate of the United States, requesting
the President to communicate to that body, " if not incompatible with
the public interest, all correspondence on file in the executive depart-
ment, with the government of England or the diplomatic representa-
tive, since the convention between the United Stales and Great Britain
of October 20, 1818, touching the fisheries on the coast of British
possessions in North America, and the rights of citizens of the United
States engaged in such fisheries secured by the said convention;
and that the President be also requested to inform the Senate whether
any of the naval forces of the United States have been ordered to the
seas adjacent to the British possessions of North America, to protect
the rights of American fishermen, under the convention, since the
receipt of the intelligence that a large and unusual British naval force
has been ordered there to enforce certain alles^ed rio^hts of Great
Britain under said convention. "

This resolution was agreed to unanimously. The debate which
preceded its passage was highly animated. Mr. Mason is reported to
have said, that " he had thought it his duty, considering the present aspect
of affairs, so far as they are communicated to us by the public journals,
to submit this resolution, and ask that it be considered immediately.
We are informed, (he said,) unofficially, but yet in a manner clearly indi-
cating that it is correct, that the British government has recently asserted
rights under the convention of 1818 in relation to the fisheries of the
North, which, w^hether they exist or not, they suffered from 1818 to
1841 ; and when the question was moved as to the respective rights of
British subjects and American citizens under the treaty of 1818, they stiU
suffered to remain in statu quo. The British government knew well that
very large and important interests are embarked by citizens of the United

266

States by these fisheries. They knew thnt the harbors, coasts, and
seas of their possessions in North America swarm, at stated seasons of
the year — and this, as he was informed, was one of these reasons — with
these fishing vessels. Yet suddenly, without notice of any kind, we
are inlbrmed from the public journals, and semi-ofRcially b}^ a sort of
proclamation from the Secretary of State, that a veiy large Biitish
naval force has been ordered into these seas for the purpose of enforcing,
. at the mouth of the cannon, the construction which Great Britain has
determined to place on that convention."

Mr. Mason said: "I had supposed, in this civilized age and between
two such countries as Great Britain and the United States, that were
it the purpose of England to revive her construction of the convention
and require that it should be enforced, ordinary national courtesy
would have required that notice should have been given of that deter-
mination on the part of Great Britain. But, sir, when no such notice
is given — when, on the contrary, the first information which reaches us
is that Great Britain has ordered into these seas a large naval force for
the purpose of enforcing this alleged right, I know not in what light it
may strike senators; tor it strikes me as a far higher offence than a
breach of national courtesy — as one of insult and indignity to the whole
American people. This morning, in the first paper I took up, from
the North, I see extracted from one of the British colonial newspapers,
printed at St. John, New Brunswick, a formal statement of the actual
naval forces ordered by Great Britain into those seas. It consists of
the Cumberland, a seventy-gun ship, commanded by Sir G. F. Sey-
mour, who, I believe, is a British admiral, commanding on the West
Indian station; and then follows an enumeration of steam- vessels,
sloops-of-war, and schooners, and the entire number, nineteen, ordered
to rendezvous there, and with the utmost despatch. For what pur-
pose?

"To enforce at once, and without notice to this government, so far as
I am informed ; and yet we have some information through the quasi
proclamation of the Secretary of State, at the mouth of the cannon, of
the construction which the British government places on that convention.
I do not know what view has been taken by the President of this extra-
ordinary movement ; but I think I do know what the American people
would demand of the Executive, under such circumstances. If there
be official or satifictory inlbrmation to the I<]xecutive that this extraor-
dinary naval armament has been ordered by Great Britain into the
North American seas, for the purpose of executing instantly the con-
struction which Great Britain places on the convention, I say the
American people will demand of their Executive that all the force of
the home squadron shall be ordered tliere instantly, to protect American
fishermen. Sir, we have been told by the poet who most deeply read
the human heart, that

'From the nettle danger
We pluck the flower safely.'

And if I may be told there is danger of collision, I would answer at once,
there is no danger; but if there were, it becomes the Executive imme-
diately to resent that which can only be looked on as an indignity and

267

insult to the nation. I have no fears, Mr. President, that war is to
follow the apparent colhsion which has taken place between the two
governments. I confess I feel deeply the indignity that has been put
upon the American people in the ordering of the British squadron into
those seas without notice ; and if I read the feelings of our people aright,
they will demand that a like force shall be instantly sent there in order
that the rights of our people may be protected.

" Sir, I do not profess the power to construe the purposes on the part
of the British government. I was very much impressed by a despatch
which I saw in one of the late papers, but which unfortunately 1 have
not at hand. Within the last few days a despatch has been received
from the foreign office of Great Britain to the colonial office, advising
it of this movement, and advising that it was one requiring celerity and
despatch, and requiring that measures should be taken by the colonial
office to procure concert between the British naval forces and the
colonial authorities. The reason assigned was, that this measure was
taken on the part of Great Britain as preliminary to certain negotia-
tions. Now, what does this mean? I know not what these negotia-
tions are ; but if it means anything, it means that we are to negotiate
under duresse.

"Aye, sir, at this day this great people, covering a continent number-
ing thirty millions, are to negotiate with a foreign fleet on our coast. I
know not what the President has done, but I claim to know what the
American people expect of him. 1 know that if he has done his duty,
the reply to this resolution of inquiry will be — I have ordered the
whole naval force of the country into those seas, to protect the rights
of American fishermen against British cruisers! I hope it will be the
pleasure of the Senate to consider the resolution immediately."

Several senators followed Mr. Mason, and spoke in similar terms.

" Mr. Hamlin agieed to every word uttered by the chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Relations, and he was grateful to the senator for
having introduced the resolution. What the object of the British arma-
ment sent to the fishing shores was, he could not say ; but that it had
some ulterior object, was certain. It had been whispered that it was
connected with certain negotiations with respect to a reciprocity trade
with the colonies. If this were so, it was nothing more nor less than
to compel the United States to legislate under duresse, and to this he,
for one, was unwilling to submit.

"Mr. Cass gave his full concurrence to all that had fallen from Mr.
Mason, and he heartily approved of the resolution. He was gratified
at hearing that senator's remarks, which were equally statesmanlike
and patriotic. He had never before heard of such proceeding as that
now adopted by England. No matter what the object of the force was,
there was one thing certain — the American people would not submit to
surrender their rights. This treaty was now over thirty years old, and
it recognised clearly the right of Americans to fish within three miles of
any shore. This had been conceded for thirty years. If there was
any doubt about it, it could be settled by negotiations.

"Mr. Pratt said this appeared to him more hkely to result in war than
did the late difficulty. The English government has decided upon a
ti'eaty construction. England don't want to negotiate, for she has sent

268

a large force to execute her construction of the treaty. Americans are
to be expelled from rights which they have enjoyed for thirty years,
under what their government has at all times and now declaresto be
the proper construction of the treaty. Ouglit not a force to be sent
there to protect them in those rights which this treaty has declared to
be theirs ? Certainly there ought.

"Mr. Davis said, by the newspapers it would appear that the Secre-
tary of State and the British minister, who had gone to Boston, were
now consulting on this matter, and he thought, from this fact, that there
was little apprehension but that the matter would be settled amicably.
He had no difficulty at arriving at the object of the movement. The
senator from Maine, he thought, had touched the key to the whole.
He would not hesitate to act on a bill proposing a proper and suitable
principle of reciprocity.

" Mr. Seward would vote with pleasure for the resolution. It was
limited to two objections: to obtain information as to diplomatic cor-
respondence on the subject, and whether any naval force had been sent
to the seas where the difficulty had arisen. The importance of these
fisheries was conceded by all, and no one State was more interested in
them than another. It was well known that any attempt to drive our
fishermen from these fisheries would involve the whole country in a
blaze of war, in which case his State would be deeply interested.

"Mr. Rusk said that if the object of that naval force by Great Britain
was to bring about a reciprocity of trade, no matter how favorably he
ought to look on such a proposition otherwise, he ^vould never give it his
assent under the duresse of British cannon. He thought the domineer-
ing spirit of England ought to be met promptly."

On the 25th of .luly, and two days after the resolution passed the
Senate, the Secretary of State was publicly received at his famil}' home,
Marshfield, Massachusetts. In the course of his reply to an address
by the Hon. Seth Sprague, he is reported to have spoken in reference
"to recent occurrences, threatening disturbances to this country, on
account of the fisheries," in these words :

"It would not become me to say much on that subject, until I speak
officially, and under direction of the head of the government. And
then I shall speak. In the mean time, be assured that that interest
will not be neglected by tJiis administration, under any cu'cumstances.
The fishermen shall be protected in all their rights of property, and in
all their rights of occupation. To use a Marblehead phrase, they shall
be protected 'hook and line, and bob and sinker.' And wlw should
they not? They are a vast number wdio are employed in that branch
of naval enterprise. Many of the people of our own town are engaged
in that vocation. There are among you some, who, perhaps, have been
on the Grand Bank for forty successive years. There they have hung
on to the ropes, in storm and wreck. The most important consequen-
ces are involved in this matter. Our fisheries have been the very nur-
series of our nav3^ If our fiag-ships have met and concjuered the ene-
my on the sea, the fisheries are at the bottom of it. The fisheries were
the seeds from w^iich these glorious triumphs were born and sprung.

"Now, gentlemen, I may venture to say one or two things more on
this highly important subject. In the first place, this sudden interrup-

269

tion of the pursuits of our citizens, which had been carried on more
than thirty years, without interruption or molestation, can hardly be
justified by any principle or consideration ^vhatever. It is now more
than thirty years that they have pursued the fisheries in the same waters
and on the same coast, in which, and along which, notice has now come
that they shall be no longer allowed these privileges. Now, such a
thing cannot be justified without previous notice having been given. A
mere indulgence of long continuance, even if the privilege were hut an
indulgence, cannot be withdrawn at this season of the year, when our
people, according to the custom, have engaged in the business, without
notice — without just and seasonable notice.

"I cannot but think the late despatches from the colonial office had
not attracted, to a sufficient degree, the attention of the principal min-
ister of the crown ; for I see matter in them quite inconsistent with the
arrangement made in 1845 by the Earl of Aberdeen and Edward Ever-
ett. At that time, the Earl of Derb}'', the present fh'st minister, was
colonial secretary. It could not well have taken place without his
knowledge, and, in fact, without his concurrence and sanction. I can-
not but think, therefore, that its being overlooked is an inadvertence.

"The treaty of 1818 was made with the crown of England. If a
fishing vessel is captured by one of her vessels of war, and carried to a
British port for adjudication, the crown of England is answerable ; and
then we know whom we have to deal with. But it is not to be expect-
ed that the United States will submit their rights to be adjudicated upon
in the petty tribunals o^ t\ie p-oviiices ; or that we shall allow our vessels
to be seized on by constables, or other petty officers, and condemned by
the municipal courts of Quebec and Newfoundland, New Brunswick or
Canada. No, no, no! (Great cheering.)

" Further than this, gentlemen, I do not think it expedient to remark
upon this topic at present. But you may be assured, it is a subject
upon which no one sleeps at Wasliington. I regret that the state of
my health caused my absence from Washington when the news came
of this sudden change in the interpretation of the treaties."

The President answered the resolution of the Senate on the 5th of
August, and, in transmitting the documents* requested by that body, he
observed that the steam-frigate Mississippi, Commodore M. C. Perr}^,
had been despatched to the coasts of the British possessions " for the
purpose of protecting the rights of American fishermen under the con-
vention of 1818." These documents were speedily published. Many
of them are of great value. Soon after their publication, debates upon
the subject of the fisheries were renewed. Our limits allow us to notice
the speech of Mr. Seward alone, delivered on the 14th of August.

He is supposed to have expressed the views of the government, or to
have made authorized explanations, upon several important points which
he discussed. To correct whatever misapprehension existed relative to
the British naval force on the fishing grounds, he said:

"Let us now see what force it is that has been sent into the field of
the dispute. There is the Buzzard, a steamer of six guns, and the Ber-
muda, a schooner of three guns, sent to the straits of Belleisle and on

* Executive Document No. 100.

270

the coast of Newfoundland, where we have an unquestioned right of fish-
ing, and where there is no controversy. Then there is the Devastation,
a steamer of six guns; the Arrow and the Telegraph, of one gun each;
and the Netley, of two guns, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence: making in
the whole seven vessels, with a total of 31 guns, sent by the imperial
government into these waters. If you add to this force the flag-ship of
Vice Admiral Seymour, (the Cumberland,) with seventy guns, there
are, altogether, one hundred and one guns. This is the naval force
which has been sent into the northeastern seas.

"Now, I desire the Senate to take notice what force was there before
this great naval force was sent. Last year there was the flag-ship, the
Cumberland, commanded by the same Sir Charles Seymour, with sev-
enty guns; a frigate of twenty-six guns; two sloops of sixteen guns;
and one steamer of six guns: making in the whole sixty-four guns,
without the Cumberland; and, including the Cumberland, one hundred
and thirty-four guns.

"Then this mighty naval demonstration which has so excited the
Senate and roused its indignation, and brought down its censure upon
the administration, consists in a reduction of the naval force which Great
Britain had in these waters a year ago from one hundred and thirty-
four to one hundred and one s:uns. What the British orovernment has
done has been to withdraw some large steamers, because they were not
so useful in accomplishing the objects designed, or because they would
be more useful elsewhere, and to substitute in their place a large num-
ber of inferior vessels — either more efficient there, or less useful else-
where."

He added : " The Senate will understand me. I do not say that
this is the whole force which is in those waters. There is an increase,
I think, on the whole, which is furnished by small vessels of the dif-
ferent provinces — Canada having sent two or three. Nova Scotia three
or four, and Prince Edward Island, I think, one. But the question I
am upon, and the real question now is, what the imperial government
has done ; and so I say the British government has reduced the number
of guns employed."*

* The Halifax Chronicle, in July, published the following:

"For the information of all concenicd, we subjoin a list of the cruisers our calculating
neighbors are likely to fall iu with on the coast — all of which will, we apprehend, do their
duty, without fear or faror:

Cumberland * 74 Captain Seymour.

Sappho 12 sloop Com. Cochrane.

Devastation t 6 steam sloop Com. Campbell.

Buzzard 6 steam sloop Com .

Janus X 4 steam sloop Lieutenent •.

Netley 3 ketch Com. Kynaston.

Bermuda 3 sch(toner Lieutenent Jolly.

Arrow brigantine

Telegraph schooner

Halifax 2 brigantine Master Laybold.

Belle 2 brigantine Master Crowell.

Eesponsible 2 schooner Master Dodd.

Daring 2 schooner Master Daly.

"In addition to this formidable force, his Excellency Sir G. F. Seymour requires, we learn,
two more vessels, besides the Ajtow and Telegraph, (two beautiful craft, of whose merits we

* Flag, Sir G. F. Seymour. t 300 horse power. % 220 horse power.

271

In reply to strictures upon the course of the Secretary of State,
Mr. Seward remarked: " The President, it seems, took pains to ob-
tain information informally, and he caused it to be published, in a
notice issued by the Secretary of State, and dated at the Department
of State July 6, 1852, and which has been called here the ' procla-
mation ' of the Secretary.

" The Senate will see that the Secretary of State set forth such un-
official information (and all the information was unofficial) as had
been obtained, and stated the popular inference then prevalent, saying
that the imperial government 'appeared ' now to be willing to adopt
the construction of the convention insisted on by the colonies. Infer-
ring, from circumstances, the hazards and dangers which would arise,
he set forth the case precisely as it seemed to stand. He adverted to
the question understood as likely to be put in issue, and, admitting that
technically the convention of ISIS would bear the rigorous construc-
tion insisted on by the colonies, he declared the dissent of the govern-
ment of the United States from it ; and then communicated the case
to the persons engaged in this hard and hazardous trade, that they
mio'ht be 'on their ffuard.'

"I am surprised that any doubts should be raised as to the procla-
mation being the act of the government. I do not understand how a
senator or a citizen can officially know that the Secretary of State is
at Marshfield, or elsewhere, when the seal and date of the depart-
ment affirm that he is at the capital. I w^ould like to know where or
when this government or this administration has disavowed this pro-
clamation.

"In issuing this notice, the Secretary of State did just what the Sec-
retary of State had been in the habit of doing in such cases from the
foundation of the government, viz : he issued a notice to the citizens
of the United States to put them on their guard in a case of apparent
danger, resulting from threatening embarrassment of our relations
•v^dth a foreign power. The first notice of the kind which I have found
in history is a notice issued by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State
under George Washington, to the merchants of the United States, in-
forming them of the British Orders in Council, and of the decrees of
the French Directory, and of the apprehended seizure and confisca-
tion of American vessels under them ; and assuring the American
merchants that, for whatever they might unlawfully lose, the govern-
ment of the United States would take care that they would be indem-
nified. I brought that to the notice of the Senate heretofore, and upon
the ground, among others, that they have twice sanctioned a bill pro-
viding for the payment of losses by French spoliations.

have previously spoken,) to be fitted, provisioned, officered, and manned by the British gov-
ernment. The Buzzard, hourly expected from Portsmouth, brings out men to man these
hired vessels. To these must be added two from New Brunswick, one from Canada, and one
from Pince Edward Island, making a total of nineteen armed vessels, from the ' tall Admi-
ral'to the tiny tender, engaged in this important service. His E.xcellency the Vice Ad-
miral deserves the thanks of the people of British North America for the zeal with which he
has taken up this momentous matter, and also for the promptitude of his co-operation with the
provincial government. Janus comes to Newfoundland direct from Gibraltar, she is an ex-
perimental steamer, constructed by Sir Charles Napier, and by some said to be a splendid
failure. Cumberland sails immediately for St. John and the Newfoundland coast. "

272

" The notice published by Mr. Webster was of the same character
and effect. Since that time, the Mississippi, a steam war irigate of
the United States, has been ordered to those waters to cruise there
for the protection of American fishermen in the enjoyment of their just
rights. Thus ends the whole story of these transactions about the fish-
eries. The difficulties on the fishing grounds have 'this extent — no
more : ' they are the wonder of a day, and no more."

Ao-ain: in explanation of the charge of a senator, that Mr. Webster
had conceded too much in his official notice of July 6, he said: "Now,
here is Mr. Webster's language. After quoting the treaty, he says:

" ' It would appear that, by a strict and rigid constructiuji of this article^
fishing vessels of the United States arc precluded fi'om entering into
the bays,' &c.

"And in the same connexion he adds:

"'It was undoubtedly an oversight in the convention of ISIS to rnalce so
large a concession to England.''

"That is to say, it w^as an oversight to use language in that conven-
tion which, by a strict and rigid construction, might be made to yield
the freedom of the great bays.

"It is, then, a question of mere verbal criticism. The Secretary does
not admit that the rigorous construction is the just and true one; and
so he does not admit that there is any 'concession' in the sense of
the term which the honorable senator adopts. Now, other honorable
senators, if I recollect aright — and particularly that very accurate
and exceedingly strong-minded senator, the gentleman from Massa-
chusetts, (Mr. Davis) — conceded that the treaty icould hear this rigorous
construction ; insisting, nevertheless, just as the Secretary of State did,
that it was a forced and unjust one."

To refute the many rumors relative to an adjustment of the difficul-
ties, as well as to repel the imputation of treating under duress, he
declared that " no negotiation has been had between the President of
the United States and the English government. No negotiation is now
in progress between the two governments. No negotiation has been in-
stituted between the two governments for any purpose whatever. No
overture of negotiation has been made by the British government since
the last year, and no overture has been made by the American to the
British government. So, then, it appears that nothing has been nego-
tiated away at the cannon's mouth, because there has been no negotia-
tion at all, either at the cannon's mouth or elsewhere. There has not
been any negotiation under duress, because there has been no pretence
of a design by the imperial government to enforce its rigorous con-
struction of the convention of 1S18, or to depart from the position of
neutrality, if I moy so call it, always heretofore maintained."

On the subject of reciprocity, he considered that "the indiQi^tions are
abundant that it is the wish of the Senate that the Executive should
not treat upon this subject, and I think wisely. I agree on that j)oint
with my honorable and distinguished friend from Massachusetts, (Mr.
Davis.) What the colonies reijuire is some modification of commercial
regulations which may afiect the revenue. That is a subject proper to
be acted upon by Congress, not by the President, if it is to be acted
upon at all. It must not be done b}^ treaty. We seem to have courted

273

the responsibility, and it rests upon us. Let us no longer excite our-
selves and 9gitate the country with unavailing debates ; but let us ad-
dress ourselves to the relief of the fishermen, and to the improvement
of our commerce.

•* Now, sir, there is onty one way that Congress can act, and that is
by reciprocal legislation with the British Parliament or the British colo-
nies of some sort. I commit myself to no particular scheme or project
of reciprocal legislation, and certainly to none injurious to an agricul-
tural or a manutacturing interest."

As to the course to be pursued, he said, in concluding his speech,
"I, for one, will give my poor opinion upon this subject, and it is this :
that so long hereafter as any force shall be maintained in those north-
eastern waters, an equal naval force must be maintained there by our-
selves. When Great Britain shall diminish or withdraw her armed
force, we ought to diminish or withdraw our own ; and in the mean
time a commission ought to be raised, or some appropriate com-
mittee of this body — the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Com-
mittee on Finance, or the Committee on Commerce — should be charged
to ascertain whether there cannot be some measures adopted by recip-
rocal legislation to adjust these difficulties and enlarge the rights of our
fishermen, consistently with all the existing interests of the United
States,"

It is understood that the Committee on Commerce, at the moment of
the misunderstanding in July, had nearly matured a bill which em-
braced, substantial!}^, the propositions submitted by Sir Henry Bulwer,
ill June, 1851. To assume that such is the fact, and that the bill
would have passed Congress, but for the precipitancy of the parties to
the Toronto agreement, recalls the significant remark of Mr. Davis,
once already quoted, that the colonists were " playing a game which
may not advance materially the interests they have in view."

Our record, thus far, contains a rapid notice of events connected with
the controversy to the close of August, 1852. It comprises, as will
be perceived, no account of any action on the part of the two govern-
ments to adjust the difficulties between them, either by negotiation or
by legislation.

But there is good authority for saying that the British admiral (Sey-
mour) was instructed by the admiralty, in the course of August, to al-
low our fishermen to pursue their avocation in riie Bay of" Fundy, on
the terms of the arrangement of 1845 ; to allow us to fish at the Mag-
dalene islands, as in former years; to forbear to ca^pture our vessels
when more than three miles from the shore, as measured without ref^
erence to the "headlands," and by the old construction of the conven-
tion ; and generally to execute his orders with forbearance and moder-
ation. That the British ministry have been disposed, from first to last,
to adjust the controversy on honorable terms, can hardly be doubted.
In 1852, as in 184.5, the clamors, remonstrances, and, I will add, the
misrepresentations of the colonists, changed their intentions. As at
every former time, the politicians of Nova Scotia led off in opposition
to a settlement. Early in September, a public meeting was called at
Halif IX, which, according to the published report of its proceedings,
was attended by persons of all classes and interests, " to petition her
18

274

Majesty in regard to the rumored surrendcT of the rights of fishery se-
cured to British subjects by the convention of 1818." One gentleman
of consideration and influence appears to have "protested against the
utihty of the meeting," but to have been " promptly checked by his
^vorship the mayor," who presided. Several merchants were pres-
ent, but performed a secondary part. The pohtical leaders had every-
thing their own way. One member of the "provincial parhament"
nominated the chairman; another introduced a series of resolutions ;
while a third, who declared that "a strong expression of the opinion of
the meeting should go to the foot of the throne," closed his remarks
with submitting a memorial to her Ma.iesty, which " he had prepared."
A fourth honoriible M. P. P. is understood to have said, that "if her
Majesty's government give up the fisheries, they must be prepared to
give up the colony also;" and the Hon. Joseph Howe, provincial sec-
retary, is represented to have advocated, with liis usual power, the
adoption of the measur^^* presented by his associate politicians. Com-
ment upon these measures is not necessary. The tone of the resolu-
tions, of the address to the governor of the colony, and of the memo-
rial to the Queen, is offensive. These documents, from beginning to
end, show a spirit of deep hostility to the United States, and a deter-
mination to be satisfied with no terms of accommodation which would
be entertained by our government; and, like everything else hi Nova
Scotia on the subject of the fisheries,. contain much that is erroneous in
statement of matters of fact, and that is unsound in questions of j^oliti-
cal science.*

* These documents are as follows :

RESOLUTIONS.

1. Resolved, That the citizens of Halifax feel deeply grateful to her Majesty's goTemment
for the determination to " remove all ground of complaint on the part of the colonies in conse-
quence of the encroachments of the fishing vessels of the Uniteil States upon the reseiTed
fishing grounds of British America, ' expressed in the despatch of the right honorable the
Secretaiy of State for the colonies, dated the 22d of May.

2. Resolved, That the citizens of Halifax have regarded with interest and satisfaction the
judicious measures adopted by Vice Admiral Sir George Seymour, to carry out that determi-
nation with firmness and discretion.

3. Resolvid, That securely relying upon the justice and maternal care of their Sovereign,
the citizens of Halifax are reluctant to lielieve that, because a few threatening speeches have
been made in Congress, and a single sliip-of-war has visiii'd their coasts, the Queen's goveni-
meut will relax their vigilant supervision over British interests, or weakly yield up rights
secured by treaty stijjulations.

4. Rcsoical, That history teaches that the commercial prosperity and naval power of every
maritime State have risen, by slow degrees, from the prosecution of the fisheries, in which
seamen were trained and hardy defenders nurtured.

5. Resolved, That reading this lesson ajjtly, the great commercial and political rivals of Eng-
land— the UHited States and France — have, for many years, fostm-ed their fisheries by liberal
bounties, ;ind freely spent their treasure that they might recruit their ua\y and extend their
mercantile marine.

6. Rcaulved, That by the idd of these bounties France and the United States maintain, on
the banks and coasts of XoriJi Amcriea, ;3fl,000 seamen, respectively, which either power, in
case hostilities imi)end, can c;dl liouie to defend its national flag, and, if need were, launch
against the power of this empire.

7. Resolved, That without the aid of bounties the fisheries of British America have been -proa-
ccuted, and her marine interests have expanded, until her shores are peopled with a hardy
class of men, who consmne, almost exclusively, the manufactures of England in peace, and
who, in times of danger, would leap into the shrouds of their national ships to defend the flag
tiiey reverenoo.

275

There is now but little to add to complete a record of the more im-
portnnt events connected with the history of this controversy.

The Queen of England, in her speech at the opening of Parliament,

8. Resolved, That the cession of the Aroostook territory, and the free navigation of the St.
John, the right of registry in colonial ports, and the free admission of the productions of the
United States into British America at revenue duties only, have been followed by no cor-
responding relaxation of the commercial system of the United States which would justify a
further sacrifice of colonial interests.

9. Rcsohcd, That while more than one half of the seacoast of the republic bounds slave
States, whose laboring population cannot be trusted upon the sea, the coasts of British America
include a frontage upon the ocean greater than the whole Atlantic seaboard of the United
States. The richest fisheries in the world surround these coasts. Coal, which the Americans
must bring with them, should they provoke hostilities, abounds at the most convenient points.
Two millions of adventurous and industrious people already inhabit these provinces, and the
citizens of Halifax would indeed deplore the deliberate sacrifice of their interests, by any
weak concession to a power which ever seconds the efforts of astute diplomacy by appeals to
the angry passions — the full force of which has been twice on British America within the
memory of this generation, and, in a just cause, with the aid of the mother country, coiUd be
broken again.

ADDRESS.

To his Excellency Colonel Sir J. Gaspard Lemarcfiast, Knight, and Knight Commander
of the Orders of St. Ferdinand and of Charles the Third of Spain, Lieutenant Governor
and Commander-in-chief in and over her Majesty's province of Nova Scotia and its depend-
eacies, Chancellor of the same, &c.

May it please your Excellency: We, her Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the mayor
and aldennen of the city, and representatives of the city and county of Halifax, respectfully
request that your excellency will be pleased to transmit, by this night's mail, to tlie right hon-
orable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to be laid at the toot of the throne, a dutiful
and loyal petition, imauimously adopted this day by a very large and influential meeting of our
fellow-citizens, held in the Province Hall.

We also pray that the resolutions, a copy of which is annexed, and which were passed with
equal unanimity, may be also forwarded to the right honorable the Colonial Secretary.

This petition, ajid these resolutions, have been adopted in wmsequence of the alarming in-
telligence having been received that negotiations are pending between the British government
and the American minister in London, for surrendering to the citizens of the United States
the right of fishing on the coasts and within the bays of the British North American colonies,
from which they are now excluded by the convention of 1818. We entreat your excellency,
as the Queen's representative in this province, to convey to her Majesty's government a strong
remonstrance against any such concession of the fishing rights as appears to be contemplated.

The immediate departure of this mail will not permit our detailing all the disastrous results
to be apprehended from the concessions now required by the American government, but we
must beg that you wUl assure her Majesty's ministers that the information just received ha.s
occasioned the most intense an.'ciety throughout the comminiity, it being evident that our
rights, once conceded, can never be regained.

By the tenns of the convention of 1818 the United States expressly renounced any right of
fishing within three marine miles from the coasts and shores of these colonies, or of entering
their bays, creeks, and harbors, except for shelter, or for wood and water.

If this restriction be removed, it must be obvious to your excellency that it will be i^npos-
sible to prevent the Americans from using our fishing grounds as freely as our own fishermen.
They wiJl be permitted to enter our bays and harbors, where, at all times, unless armed ves-
sels are presciit in every harbor, they will not only fish in common with our own fishermen, but
they will bring with them contraband goods to exchange with the inhabitants for fish, to the
great injury of colonial traders and loss to the public revenue. The fish obtained by this il-
licit traffic win then be taken to the United States, where they will bo entered as the produce ■
of the American fisheries, while those exported from the colonies in a legal manner are sub-
ject to oppresvsive duties.

We need not remind your excellency that the equivalent said to have been proposed — that
of allowing our vessels to fish in the waters of the United States — is utterly valueless, and un-
worthy of a moment's consideration.

We would fiiiu hope that the reports which have appeared in the public press respecting •.
the pending negotiations between the two governments are without any good foimdatioa.

276

November, 1852, remarked that " the present and well-grounded com-
plaints on the part of my North American colonies, of the infraction by
the citizens of the United States of the fishery convention of 1818, in-

We cannot imagine tliat her Majesty's government, after having taken prompt and dedded
measures to enforce tin; tiiie constrnction of the treaty, vill ever consent to such modification
of its teiTns as will render our highly valued rights a mere privilege to he enjoyed in common
with foreigners.

We therefore pray your excellency to exert all your influence to induce her Majesty's min-
isters to stay any further negotiations on this vitally important question until the rights and
interests of the inhahitants of this province are more fully inquired into and viBdicated.

Haiifas, September 2, 1852.

MEMORIAL.

To the QHeen's Most Excellent Majesty.

The Lnmtle memorial of the undersigned, merchants and inhahitants of Halifax and otSer
2>arts of Kova 8coria, convcBcd at a public meeting held at Halifax on Thursday, the 2d of
tSeptember, iy&2, showeth:

By the mail recently arrived from England, yonr memorialists have learned with deep eon-
.ceru .that it is in contemplation of yonr Majesty's ministers to snrrender to the United States
K)f America privileges of fishing on the coasts of yutir Majesty's North American colonies, to
which, at present, yonr Majesty'^s subjects are alony entitled.

Timels uot afforded to enter at large oa this subject, nor is it necessary. Repeatedly have the
mtal impoitance of these fisheries, and Ehe necess?ry of preserving unimpaired the restrictions
against cuieroaehment by which they are gtjarded, been urged on the imperial govemmeat. It
was believ,ed the time liad long passed when a qoestion could be raised oa either of these
poiufcs. To stimulate imperial aid in protecting and maintaining acknowledged rights was all,
it was imagined, that was required of the colonies, and they fondly trusted this consummation
had beeu attained, when, in the preserst season, your Majesty's war steamers came commis-
sioned OQ this service.

Little, may it please your Majesty, was rt anticipated these were to be the precursors of a
transfer alike injurious and humiliating to yoar loyal colonial subjects, or for this aid that so
large a price would be demanded.

May it please your Majesty, when the United States, by the treaty of 1818, solemnly reawnnced
forever the right to iish within three marine miles of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors of
certain portions of your North American territory, the stipnhitiou was neither extraordinary
nor extravagant. Itisimatter of common history, that sea-girt nations claim peculiar rights
within a league of their shores; and equally plain that, according to the maxims of interna-
tional law, this claim is defined by lines drawn not only between the formations of bays, but
from the headlands of indentations of the coast.

But had it been otherwise, the stipulation was part of a general treaty, in which concession
on one side may be presumed to have been compensated by concession on the other, and loss
in one particular by gain in another; and the engagement was made in language too explicit,
and in terms too well vuiderstood, to admit the possibility of misapprehension.

Shall nations, may it please your Majesty, be absolved from the obligation of their contracts,
and complaints be respected whea made by a people, which, between individuals, would be
treated as puerile?

If conciliation, irrespective of rigiit, be the principle on which is to be withdrawn the re-
striction against the entry of Americans into the bays and indentations of the coast to fish,
limiting them alone to the distance of three miles from the shore, the concession of the privi-
lege tx) fish within this latter distance must equally be granted — as, indeed, has been already
urged in the American Congress : the restriction in botli cases rests on the same authority ;
and the concession in each woidd be demanded by the same principle. It may not be the
proviuceof your Majesty's colonial subjects to suggest how far such a i)rinciple is consistent
with national honor and independence : they hiive a right to pray that it be not carried out at

their exi^ense. , . . , ,

When tlie welfare of the empire is supposed to demand extensive alterations in the laws of
trade and navigation, the peculiar interests of the colonies are not pennitted to disturb the gen-
eral system by the continuance of conflicting regukliuns, however necessary, from long usage
and the competition of fon.ifiners more powerful and more fostered by their own government.

In the present case, the possession to surrender Is no offspring of artificial arrangements,
falling with a complicated iM>licy of which it formed a part.

No, may it please your Majesty, your loyal subjects in Nova Scotia raise their voice against
the injury of m inheritance coiiferred upou your Noitli Auiericau subjects by nature, con-

277

duced me to despatch, for the protection of their interests, a class of
vessels better adapted to the service than those which had been pre-
viously empbyed. This step has led to discussion with the govern-
ment of the United States ; and while the rights of my subjects have
been firmly maintained, the friendly spirit in which the question has
been treated induces me to hope that the ultimate result may be a mu-
tually beneficial extension and improvement of our commercial inter-
course with the great republic."

The President of the United States, in his message. to Congress, in
the following month, refers to the subject with less brevity. He said :
" In the course of the last summer, considerable anxiety was caused,
for a short time, by an official intimation from the government of Great
Britain that orders had been given for the protection of the fisheries
upon the coasts of the British provinces in North America against the
alleged encroachments of the fishing vessels of the United States and
France. The shortness of this notice and the season of the year,
seemed to make it a matter of urgent importance. It was at first
apprehended that an increased naval force had been ordered to the
fishing grounds to carry into effect the British interpretation of those
provisions in the convention of IS 18 in reference to the true intent of
which the two governments differ. It was soon discovered that such
was not the design of Great Britain; and satisfactory explanations of
the real objects of the measure have been given, both here and in
London.

The unadjusted difference, however, between the two governments,
as to the interpretation of the first article of the convention of 1818, is
still a matter of importance. American fishing vessels, within nine or

nected with their soil by the laws and usages of nature, confirmed to them by solemn compact,
and which, practically enjoyed by them peculiarly, and as your other Majesty's subjects cannot
enjoy them, can be surrendered only at their extreme injury and great loss.

Surely, may it please your Majesty, your loyal colonial subjects have a right to ask for some
better reason for this sacrifice of their peculiar right and interest than the demand of a foreign
power — the aggrandizement of a foreign people.

It is reported that the American government, with characteristic diplomatic skill, have of-
fered to concede a similar privilege on their own coast in return for what they seek on the
coasts of British North America.

The proffered boon is valueless to the colonists — they want it not, and would derive no ben-
efit from it. The oiler may deceive the uninformed, or it may afford an excuse to palliate the
sacrifice of your colonial subjects' rights. It may have been made by our sagacious neighbors
with this object ; but to those who will suffer by the pretext, it is but the addition of insult to
wrong. If rights so entirely colonial and so clear as this are to be sacrificed to American in-
fluence, the colonists should know it. Let them not. may it please your Majesty, be treated
as children or imbeciles by nominally granting them a privilege which they know, and the
Americans know, to be worthless as an equivalent for one which both equally know to be of
incalculable value ; for let it not be urged upon your Majesty that what the Americans seek
is of no value. Their einiestness is certain evidence to the contrary.

It is, may it please your Majesty, of value, of great value, in itself; of perhaps greater value
still, as the best, the only safeguard against violation of the restriction which prohibits the
approach of the American fishermen within three miles of the shore.

Your memorialists deprecate all negotiation — all compromise on the subject. The Ameri-
cans will not, probably they cannot, grant an equivalent for the privileges they seek, and the
only security for the colonies is the entire abandonment of the present negotiations.

Your memorialists most earnestly entreat your Majesty that the existing fishery restrictions
will be presei-ved in their letter, and that your Majesty's power may be put forth to prevent
their violation.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.

278

ten years, have been excluded from waters to which they had free
access for twenty-five years afier tlie negotiation of the treaty. In
1845, this exclusion was relaxed so far as concerns the Bay of I'undy,
but the just and liberal intention of the home government, in comph-
ance with what we think the true construction of the convention, to
open all the other outer bays to our fishermen, was abandoned, in con-
sequence of the opposition of the colonies. Notwithstanding this, the
United States have, since the Bay of Fundy was reopened to our fish-
ermen in 1845, pursued the most liberal course towards the colonial
fishing interests. By the revenue law of 1846, the duties on colonial
fish entering our ports were very greatly reduced, and, by the ware-
housing act, it is allovk^ed to be entered In bond without payment of
duty. In this way, colonial fish has acquired the monopoly of the ex-
port trade in our market, and is entering, to some extent, into the home
consumption. These facts were among those which increased the sen-
sibihty of our fishing Interest at the movement in question.

" These circumstauces, and the incidents above alluded to, have led
me to think the moment favorable for a reconsideration of the entire
subject of the fisheries on the coasts of the British provinces, with a
view to place them upon a more liberal footing of reciprocal privilege.
A wlllininiess to meet us in some arran2:en:!ent of this kind Is understood
to exist on the part of Great Britain, with a desire on her part to in-
clude in one comprehensive settlement as well this subject as the com-
mercial intercourse between the United States and the British provinces.
I have thought that, whatever arrangements may be made on these
two subjects. It Is expedient that they should be embraced in separate
conventions. The ilhiess and death of the late Secretary of State pre-
vented the commencement of the contemplated negotiation. Pains have
been taken to collect the information required for the details of such an
arrangement. The subject is attended with considerable difficulty.
If It is found practicable to come to an agreement mutually acceptable
to the two parties, conventions may be concluded in the course of the
present winter. The control of Congress over all the provisions of such
an arrangement, affecting the revenue, will of course be reserved."

Our latest accounts from two of the British colonies show that oppo-
sition is still manifested to an adjustment of the dispute on terms which
would be satisfactory to the United States.

The resolutions which follow, and which were adopted at a public
meeting at St. John, New Brunswick, 'December, 1852, indicate, prob-
ably, the temper of the commercial class of that city:

" Rcsolied, That this meeting consider the coast fisheries of the North
American coloni(>s the natural right and property of the inhabitants
thereof, and that they should not be alienated, conceded, nor aliected
without their conscnit, in any negotiation with the United States gov-
ernment, or any other foreign power, without their consent, inasmuch as
the value of the fisheries to the Brillsh provinces, with an increased and
increasing population, cannot be estimated aright at the present time.

■' Rcsulvrd, Tliat tills meeting view wltli deep anxiety and concern
the announcement in her iNIajesty's speech to the imperial Parhament,
that negotiations are now pending between her Majesty's government
and that of the United Staters, relative to the fisheries of the North

279

American provinces, nnd also the recommendation of the President of
the United States, in his official message to Congi-ess, to negotiate a
treaty for a participation by the citizens of the United States in the
said fisheries, irrespective of any question ot reciprocal intercourse be-
tween the United States and the North American colonies.

" Resolved, That a committee be now appointed to prepare an hum-
ble address, praying that her Majesty will be eraciously pleased to re-
fuse to entertain any proposition from the United States government for
any modification or alteration of the treaty of IS 18, unless such a pro|>
osition embraces the full and entire question of reciprocal intercourse in
commerce and navigation upon terms that will be just and reasonable,
inasmuch as the value of a participation, in our fisheries b}^ the citizens
of the United States would greatly exceed any concessions that the
United States crovernment can offer to the inhabitants of the British colo-
nies, and that, before any treaty affecting the fisheries is agreed upon,
her Majesty will be graciously pleased to afford her Majesty's loyal and
faithful subjects, in the provinces, an opportunity of becoming ac-
quainted with the terms proposed in said treaty, and of lajang their case
at the foot of the throne."

The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, in his speech to the Assem-
bly of that colony, January, 1S53, observes:

" I shall direct to be laid before you certain papers, connected with
the important subject of an efficient protection of the fisheries, including
correspondence between the executive and his excellency the naval
commander-in-chief on this station, with respect to the best mode
in which this service should be carried out. To the zeal and experi-
ence of that distinguished officer, and to the active and cordial co-ope-
ration of the officers of the squadron employed under his command, we
are much indebted for the viirllance with which our national rifrhts have
been guarded, without, at the same time, any diminution of the friendly
relations which ought to subsist between those whose common origin
and mutual interests offer so many pledges for the preservation of peace.

"You will be pleased to learn that the government of the United States
has at length consented to negotiate on the subject of their commercial
relations with the British empire. I shall rejoice if these negotiations
result in the opening of more extended markets for the productions of
British America, and the adjustment of questions on which the legisla-
tures of all the provinces have hitherto evinced a lively interest."

The Assembly, in their reply to his excellency, deprecate "any con-
cession of territorial advantages to the citizens of the United States,
without these are purchased by the most full and ample equivalents."

EXAMIXTATION OF THE BRITISH PRETEKSTOXS, AND OF THE DOCUMENTS
WHICH SUPPORT THEM.

Having now completed a rapid historical view of the controversy
between the two governments as to the intent and meaning of the first
article of the convention of 1818, I propose to examine the principal
papers which are rehed on to maintain the British side of the case.

In answer to Lord Falkland's first query, the crown lawyers say:
"In obedience to yom- lordship's commands, we have taken these papers

280

into consideration, nnd have the honor to report, that we are of opinion
tiiat the treaty of 1783 was annulled by the war of 1812; and we are
also of opinion that the rights of fishery ot the citizens of the United
States must now be considered as defined and regulated by the conven-
tion of 1818; and with respect to the general question, ^if so, what
right ?' we can only refer to the terms of the convention, as explained
and elucidated by the observations which will occur in answering the
other specific queries."

And so, as the words stand, the treaty of 1783 having been "an-
nulled" by the event spoken of, our independence as a nation was re-
voked also. This is something the American people had not thought
of. These gentlemen mean, possibly, that our rights of fishing only
were abrogated by the rupture in 1812, and we may consider their
opinion on this ground.

Fortunately, the late President John Quincy Adams has pronounced
a judgment upon this very point. On the convention of 1818 he re-
marked: "The United States have renounced forever that part of the
fishing liberties which they had enjoyed, or claimed, in certain parts of
tlie exclusive jurisdiction of British provinces, and within three marine
miles of the shores. The first article of this convention afibrds a signal
testimonial of the correctness of the principle assumed by the Ameri-
can plenipotentiaries at Ghent; for as by accepting the express renun-
ciation by the United States of a small portion of the privilege in ques-
tion, and by confirming and enlarging all the remainder of the privilege
forever, the British government have implicitly acknowledged that the
liberties of the third article of the treaty of 1783 have not been abro-
gated by the war."

It is true, as a general rule, that the obligations of treaties are dis-
solved by hostilities. But, says Chancellor Kent, "it/terc treaties con-
template a permanent arrangement of national rights, or which, by their
terms, are meant to provide for the event of an intervening war, it
would be against every principle of just interpretation to hold them
extinguished by the event of war. Thcij revive at peace, unless waived^
or new and repugnant stipulations be made.^^ The treaty of 1783 is pre-
cisely within this rule. It " contemplated a permanent arrangement
of national rights." It "revived at the peace;" for our commissioners
at Ghent, instead of "waiving" the former stipulations, or admitting
"new and repugnant" ones, declined any discussions whatever on the
subject. In their cojnmunication to the Secretary of State, of Decem-
ber 25, 1814, they say:

"Our instructions had forbidden us to suffer our right to the fisheries
to be brought in discussion, and had not authorized us to make any dis-
tinction in the several provisions of the third article of the treaty of
1783, or between that article and any other of the same treaty.

"We had no equival(;nt to ofier t()r a new recognition of our right to
any part oi" the fisheries, and we had no power to grant any equivalent
wliich might be asked for it by the British government. We contended
that the whole treaty of 1783 must be considered as one entire perma-
nent compact, not liable, like ordinar}' trcatii^s, to be abrogated by a
subsequent war between the parties to it; as an instrument recognising
the rights and hberties enjoyed by the people of the United States as

281

an independent nation, and containing the terms and conditions on
■which the two parties of one empire had mutually agreed henceforth
to constitute two distinct and separate nations. In consenting, by that
treaty, that a part of the North American continent should remain sub-
ject to the British jurisdiction, the people of the United States had re-
served to themselves the liberty, which they had ever before enjoyed,
of fishing upon that part of the coast, and of drying and curing fish
upon the shores ; and this reservation had been agreed to by the other
contracting party.

" We saw not why this liberty — then no new grant, but a mere recog-
nition of a prior right always enjoyed — should be forfeited by a war
more than any other of the rights of our national independence ; or
why we should need a new stipulation for its enjoyment more than we
needed a new article to declare that the King of Great Britain treated
with us as free, sovereign, and independent States. We stated this
principle in general terms to the British plenipotentiaries in the note
which we sent to them w^ith our irrojct of the treaty, and we alleged it
as the ground upon which no new stipulation was deemed by our gov-
ernment necessary to secure to the people of the United States all the
rights and liberties stipulated in their favor by the treaty of 1783. No
reply to that part of our note was given by the British plenipotentia-
ries."*

To Lord Falkland's second and third queries the Queen's advocate
and her Majesty's attorney general reply:

" Except within certain defined limits, to which the query put to us
does not apply, we are of opinion that, by the terms of the treaty,
American citizens are excluded from the right of fishing within three
miles of the coast of British America; and that the prescribed distance

* It has been suggested to me by gentlemen of high consideration in our national councils,
that Mr. Adams, by consencing to the convention of 1818, abandoned the principle which is
here so ably asserted. If it can be shown that he really did consent to that convention, the
suggestion is not without force, since it is manifest, that on the ground taken by our commis-
sioners at Ghent, no new stipulations were necessary. But I have never believed that Mr.
Adams, as Secretaiy of State, approved of the tonus of the convention ; and my conjecture
has been, that he persisted in the views which h-e entertained in 1814, and was overruled by
other members of Mr. Monroe's cabinet. Desirous, if possible, to ascertain the precise fact
upon so important a point, I addressed a note of inquiry to the Hon. Charles Francis Adams,
bis only surviving son and executor. This gentleman consulted his father's diary, and kindly
funiished me with the following minutes of a conversation with the British ministei- at Wash-
ington, (Mr. Bagot,) on the 15th of May, 1818. This extract will remove all doubt, as it
seems to me, as to the consistency of Mr. Adams, and shows that he stiinnitted, rather than
consented, to a negotiation which he had not the power to prevent, as well as to tenns which
he disliked, and which had been partially or entirely determined upon by our goveiiunent
before his return from England, or before he became a member of the cabinet.

"As to the proposal which was to have been made to the British govenuneut," he recorded,
" and which had hitherto been delayed, its postponement had been owing to difficulties which
had been discovered since it was promised. It was founded on the piinciple of assuming a
range of coast within given latitudes for our fishermen to frequent, and abandoning the right
to fish for the rest. But the fish, themselves, resorted at difierent times to diilereut parts of
the coast, and a place which might be selected as veiy eligible now, might be in the course of
four or five years entirely deserted. For my oicn part, I hud always been averse to any proposal
of accommodation. I thought our whole right, as stipulated by the treaty o/ 1783, so clear,
that I teas for maintaining the tcliole; and if force shoidd be applied to prevent our fiJiermen from
fre^umting the coast, I would have protested against it, and reserved the right of recovering the
WHOLE BY FORCE, whtnevcr we should be able. It had, however, been determinkd otherwise
HERE, AND A PROPOSAL HAD BEEN PROMISED. Porhaps wc should ultimately ofier to give up
the right of drying and curing on the shore, and reseiTe the whole right of fishing."

282

of three miles is to be measured from the headlands or extreme points
of land next the sea of the coast, or of the entrance of the bays, and
not from the interior of such bays or inlets of the coast; and, conse-
quently, that no right exists, on the part of American citizens, to enter
the bays of Nova fScotia, there to take fish, iilthough the fishing l)eing
within the bay, may be at a greater distance than three miles from the
shore of the bay, as we are of opinion that the term headland is used
in the treaty to express the part of the land we have before mentioned,
excluding the interior of the bays and the inlets of the coast."

It is somewhat remarkable that the term "headland" docs not oiice
occur in the convention. Of course, so important a mistake as this leaves
these learned gentlemen in an unfortunate position. The single word
"headland," on which they found their argument, is not once "used,"
I repeat, in the instrument which they are required to interpret. I af-
firm, further, that the idea of excluding our vessels from the "bays of
Nova Scotia" was not entertained, nor so much as mentioned, during
the negotiations which preceded the convention. The consultations
between Mr. Adams and Lord Bathurst commenced on the basis of re-
quiring of us the renunciation of the shore or boat fisheries, and of no
others. At the first interview his lordship used this distinct and em-
phatic language:

"As, on the one hand. Great Britain could not permit the vessels of
the United States to fish within the creeks and close upon the shores of
the British territories, so, on the other hand, it was by no means her
intention to interrupt them in fishing anifwhcre in the open sea, or without
the territorial jurisdiction, a, marine league from the shore.'''' Again, and
on a subsequent occasion, he said, it is not "of fur competition that his
Majesty's government has reason to complain, but of the preoccupa-
tion of British harbors and creeks." The conferences, the corre-
pondence, proceeded and terminated on this supposition — that we
rehnquished the inner grounds, as they are called, and retained the outer,
or vessel fisheries. We were no longer to interfere with the colonists in
the "harbors and creeks;" but, beyond the common three-mile mari-
time jurisdiction, were to retain every right to catch fish that we had
previously enjoyed. Did space allow, I could show from both sides of
the corresponflence that this original thought of Lord Bathurst was
kept continually in view, and that the baijs mentioned by the crown
lawyers were not even once referred to. Is it, then, to be believed for
a single moment — recalling, as we fairly may do, the course pursued
by Mr. Adams and Mr. Gallatin at Ghent, in 1814, and the remarks of
Lord Bathurst the following year — that, after three years of negotia-
tion, a treaty should have been formed which took from us very much
more than the British government required us to surrender at the out-
set? The thing seems utterly impossible.*

* The extract from Jcihn Qiiiiicy Adams's diary which I have inserted as a note, in consid-
erhij,' tlic crown lawyers' reply to Lord Falkland's first query, shows, conclusively, that as late
as May 15, 1^18, and after the nefjotiations of more than two years, our n;i)V('rnment had not
even f)ri)p()sed to surrcndrr aiitj portion of l/u ft. •s/iinsf-ir rounds which we occupii'd under the
treaty of 178:5. Mr. Adams records, at the date mentioned: "■Perhaps wc slwttld ultimately
offer to <ricc up the right of drying and curing on the shore, and reserve the whole right of
Ashing."

283

Our statesmen have been accused, on the other side of the Atlantic,
of a hmited knowledge of international law, but never of sacrificing
our interests: in truth, the standing charge against them is, that they
overreach, and drive too hard bargains. But, on the supposition that
the right of fishing has been abandoned in the bays of British America,
those who negotiated, and those who confirmed, the convention of 181S,
allowed themselves to be most scandalously duped, and never subse-
quently discovered the fraud.

Contemporaneous exposition is always authoritative to some extent ;
and in this case, I consider it is as decisive as are the essays oi Hamilton,
Madison, and Ja}"-, in interpreting the constitution.

The crown lawyers, who had no part in concluding the treaty before
us, cannot be allowed to interpret it for our government, when we have
the declarations of the minister who opened the conferences, and the
ministers who signed the treaty itself. From this position we are not
to be driven. What, then, is the testimony of Messrs. Galhitin and
Rush? On the very day on which they affixed their signatures to the
convention, (October 20, 1818,) they wrote to the Secretaiy of State,
(who was no other than John Quincy Adams) that " We succeeded in
securing, besides the rio^hts of taking and curins; fish within the limits de-
signated by our instructions, as a sine qua non., the liberty of fishnig on the
coasts of the Magdalen islands, and of the western coast of Newfound-
land, and the privilege of entering for shelter, wood, and water, in all the
British harbors of North America. Both were suggested as important
to our fisheries, in the communications on that subject, which were
transmuted to us with our instructions. To the exception of the ex-
clusive rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, we did not object, as it
was virtually impHed in the ti'eaty of 1783, and we had never, any
more than the British subjects, enjoyed any right there; the charter of
that company having been granted in the year 1670. The exception
apphes only to the coasts and harbors, and does not affect the right of
fishing in Hudson's bay beyond three miles from the shores — a right
which could not exclusively belong to, or be gj-antcd by, any nation.

"It will also be perceived that we insist on the clause by which the
United States renounce their right to the fisheries, relinquished by the
convention, that clause having been omitted in the first British counter
projet. We insisted on it with the view — 1st. Of preventing an impli-
cation that the fisheries secured to us were a new grant, and of placing
the permanence of the rights secured, and of those renounced, precisely
on the same footing. 2d. Of its being expressly stated, that our renuncia-
tion extended only to the distance of three miles from the coast. This last
point was the more important, as, with the excejjtion of the fisheries in open
boats tvithin certain harbors, it appeared from the communications above men-
tioned that the fishing ground on the whole coast of Nova Scotia is more
than three miles from the shore; whilst, on the contrary, it is almost uni-
versally close to the shore on the coasts of Labrador. It is in that
point of view that the privilege of entering the ports for shelter is %iseful,and
it is hoped that, with that irrovision, a considerable iwrtio?! of the actual
fisheries on that coast (of Nova Scotia) will, notwithstauding the renuncia-
tion, be preserved."

But if, as the crown lawyers contend, we cannot fish in a single bay

284

of Nova Scotia, what did the American ministers mean, in the state-
ments which I have marked? Did they attempt to deceive an Adams,
on questions connected with the fisheries; or were they ignorant of
their duty? Neither; for Mr. Adams himself emphatically and posi-
tively affirms their construction of the convention. Under circum-
stances* higlily interesting to his fame with this generation and with
posterity, he declared that this convention '■'■secures esse?itiaUy cmd siib-
stantiulbj all the rights acepiirecl by the treaty of 1783; it secures the ivhole
coast fishery of every i^art of the British dominion, excepting ivithin three
murine miles of the shores.''^ What answer can be made to this?

Still again : If the crown lawyers are in the right, how does it hap-
pen that we were in the uninterrupted possession of the very bays in
dispute for a quarter of a century ? The fact is not doubted ; indeed,
the attempt to dispossess us is the cause of the controversy. Mr. Ev-
erett afforded Lord Aberdeen an opportunity — nay, invited him — to
explain this circumstance ; but his lordship dechned to reply. During
these twenty-five years, ships of the royal navy annually appeared on
the fishing grounds under special orders to prevent aggressions ; yet
not one of them, prior to the capture of the Washington in 1843, ever
seized an American vessel for merely fishing within these bays !

It may be answered, however, that we were occupants without title
and by permission. But, says Blackstone, possession of lands, " by
length of time and negligence of him who hath the right, by degrees
ripens into a perfect and indefeasible title." As upon the land, so
upon the sea. A nation, says Vattel, " if it has once acknowledged
the common right of other nations to come and fish there, can no
longer exclude them from it. It has left that fishery in its primitive
freedom, at least in respect to those who have been in possession
ofit."t

If these remarks and authorities are pertinent, what term is necessary
to give us a right to the common use of the bays of British America by
uninterrupted occupancy and possession ? Lord Stanley, in a despatch
to Lord Falkland, as we have seen, considered that we had " practi-
cally acquiesced" in the opinion of the crown lawyers, because we
did not protest against it in less than two years ; and it might seem
that the " practical acquiescence" of the British government for a period
of twenty-live years previously was sufficient to place us within the
rule of the writers above quoted, Especially since, after all, the true
question in discussion is simply whether we shall continue in the com-
mon use of waters to which we have never ceased to resort from the
peace of 1783 ; to which our fathers resorted as British subjects before
the dismemberment of the empire ; and to which we, as their descend-

* Controversy with Jonathan RiisselL

t Dr. Paley, in his MumI und Political Philosophy, states the principle far more broadly.
In chapter eleven, which is devoted to the "general rights of mankind," he says:

" If there be fisheries wliich are inexhanstible — as, for aught I know, the cod-fishery upon
Che Banks of Newfoundland and tin; herring fisliery in th(! British 8(!as are — then all those con-
ventions by which one or two nations claim to tliemsidves, and guaranty to each other, the ex-
clusive enjoyment of these fisheries, are so many encroachments upon the general rights of
mankind.' —Boston edition, 18'21, p. 84.

285

ants, have a claim for services rendered to the British crown in the
original conquest from France.

If asked how the term " bays" is to be disposed of in the treaty, I
answer that it applies to such arms of the sea as on some coasts are
called coves and creeks, and was meant to designate all sheets of water
which are not six miles wide, and no others. That our ministers acted
upon information obtained from persons engaged in the fisheries is cer-
tain, for the negotiation was suspended to obtain it; and we may rea-
sonably conclude that their infjrmants spoke of these coves or creeJcs
by the popular name of bai/s. Any person with a mariner's chart in
his hand can observe that on the colonial coasts there is a multitude
of " bays," some of which are more, and many less, than six miles
wide at their mouths, or outer headlands. In fact, I know of no coast
where they are so numerous. To mention all, would occupy more room
than can be spared in this report. IMace's, St. Mary's, Barrington,
Liverpool, Malaguash, Mahone, Margaret's, Blind, Tenant's, Pennant's,
Chisselcook, Musquidoboit, Newton Quoddy, Shoal, Tom Lee's, Nicom-
quirque, Nicomtan, and Dover, are a part (though the most considera-
ble) between the St. Croix and Cape Canso alone. That it may be
fully understood in what sense the word "bay" is used in speaking of
inde?itations of the coast at the east, 1 give an example in the case of
the Passamaquoddy, which in itself is only a branch-bay of Fundy.
In this small branch-bay, then, in common language, are Cipp's, South,
East, Rumsey's, Cobscook, Strait, Friar's, Casco, and West Quoddy;
and the Passamaquoddy, after being thus minutely divided, takes the
name of St. Andrew's bay, northerly and westerly of Eastport. The
term " bays" is therefore a word of sufficient significance in the treaty,
without embracing bodies of water which are as large as many Euro-
pean seas, and which are to be held in America as seas. I claim that
our vessels can enter them of right, and fish in them, and can enter
and fish in then- branches, where the shore on either hand is more than
three miles distant. We renounced the right to fish in the bodies of
sea-water which are less than six miles wide at their entrance or
mouths, and in no others. That this is the true meaning of the con-
vention is apparent from the proviso of the renunciatory clause, which
allows our fishermen to enter "s?^cA bays or harbors for the purpose of
shelter, and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood, and of
obtaining water," &c. Now, as every practical man knows that neither
of these purposes is or can be accomplished in large open bays, it is
certain that while we renounced the right to fish in the small bays, we
retained the right to enter them in cases of distress and emergency.
The bays relinquished are of a description which allow of anchorage
and shelter in stormy weather ; that actually afford safety during the
days and weeks which disabled vessels may occupy in repairs ; that
have accessible forests, and springs or streams of fresli water. The
idea embraced is, that our vessels, in the cases specified, may run into
any and every indent of the coast; for the term "purchasing wood"
supposes a colonial owner, with a habitation on the shore, of whom fuel
can be bought and paid for; and thus includes places which are inhab-
ited. Persons who are acquainted with the bold and rocky shores of
the large bays of British America — those of Chaleurs and Fundy, for

286

example — with tlie dense fogs which prevail there, with tlie frequent
and terrific gales, and with the fearful whirls and great rise and
fall of the tide, understand full well what was intended to be reserved
in the treaty, and the importance of the reservations. But such per-
sons never heard, and, 1 will venture to say, never will hear, of fishing
vessels, or of any class of vessels, effecting either of the purposes
mentioned in the proviso, while saihng broad in the great seas which,
in common language, are called hays. Yet these seas, in the opinion of
the crown lawyers, are only open to our vessels in cases of distress,
and when not one object for which they say we may lawfully enter
them can, in fact, be executed. An attempt to show that the Queen's
advocate, and her Majesty's attorney general, do not thus absurdly in-
terpret the convention, involves the admission that our vessels, once
across the line drawn three miles outside of the headlands, may seek
the small branch-bays within these seas; and so demonstrates the
accuracy of the construction which I have given ; for then it follo\vs
that the right to fish in the branch-baj's only is renounced, inasmuch
as '■^such bays," after all, are the bays which afford the shelter, the ac-
commodation for repairs, and the wood and water, contemplated by
the convention.

"It is an established rule in the exposition of statutes," says Chan-
cellor Kent, "th;it the intention of the lawgiver is to be deduced fi'om
a view of the whole and of every part of a statute, taken and com-
pared together. The real intention, when accurately ascertained, will
alwa^'s prevail over the hteral sense of the terms." And he says
further, that "When the words are not explicit, the intention is to be
collected from the occasion and necessity of the law, from the mischief
felt, and the remedy in view; and the intention is to be taken or pre-
sumed, according to what is consonant to reason and good discretion."
If such is the fact with regard to municipal law, how much more im-
portant is the principal in the interpretation of treaties, which affect
the harmony and peace of nations? I submit, then, that we have the
"intention" of Messrs. Rush and Gallatin, in their renunciation of the
right to fish in certain ba3^s; that the pretension of England, that the
war of IS 12 had abrogated our entire rights, as provided in the treaty
of 17S3, was the "occasion and necessity" for new stipulations on the
subject; that the opening conference between Lord Bathurst and Mr.
Adams, in 1815, shows, beyond all doubt, that fishing, b}^ our country-
men, within the creeks and close upon the shores of the British terri-
tories, was the "mischief felt;" and that the exclusion of American
vessels from the common three-mile jurisdiction was "the remedy in
view," in the renunciatory clause of the convention. Nor can it be
urged that the relincjuishment on our part of the boat or shore fisheries
was too inconsiderable an object to be so strongl}^ insisted on by the
British government. I understand the value of these fisheries far too
well to allow any force to such a suggestion. The colonists, secure in
these, have vast treasures at their very doors. Oftentimes they have
but to cast, tend, and draw seines and nets, to take hundreds of barrels
of mackerel and herring in a single day; and years have occurred
when no less than forty thousand barrels of the former fish have been
caught in a season, on a portion of the coast only twelve miles long.

287

As regards the slwre fishery, for the kinds usually dried, that in the
region of Barrington is of itself a mine of wealth. Colonial fishermen,
here and elsewhere along the coast, may be at home after every day's
toil, and look out upon their American competitors in the offing, rejoic-
ing in advantages of pursuing their avocation in open boats, and the
consequent advantages of social hfe, and of fishing and of attending to
their little farms between "slacks of the tide," in "blowy weather,"
and when the fish "strike offl"

The Queen's advocate and her Majesty's attorney general answer
Lord Falkland's fourth query as follows:

"By the treaty of 181S it is agreed that American citizens should
have the liberty of fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, within certain
defined limits, in common with British subjects ; and such treaty does
not contain any words negativing the right to navigate the passnge of
the Gut of Canso, and therefore it ma}' be conceded that such right
of navigation is not taken away by that convention; but we have now
attentively considered the course of navigation to the gulf, by Cape
Breton, and likewise the capacity and situation of the passage of
Canso, and of the British dominions on either side, and we are of opin-
ion that, independently of treaty, no foreign country has the right to
use or navigate the passage of Canso; and attencfing to the terms of the
convention relating to the liberty of fishery to be enjoyed by the Amer-
icans, we are also of opinion that that convention did not, either ex-
pressly or by implication, concede any such right of using or navigating
the ptissage in question. We are also of opinion that casting bait to
lure fish in the track of any American vessels navigating the passage,
would constitute a fishing within the negative terms of the convention."

This reply and the report* of the committee of the House of Assembly
of Nova Scotia will be considered together. The committee laud the
late Chancellor Kent, cite from his Commentaries, and aver that he
"agrees with the principles put forth by the law officers of the crown,
and which justify the conclusion that no foreign power, independent of
treaty, has any right to navigate the passage of Canso." It is not so.
The passage t which they quote firom Kent relates to "an immunity
from belligerent warfare;" to ships of an enemy "hovering on our
coasts;" to the degree of "uneasiness and sensibility" we might feel,
"in the case of war between other maritime powers," were they to
"use the waters of our coast" for the purpose of cruising and of cap-
turing vessels. He gives no exact rule even in this respect. He gives
no exact rule in time of peace. He says that ^Hhe claim of dom'mwn to
close or narrow seas is still the theme of discussion and controversy.'''' He
then states the doctrine of several writers on international law, and
remarks that "all that can reasonably be asserted is, that the dominion
of the sovereign of the shore over the contiguous sea extends as far as
is requisite for his safety and for some' lawful end. A more extended
dominion must rest entirely upon force and maritime supremacy."
Now, it may be asked whether the "safety" of Nova Scotia demands
the closing of Canso; and whether the refusal of its use is for "some

* Inserted in tlie liistorical notice of the controversy in this report, under date of 1851.
t Kent's Commentaries, edition of 1332, vol. 1, pages 29 and 30.

288

lawful end." I am defending the rights of men in peace. I am
asking ix)Y a free sea when our fishermen are bound to and from the
distant scenes of their toil. I assume that they neither loiter nor
traffic; that they violate no municipal law; and that in no other way
do they harm or molest her Mnjcsty's subjects. Perhaps the eminent
jurist, who is quoted so triumphantly against them, will sustain my de-
fence. We shall see. "Every vessel in time of peace," says the
same Chancellor Kent, "has a right to consult its own safety and con-
venience, and to pursue its own course and business, without being
disturbed, and without having violated the rights of others." Again,
he says: "As the end of the law of nations is the happiness and per-
fection of the general society of mankind, it enjoins upon every nation
the punctual observance of benevolence and good will, as well as of
justice, towards its neighbors. This is equq^lly the poHcy and the duty
of nations." Still again: "No nation has a right, in time of peace, to
interfere with, or interrupt, any commerce which is lawful b}'' the law
of nations, and carried on between other independent powers, or be-
tween diHerent members of the same state." Nor is this all. " Every
nation is bound, in time of jieace, to grant a jiassage, for lauf id purposes,
over their lands, rivers, and seas, to the people of other states, whenever it
can he permitted without incoiiveniencey* Let us apply these principles
to the case before us. In passing through Canso, our fishermen consult
their "safety and convenience." They promote the "happiness" of
mankind, for they are producers of human food. Their " purpose is
lawful," for the crown lawyers themselves admit that the right of fishing
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is secured to them.

A report on Canso has become a regular legislative duty in the
Assembly of Nova Scotia. The little colonial world will soon be grat-
ified with another labored effort to show that our countr3nnen have " no
right to pass through one of her Majesty's possessions." I commend
to the committee of 1853 the passages which I have quoted, and which
relate to the duties of nations in time of peace. I have the presump-
tion, too, to suggest to the Queen's advocate, and her Majestj^'s attorney
general, that though Selden was among the lights of" his age, and
though his Marc Claimim was once high authority, 3^et that since the
progress of civilization has modified some, and changed other, rules of
mternational law, it is time that the old and barbarous doctrine of
exclusion from the navigation of internal straits between the main land
and islands, as applied to vessels under sail, and making a direct
voyage, ceased to distress the mariners of one Christian country when
within the jurisdiction of another. Two centuries ago,t when Selden,
and his great antagonist, Grotius, wrote their celebr.ated treatises, it
was the practice, under the pulilic law, to confiscate the debts due to
the subjects of an (;n(uny at the commencement of hostilities; to regard
an enemy as an outlaw and as a criminal, who liad no right to Hfe, even
when unarmed and defenceless; to use poisoned weapons, employ
assassins, violate females, and sell prisoners into slavery ; and to con-
fiscate, as contraband, provisions when in transitu to feed starving non-

* Those sovoral quotations are from Kent, edition of 1832, pages 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, aud 34.
t Selden died iu 1G54 ; Grotius in 1045.

289

combatanls and famishing women and children. If the abstract right
exist to close Canso in time of peace against vessels under sail, it
belongs to the same class of inhuman rules of the international code.
•'The English," says Montesquieu, "have made the protection of
foreign merchants one of the articles of their national liberty." I com-
mend the sentiment to the consideration of the English crown lawyers.

But let us take a practical view of the question before us. The
peninsula of Nova Scotia is bounded on the northeast by the strait, or
"gut," of which we are speaking, and is separated by it from the large
island of Cape Breton. To save the long, difficult, and at some times
of the year the dangerous voyage round this island, our vessels ai'e in
the constant practice of passing through Canso. The strait is lighted;
and our flag contributes liberally to support aU the light-houses on the
coast. The "hght-money" exacted is, indeed, so enormous — the
benefit afforded considered — ^that our ship-owners complain of the ex-
actions continually.* It is apparent at a glance that the sailing of a
vessel over the sea between JVova fScotia and Cape Breton can, of
itself, harm no one. This sea, be it understood, is very narrow, not
•exceeding, in some parts, one mile in breadth.

Having thus stated the case, we will illustrate the doctrine main-
tained by the crown lawyers, by one exactly parallel in all its points.
The "McLane arrangement" in 1830, disposed of many of the diffi-
culties which, from the peace of 1783, had embarrassed our intercourse
with the colonies, and under its terms colonial vessels have freely used

• The United States consul at Pictoii, Nova Scotia, thus wrote to Mr. Forsyth, Secretary
of State, in. 18:i9 : " The tax of sbc and two-tliirds cents per ton register of shipping, collected
fey the province of Nova Scotia at the Strait of Canso, is levied ou British as well as foreign
etiips; but it beeomies a heavy charge on American vessels making four or five trips a year to
tills port, in the coal trade ; and as there is no impost on shipping in American ports for the
euppoit of lights on the coast of the United States, such a tax on American vesst^ls in the
ports of the British colonies involves a discrepance in the terms of intercourse betvi'een the
two coimtries, although it professes to be based on strict reciprocity."

The Gloucester Telegraph, a paper which is authority on all matters connected with the
fisheries, contained the following article, August, 1852 :

"Light duty at the bay, — ^One of the most grievous things which our fishermen have to
submit to at the Bay of St. Lawrence, is the payment of a light-duty. Our vessels have for
years been obliged to pay this duty at the Gut of Caliso, which is a tax upon the town of
Gloucester alone of $1,000 a year. This year every vessel which visits the harbor of Prince
Edward Island is obliged to pay another tax, which is celled anchorage duty. As almost
gll of our vessels visit the island, this new duty about doubles the tax upon them. And again,
if any of our vessels are driven by stress of weather into Miraraichi, and some of the otlier
ports on the main land, the anchorage duty, light-duty, port charges, c^'C., &c., are put upon
them to the am.ount of $20 more. Now, is this right .' The Nova Scotia vessels v.hich visit
our harbors are subjected to port charges, amounting, for a vessel under one hundred tons, to
only $4 50, Why should our vessels, for merely passing through their waters, be subjected
to so heavj- a tax, while their vessels who visit us lor the purpose of trading have the benefit
of our light-houses, and only pay a trifling sum for port charges 1

" It is said that the light-duty paid by our vessels is for the support of their light-houses.
But what are those light-houses ? There are two poor lights at the Gut of Canso, but none
on the coasts visited by the fi.shermen, except, we believe, at Gaspe. There is no light on the
whole northern coast of Prince Edward Island, which is most visited by our fishermen dur-
ing the stormy months of September and October, when the lights are most needed. Our
fisliing-vessels alone pay light-duty sufficient to have the coast well lighted.

" The officers who colkct these duties admit that they are unjust ; but still they say their
government must impose them. And how are they collected? The officer .^ at the island
oifer to take most anything when the captain hesitates about paying the specie; they wi
take molasses, j>ii-k, and even oil clothes-' This is a nice way to smuggle in tiie goods."'

19

290

the* straits, passacfos, and harbors of our entire coast. Thousands of
these vessels visit our ports annually; ;ind the "in-shore" V(jyage is
invaluable to them during the stormy and boisterous months of the
■year. Every merchant engaged in navigation is aware that, as a class,
the small vessels built in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are iar iiv
ferior to our own. To say nothing of the want of" skill and sobriety in
same of the masters, and nothing of the weak and misshapen hulls of
many of the colonial craft, it m.-iy be remarked that a proportion ol such
as are employed in the trans])ortation of wood ;.md gypsum are fitted
with the cast-ofl" sails and cordage of timber-ships. To "dodge along
.«hor(^" is the only Siife course for these vessels to pursue, as none can
denv. To allow them to do so, is but an act of common humanity.
To deny them the "boon," would be to involve many in certain de-
struction.

And now, suppose thnt the legislature of Maine should remonstrate
r.o our government on the subject, and insist that the people of that
State suffer great wrong, beciuse colonial vessels, when bound to Port-
land, Boston, and other northern ports, instead of keeping broad off at
sea, "hug the shore" and pass through Edgemaroggin and Mooscpeck
Reaches, over Bass-harbor bar, through Fox Island thoroughfare, and
between Monhegan and the main land. Suppose, too, that the legis-
latures of New York and Connecticut should join the frontier State
and demand the exclusion of Briti>;h vessels Irom Long Island Sound?
Suppose, further, that finally the Attorney General of the United States
should submit an opinion to the Presidt nt, in which he should say that
no stipulations giving the right to navigate these straits and this sound
exist, either in the tienty of 1783, in Jay's treaty in 1794, in the treaty
of peace in 1814, in the tie;ity of commerce in 1815, in the convention
of 1818, in the McLnne airjingement in 18oU, or in the last, the treaty
of Washington in 1842; who would fail to see the inhumanity — na}'-,
the outright wickedness— of the whole proceeding? Yet, were :dl this
to be d(inc, they would do no mo7-c than has actually been done by the
political leaders of Nova Scotia and the crown lawyers of England.
As a matter of right, the British colonists can he treated precisely as
they r( quire the government of England to treat us. It^ — as they aver,
and <iu(jte international law to prove — the Strait of Canso is not open
to o?ir vessels under sail and passing to and from the Gulf of . St.
Lawrence, then, and for the same reasons — geographical and political —
the "reaches," sounds, straits, and "ihoroughlarcb" along the coast of
the United States, are not open to t/iem. Can this position be denied?

In rej)ly to Lord Falkland's fifth query, the law officers of the crown
say: " \Viih reference to the claim of a right to land on the Magdalene
islands, and to fish from the shores thereof, it must be observed that,
by the tr(^aty, the liberty of drying and curing fish (purposes wln'eh
could only be accomplished by landing) in any of the unsettled bays,
&c., of the southern part of Nt wfi)undland, and of the coast of Labra-
dor, is specifically provided for; but such piivilege is distinctly nega-
tived in any settled bay. Sec. And it must tlu relbre be inferred that,
if the lib( rty of landing on the shores of the Magdalene islands bad
been intended to be conceded, such an important concebsion would

291

have been the subject of express stipulation, and would necessarily
have been accompanied with a description of the inland extent of the
shore over which such liberty w^as to be exercised, and whctlier in
settled or unsettled parts; but neither of these important particulars is
provided f)r, even by implication. And that, among other considera-
tions, leads us to the conclusion that American citizens have no right to
land or conduct the fishery from the shores of the Magdalene islands.
The word 'shore' does not appear to be used in the convention in any
other than the general or ordinary sense of the word, and must be
construed with relerence to the liberty to be exercised upon it, and
would therefore compromise the land covered with water as lar as could
l>e available lor the due enjoyment of the liberty granted."

Will these learned gentlemen explain why the word ^^' shores'''' is used
in the convention in connexion with the right which we enjoy at these
islands, while the terms "cw/.s-/;" and "cw/sY^" are employed when de-
fining our rights at Newfoundland and Labrador? The reason is very
obvious to practical men. The Newfoundland and Labrador fisheiies
are c<?(/-fisheries : the principal Magdalene fishery is a Acm/io--fishery.
The ^^ shores" of the Magd<dene islands are not wanted for the purpose
of "drying and curing fish," as the crown law'yers seem to suppose,
but for using nets and seines. With all deference, then, their argument
is not sound. The right to use the implements emploj'-ed by British
subjects at these islands is indispensable to our success in the heiring-
fishery there. The herring is never split and dried like the cod, nor is
it cured on the shores of the Magdalenes. Hence there are no conclu-
sions to be drawn from a statement of the limitations of "drying and
curing" in the cod-fishery on other and distant coasts. Yet this is the
rcixsoning by which we are to be deprived of the right to land and fish
on the shores of the Macdalene islands. But I insist that the chanoe ot
the terms "coast" and "coasts" to "shores" was meant to give the
precise right which it is urged we cannot enjoy. To have said, in the
convention, that we might take fish on the camt and coasts of these
islands, as really is said when speaking of the cv.t^- fishery, would have
been a vain use of words; but since the Ae?T///^-tishery requires the
use o[ shores, and without the use of shores cannot be prosecuted in the
common way, the reason why the term was used in relation to that
fishery is too manifest to need further illustration.

Still, as it is argued that, "it the liberty of linding on the shores ol
the Magdalene islands had been intended to be conceded, sucii an im-
portant concession would have been the subject of express stipulation,"
&c., it may not be amiss to consider the suggestion. And I reply that,
if "a description of the inland extent of the shore over which" we
may use nets and seines in catching the herring is necessary, it is
equally nccessir}'- to define our rights of dr3dng and curing the cod
elsewhere, and as stipulated in the convention. Both are shore rights,
and both are left without condition or limitation as to the quantity of
beach and upland that may be nppropriated by our fishermen. It was

Erociaimed in the House of Commons, more than two centuries ago,
y Coke — that giant of the liw — that "fhee fishing" included "all
ITS INCIDENTS." The thought may be useful to the Queen's advocate

292

and her Majesty's attorney general when next they transmit an opinior*'
across the Atlantic which is to affect their own reputation and the rep-
utation of tlieir country. The right to take lish " on the shc»-es of the
Magdalene islands," without conditions annexed to the grant, whatevei
these profoundly ignorant advisers of the crown of England may &ay
to the contrary, includes, by its very nature and necessity, all the
"incidents" of a "free fisliery," and all the privileges in use by and
common among fishermen, and all the facilities and accommodations,
on the Lind and on the sea, which conduce to the safety of the men
employed in the fishery, and to an economical and advantageous pros-
ecution of it.

We have cause of thankfulness, however, that we posse&s the right
to do at least one thing, under the convention, without being liable to
the pains and penalties of her Majesty's court of vice-admiralty. The
sixth query of Lord Falkland is answered in our favor, and as follows:
"By the convention, the liberty of entering the bays and harbors of
Nova Scotia, for the purpose of purchasing wood and obtaining water,
is conceded in general terms, unrestricted by an}^ condilion, expressed
or implitul, limiting it to vessels duly provided at the commencement
of the voyage ; and we are of opinion that no such condition can be
attached to the enjoyment of the liberty."

But Lord Falldand is not to be excused for proposing the inquiiy.
That his question may not be lost sight of, (though once inserted,) it is
here repeated. "Have American fishermen," he asked, "the right to
enter the bays and harbors of this province, [Nova Scotia,] for the
purpose of purchasing wood or obtaining water, having provided
neither of these articles at the commencement of their voyages in their
own country; or have they the right only of entering such bays and
harbors in cases of distress, or to purchase wood and obtain water
after the usual stock of those articles for the voyage of such fishing
craft has been exhausted or destroyed?"

Did his lordship really believe that our fishing vessels ever, and
under any circumstances, depart from home "without providing"
wood and water? But, on the supposition that they always do make
a voyage of three liundrcd miles with stocks of neither, \vhat then?
Common charity might dictate that their improvidence should not be
punished with an interdiction against procuring articles of so indis-
pensable necessity at the earliest possible moment. Lord Falkland
lives in the middle of the nineteenth century: he is a British peer: he
is yet the governor of a British colony: he is the husband of a daughter
of a British king: and he nev(n- should have said, substantially, that
an American fisherman, when finmd in a British colonial harbor bar-
gaining with a subject of her Majesty for a boat-load of fuel, or craving
leave to fill his water-cask at a well, or presuming to dip a few gallons
from a running brook, would be adjudged a lawful prize, unless able
to prove to her Majesty's judges of vice-admirahy that the "usual stock
of those articles for the voyage" had been "exhausted or destroyed."
The sixth query was, however, necessary to complete the series, and
illustrate the spirit of the whole. The seventh and last answer requires
no comment, as it merely announces that —

293

"The rights of fishery ceded to the citizens of the United States, arid
those reserved for the exclusive enjoyment of British subjects, depend
altogether upon the convention of ISIS, the only existing treaty on this
subject between the two countries; and the material points arising
thereon have been specifically answered in our replies to the preceding
queries."

That this opinion is not conclusive against us, and that, indeed, it
has no binding force whatever, hardly need be said; especially since
there is probable cause to believe that it was paid* for in the common
course of professional duty. But whether the Queen's advocate and
her Majesty's attorney general did or did not appear in the "case"
submitted to them as the counsel of Nova Scotia, is a matter of no mo-
ment to us. The judgment which they have rendered, and the exam-
iaation of which is now concluded, deserves no respect either for its
iaw, its common sense, its humanity, or its justice. Its only claim to
the notice bestowed upon it consists in the fact that it is relied on to
prove that we are in the wrong and England in the right, in the contro-
versy which has arisen as to the intent and meaning of the convention
of 1818.

We arc now ready to inquire what, up to 1841, was the British con-
struction? First, however, let us glance at the British pretension prior
to the concluding of the convention. In 1817, in the orders of Admiral
Milne to Captain Chambers, under which several American vessels
v/ere seized, it is said: "On meeting with any foreign vessel fishing or
at anchor in any of the harbors or creeks in his Majesty's North American
provinces, or within our maritime jurisdiction, you will seize," &c. Here
is the extent of the British claim. Captain Chambers, in reporting his
<ioings to his commander-in-chief, remarked that he "did not receive
any intelligence of foreign vessels being within onr jurisdiclion until the
3d instant," (June 3, 1817,) when he was informed "tliat they con-
stantly resorted to the creeks on this coast in order to catch their bait,
•clean their fish, wood, water, &c." The harbors of Cape Negro and of
the Ragged Island, he said further, were visited by such vessels; and
in these harbors and for resorting to these harbors he captured eleven
American fishermen.

The bodies of sea-water of more than six miles in width were not
claimed, then, in 1817, and pending the negotiations; and Admiral
Milne acted in strict conformity to Ijord Bathurst's suggestion to Mr.
Adams in 1815, that we must relinquish "the harbors and creeks," and
the "nzaritime jurisdiction three marine miles from the shore." If the
•construction of the crown lawyers is just, it follows that the convention
of 1818 is an injury rather than a benefit, for the simple reason that
previoias to that year we were allowed to fish in the bays which, it is
pretended b}-" these gentlemen, we cannot enter under the stipulations
of that instrument.

What, in the second place, has been the course pursued siiice 1818?
i^orae of the colonial writers have aflSrmed during the present year,

* When Lord Falkland solicited Lord John Russell to submit his queries, he said : " I
.am authorized by the House of Assembly hej-e to defray any expense that may be incurred
4tbtwmng such opinion," &.c.

294

(1852.) that tho act of Parliament of 3 819 (cited m this report) asserts
the British construction as now maintainL-d. It is not so. The act does
indeed recite the first article of the convention, and was passed in con-
sequence of it ; but it does not contain a word which defines the term
"bavs," or which indicates the manner of measuring the throe-mile
intenhction. It authorizes the seizure of vessels tint should violate its
provisions. Tlie proceedings of British naval officers on the American
Stations, who have alwa^ys been lurnished with a copy of the act, and
with a copy of the convention, and whose orders from the Lords of the
Admiraltv have always been founded on both, will enable us to ascer-
tain whether or not the ships-of-war have allowed our vessels to fish
anywhere and everywhere, in the bays and outside of the bays, more
than three miles from the shore.

While my home was on the eastern frontier, hardly a year passed
without my seeing one or more ships of the royal navy which were en>-
ployed on this service in the Bay of Fundy ; and I am sure that a case of
seizure for " fishing broad " in that bay never occurred previous to the
year 1843. Even Captain Hoare, of the Dotterel, who, as we have seen,
spread consternation among our fishermen in 1824, and subsequently,
informed Admiral Lake, his commander-in-chief, that his orders to the
officers in command of his armed boats had been to capture only such
American vessels as " they found within three marine miles of the
shore," and to except those " in evident distress, or in want of wood
and water." The same was observed elsewhere. The report of Cap-
tain Fair, of her Majesty's ship Champion, in 1839, shows that he passeci
through a fleet of six or seven hundred American vessels in various
positions — some within the headlands of the bays, and some along the
shores; but none within the three-mile interdiction. Plis frank declara-
tion on the subject is honorable to him. While cruising in the vicinity
of Prince Fidward Island he states that there was not " a single case
which called for our interference, or where it was necessar}' to recom-
mend caution ; on the contrary, the Americans say that a privilege has
been granted them, and that they will not abuse it." That, in allow-
ing several hundreds of our fishermen to pursue their avocation with-
out molestation, his conduct was in accordance with his instructions,
we have positive evidence ; for Lieutenant Paine, who visited the fish-
ing grounds the same year in command of the Grampus, stated after
his return, in a letter to the Secretary of State, that the orders of "Ad-
miral Sir Thomas Harvey, as he informed me, were only to prevent"
our countrymen from " fishing nearer than three miles." But the au-
thorities of Nova Scotia, said Lieutenant Paine, "seem to claim a right
to exclude Americans from all bays, including those large seas — such
as the Bay of Fundy and the Bay of Chaleurs; and also to draw a
line from headland lo headland, the Americans not to approach within
three miles of this line."

Here, then, two years before the crown lawyers gave the opinion
under examination, is our first knowledge of the "headlands." It was
but whispered even in 1839, The naval officers knew nothing about it.
Our government knew nothing about it until 1841, when Mr. Forsyth,
in a despatch to Mr. Stevenson, our envoy to the Court of St. -James,

295

called his attenlion to it. *' From the information in the possession of the
department," he observed :

" It appears that the provincial authorities assume a right to exclude
American vessels from all their bays, even including those of Fundy
and Chaleurs, and lo prohibit their approach within three miles of a
line diawn from headland to headland. These authorities also claim
a right lo exclude our vessels from resorting to their ports unless in
actual distress, and American vessels are accordingly warned to depart,
or ordered to get under weigh and leave a harbor, whenever the })ro-
vincial custom-house or British naval officer supposes, without a full
examination of the circumstances under which they entered, that they
liave been there a reasonable time."

As yet, however, the colonists had not ventured to enforce the pre-
tension they had set up. Lord Falkland, in a despatcli to Lord tStanley
dated in May, 1841, affirms this; for he says:

■"In point of fact I have not been able to leai'n that any seizures have
been made when the vessels have not been within three miles of the
distance prescribed by the statute, or considered so to be, although it is
true that the Bay of Fundy, as well as smaller bays on the coast of this
province, is thought by the law officers in the province to form a part
of the exclusive jurisdiction of the crown."

Besides, how happens it that if the "King's most excellent Majesty,
by and wiih the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal
and Commons" in Parliament assembled, meant to exclude — and by
the act of 1819 actually did exclude, as far as the action of one govern-
ment could do so — our vessels from the bays now in dispute ; how hap-
pens it, I ask, that in 1841, twenty-one years afterwards, the queries ol
Lord Falkland before us were submitted to the crown lawyers? On
the gi'ouiid that Parliament had alreadij construed the convention as his
Lordship desired that it should be interpreted, why did not the British
minister to whom these queries were transmitted so state in reply ? The
act of 1819 was the supreme law of the re^dm; and if the commanders
of the ships of the royal navy on the American station had been in-
structed year after year, and for twenty-one years, to execute it, and to
consider it as a construction of the convention in the sense Jiow con-
tended for, why were every one of these commanders so very unfaith-
ful to their duty? Why was the fact that their orders from the admi-
ralty rec^uired them to hunt up and to drive out all American fishermen
from these bays unknown to everybody, in England and America,?

Three years previously (1838) Lord Glenelg, the Secretary for the
Colonies, in a communication to Sir Colin Campbell, lieutenant governor
of Nova Scotia, in answer to a joint address to the Queen from the Le-
gislative Council and House of Assembly ot that colony, complaining of
the habitual violation by American citizens of the convention of 1818,
promises that an armed force shall be kept, annually, on the fishing
grounds; and states that " her Majesty's minister at Washington had
been instructed to invite the friendly co-operation of the American gov-
ernment" to enforce a more strict observance of that convention. Here
was a very proper opportunity to refer to the provisions of the act of
Parliament of 1819, and to give our government Lord Glenelg's con-
struction of il. But instead of this, he tempers the expectations of the

296

colonists by saying, that "T1)0 commanders of these vessels wi3 be
cautioned to take care that, while supporting the rights of British sub-
jects, they do not themselves overstep the bounds of the treaty."

Lord Aberdeen, April, 1S44, in a letter to Mr. Everett, adopts the
0})inion of the crown law^-ers. This, I suppose, was the first unquali-
fied official avowal to a functionary of our government of the head-
land construction of the convention. His lordship, in March, 1845,
in another communication addressed to Mr. Everett, reaffirms this
construction, and distinctly states that with reference ta the Bay of
Fundy and the other bays on the British American coasts, "no United
Stales fisherman has, under that convention, the right to fish within
three miles of the entrance of such bays as designated by a line drawn
from headland to headland at that entrance."

Our right, therefore, to the bays in dispute rests upon the British
interpretation of the treaty, as well as our own.

Nor are w^e unsupported by colonists. Some, with great fairness,
admit all that we claim. Two examples will suffice. A respectable
colonial newspaper, in commenting, in 1845, upon Lord Stanley's des-
patch of March 30, of that year, which, it will be remembered, opens
the Ba}' of Fundy, objects to the measure on the ground that our privi-
leges were already ample : for, it remarks, " in tlie convention of 1818,
It is stipulated that the citizens of the United States shall be allowed to
fish within three nautical miles around all our coasts;" that instrument,
it argues, " should have resei-vcd to us [to British subjects] the quiet and
undisturbed possession of our bays and inlets.''^ The article from which
this extract is made is able, and was copied into several other colonial
newspapers.*

* Some of the colonial newspapers still maintain similar views. The St. John New Bnms-
wicker said, in August, 1852, in commentin/r on Mr. W'ebster's despatch or "proclamation,"
that " it will be seen that Mr. Webster labors under the impression that her Majesty's govern-
ment are about to enforce the conventicni strictly, according to the opinions of the law officers
of England. We believe tliat such is not the case. For some years past there has been a tacit
understanding^ that American Jisliing vessels shouid onfif he excluded from those bays or inhts
of our coasts irhich tcere less than sir miles wide, and within which American vessels conld not
fish unless within three miles of the land, either on the one side or the other. There is not
the slii^litest necessity for straining tlie terms of the convention, for it is notorions that
American fishing vessels pursue everywhere near the shores of these provinces, within three
miles of tile land, Avhere only in the autumn they get the best fishing; and it is to prevent this
flagrant and acknowledged Ineach of the convention that the present movements are taking
place."

The St. John News, in the same month, disavowed the »eic construction of the conventioo
in these words:

" Now all this tempest in a tea-pot amounts to just nothing at all, and wo think the American
pres-3 will find o>it before a very gr«>at while that they have been wasting their ])owder, and
getting nothing in leturn but pity for their ignorance. They will learn that the legislatures of
these provinces have not attempted to give a new reading to the treaty — neither has England;
that they do not retiise to Amci icini fishermen the privilege of taking lish in the Bay of Fundy ;
whether right or wrong, is another tiling.

"All that we intend to do is nothing more nor less than we have been doing for the last
thirty years — and that is, to seize vessels caught within three miles of the shore, taking fish
contrary to the treaty, as thoroughly understood both l)y t'^ngland and America, and also by the
6shennen themselves. W'henever it can bo shown that an American vessel has btH.'n taken
outside of tlxe prescribed limits, then it will be time enough for our neighbors to get in a
pucker."

A newspaper published at Charlottetown, Prince Edward I.sland, (also in August, 1852,) in
an article in answer to the question " Is war probable?" advocates the policy of permitting the
Americans to have access to the colonial shores, and remarks : " But a very pretty quarrel
with America is by no means improbable, if our cruisers insist on capturing ail Yankee fishing

297

, The second Instance is from the letters ot the Hon. G. R. Young (a
distinguished gentleman of Nova Scotia) to Mr. Stanley.*

" As early as the month of March," wrote Mr. Young, " if any stranger
approached the coasts of Nova Scotia, his observations would induce him
to believe that he was advancing to the territory of some great commer-
cial state. At a short distance fi'om the shore, and on the banks and
most productive fishing grounds, he would perceive fleets or continuous
lines of small shallops ; and if the day and season were auspicious, be
would discover that their crews were busily employed in drawing forth
tlie treasures of the deep. Seeing them thus anchored icith/n view, nrnj^
unthin almost the shadow of the shore, and employed in appropriating
the resources which would appear to belong to it, the deduction would be
irresistible that they had recently left the neighboring harbors, and were
manned by their inhabitants. He would, however, be in error. On
inquiry he would learn that they have come a distance of three hundred
miles, to avail themselves of the privilege — that theij htlongcd to a rival
state, and tJiat they enjoyed the right by virtue of a. treaty, which the govern-
ment have bestowed without necessity and withotit return. He wo^dd learn.,
also, that this liberal concession was highly disadvantageous to the inhab-
itants on the coast by lessening the productiveness ot" the fishing
grounds."

That the ministry consented to act on the opinion of the Queen's ad-
vocate and her Majesty's attorney general, with much reluctance, is
very obvious. The first proof is found in their delay in transmitting it
to the colonial governor who furnished the " case " on which it is
founded. In the despatch which accompanied it at last. Lord Stanley
remarks that '• the subject has frequently engaged the attention of my-
self and my collegues, with the view of adopting further measures, if
necessary, for the protection of British interests in accordance " there-
with. But he adds : " We have, however, on full consideration, come
to the conclusion, as regards the fisheries of Nova Scotia, that the pre-
cautions taken by the provincial legislature appear adequate to the
purpose, and that being now practically acquiesced in by the Ameri-
cans, no further measures are required." The opinion thus disposed of
in November, 1842, was suifered to rest until the capture of the Wash-
ington and the Argus. Mr. Everett's arrangement in 1845 was, io
effect, an abandonment of the whole matter.

Seven years of comparative quiet on the fishing grounds elapse, and
we are brought to the exciting events of 1852.

There is another remarkable cuxumstance connected with this con-
troversy, which should not escape notice — namely, that New Bruns-

vessels nearer the shore than three miles outside of a line drawn from opposite headlands of a bay.
Notwithstanding the opinion of the English crown laic officers, this interpretation of the treaty wiU
throw the argument entirely into the hands of the Americans. If the headlands be knv, or the
bay wide, like the entrance to the Bay of Chaleur, it is not possible for the fishermen to know,
or to estimate, their trae position in regard to those headlands. The horizontal line of vision,
from the deck of a schooner, is intercepted by the convexity of the earth at a distance of six
or eight miles. It is not to be concealed that a capture made, or a shot fired, under these
eircumstances, might produce war. And if war be the result, can Britain rely on the hearty
oo-operation of the provincials ? Exceedingly doubtful. Will the Canadians submit to have
tiieir flourishing towns and villages destroyed, and their families slaughtered, in order to pn^
feet a few unprofitable fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence?"
* Now the Earl of Derby.

298

wick, Price Edward Island, and Canada, up to the time ot the Toronto

agreement in 18-51, remained ahnost passive spectators ofthc; belligerent
attitude of their sister coloii}'^ of Nova Scotia. The subject of" Ameri-
can aggressions" — as we have shown — has been one of profound in-
terest to the last mentioned dependency of the crown for a long period.
To find commiseration neither at home nor abroad, is a grievance hard
to be borne. To show, year after year, and for an entire generation, in
petitions to the throne, in legislative reports, and in newspaper essaj'-s,
that the most ruinous consequences had resulted, and would continue
to follow the permission to Americans to pass through the Strait of
Canso, and to fish in the bays of British America, and yet, after all, to
awaken no sympathy on the part of fellow-colonists, and no determined
action on the part of the ministers of the Queen, is a misfortune which
even the aggressors themselves are bound to appreciate.

But I may say that fishermen, without treaty stipulations to favor
and protect them, have sometimes fared far better than it is possible
for ours to do, if the views of the crown lawyers are carried out in
tlieir most obvious sense.

The fishermen of almost every civilized nation have pursued their
business either on implied or written sanctions. The}^ have been per-
mitted to follow their calhng even in war. The hostile relations be-
tween England and Holland — though the ocean was stained with the
blood of the subjects of each for several generations — did not, exce|>t
in particular cases and for short periods, break up the Dutch fishery on
the English coast. In the war of our own Revolution, "rebels" though
we were, Berkeley, of the Scarborough frigate, while occupying tlie
Piscataqua, allowed the fishermen of that river free pass, out and in ;
and so, too, Admiral Digby, moved with compassion for the sufierings
of the people of Nantucket, gave them written permits to resunte
whaling; and the fact that a vessel* thus protected b\' his hum:mity
was the first to bear our new-born flag to the Thames, and to draw
out all London to see it, will be remembered, perhaps, when tlie
records of battles shall be torn and scattered.

Nor did the war of 1812, with all the desolation and bad feeling
which it caused, form an exception to the rule so commonly observed.
I refi'r i()r instances to the passports of Admiral Hotham to the people
of Nantucket ; to the permissions gi-anted by Sir George Collit^r to all
fishing-boats and vessels under thirty tons; and lo the ordinary and
almost universal practice of British commanders along our coast, of
allowing iIk* Irdving offish to be carried to our towns and cities, and to
be consumed fresh. And yet, our public and private armed ships, as
these very officers knew, were manned in a good measure by the class
of men to whom these indulgences were granted. How many in tlie
same service with Digby, Hotham, and Collier arc there nuw in com-
mission, who will "crowd sail alow and aloft" to hunt up and drive
out such of our fishermen as shall continue to visit the "bays" inter-

*IIer arrivfil was announced in Parliament. Mr. Hammet said ho 'begged leave to in-
form the House of a very recent and extraordinary occurrence." After stating the nam^—
"the Bivltiird, Moores, master" — he adds, she " wears tho rebd colors, and belongs to ih»
island of .Nantucket, in Massachusetts."

299

dieted in consequence of colonial importunities and representations, by
the present prime minister of England, while holding the office of Sec-
retary for the Colonies?

In the course of frequent researches among state papers, I do not
remember to have seen a pubhc document of such a singular character
as his lordship's despatch to Lord Falkland. The American people
are distinctly told in il that colonial interference has alone prevented
the home government from executing a determination already formed,
to put an end to all difficulties on tiie fishing grounds within Biitish
jurisdiction. How often has it happened that an Enghsh statesman,
while assuming the political responsibility of an act, has cast the moral
responsibility of it upon the subjects under his spe^-ial care? When
has a secretary for the colonies made known to the world that the
representations of colonists have set aside the "intentions" of the cabi-
net ministers of the crown ? I do not ask how often colonial remon-
strances have actually prevailed with the ministry; but how frequently
has colonial opposition to a course of policy been avowed by ministers
as their reason for a change of pui'pose ? The common tijrm of an-
nouncing a cabinet decision is not that employed by Lord Stanley, in
his despatch of March 30th to Sir Wilham Colebrooke;* still that de-
cision was deemed honorable and liberal. The motive there stated for
opening the Bay of Fundy is, "/Ae removal of a fertile source of disiigree-
tnenV between the United States and Great Britain. But in the des-
patch to Lord Falkland, of September 17th, though the same induce-
ments existed m full force for her Majesty's government to execute the
"intention" of opening the other "bays" to our fishermen in order to
perfect and perpetuate harmonious feeling, yet that "intention was
abandoned" on account of Lord Falkland's "statements."

This despatch has been once quoted; but since it should be con-
tinually kept in view, it may be cited again:

"Downing Street, Scpemher 17, 1845.

" My Lord ;***** Her Majesty's government have at-
tentively considered the representations contained in your despatches,
Nos. 324 and 331, of the 17th June and the 2d July, respecting the

* This document has not been previously inserted. It bears date Marcli 30, 1845, and is
addressed to Sir William Colebrooke, lieutenant governor of New Brunswick. It was the
first official annunciation to the people of that colony of the arrangement with Mr. Everett.
The colonial newspapers commented upon the course of the ministry in terms of great se-
verity, dii'ectly, and for some time after its publication.

"Sir: I have the honor to acquaint you, for your infonnation and guidance, that her Ma-
jesty's goverumeut have had under their consideration the claim of citizens of the United
States to fish in the Bay of Fundy— a claim which has hitherto been resisted on the ground that
that bay is included within the British possessions.

" Her Majesty's government feel satisfied that the Bay of Fundy has been rightly claimed by
Great Britain as a bay within the treaty of 1818; but they conceive that the rela.xation of the
exercise of that right would be attended with mutual advantage to both countries: to the
United States as conferring a material benefit on their fishing trade, and to Great Britain and
the United States conjointly and equally by the removal of a fertile source of disagreement
between them. It has accordingly been announced to the United States government that
American citizens would henceforward be allowed to fish in any part of the Bay of Fundy, pro-
vided they do not approach, except in the cases specified in the treaty of 1818, within three
miles of the entrance of any bay on the coast of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.

have, «&c.,

"STANLEY."

300

policy of granting permissioh to the fisheries of the United States to fish
in the Bay of Ch;ileur, and other hirge bays of a similar character on
tJie coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; and, apprehending from
your statements that any such general concession would be injurious to
the interests of the British North American provinces, we have aban-
doned the intention we entertained upon the subject, and still adhere to
tJie strict letter of the treaties which exist between Great Britain and
Uie United States, relative to the fisheries in North America, except so
far as they may relate to the Bay of Fundy, which has been thrown
open to the North Americans under certain restrictions."

There are fish enough in the American seas for all who speak the
Saxon tongue — for all of the Saxon stock. England, we may hope,
will not maintain a position so likely to produce troubles like those of
olden time which existed between us, as colonists, and the French,
and of which I have elsewhere spoken. Fishermen are but poor
interpreters of international law and of unreal and fictitious distinc-
tions. To them, the open sea, the great "bays," are but one — but a
continuous fishing ground; and few of them, I apprehend, will ever
see or respect the lines which colonial ingenuity has "drawn from
headland to headland" of these "baj's."

I conclude the topic with expressing the conviction — to which all
practical men wall assent — that, if the new construction of the conven-
tion of 181S be persisted in and actually enforced, we shall lose quite
one-third of our cod and mackerel fisheries. Let not our colonial
brethren press us too far. Self-concjuest is the noblest of all victories ;
and, in all kindness, let them be urged to subdue their hatred of "the
Yankees." The children of the whigs of a former day demand free
access to all the seas of British America. They require the use of
every sheet of sea-water six miles wide jill around the colonial coasts —
not by courtesy, but as a matter of right; and they will be satisfied
with nothing less. The attempt to exclude them has already caused
much unneighborly feeling, and, if continued, will occasion wrangling
and quarrelling on the fishing grounds. The end, no one is wise
enough to foresee.

The colonists have toiled a whole generation to move the British
government to "protect them from the aggressions of the Americans."
They have apparently, and for the moment, accomplished their object.
But will ihey themselves catch a fish the more, or become a single
guinea the richer, in consequence of the opinion of the crown lawyers
and of Lord Stanley's two despatches? They have achicn^ed a state-
paper victory, at the expense of right and of humanity. Some of our
countrymen have neither the money nor the credit to procure and fit
out the class of vessels re(juired in the Newfoundland and Labrador
fisheries, and are compelled by the necessities of their position and
condiion to resort, in the smrdler craft, to the coasts of New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia to earn subsistence. Exclusion to such, is a great
wrong. Nay, it is a wrong to colonists themselves, and to hungry and
starving women and children, whom they always meet on particular
parts of the colonial coasts when making their "spring fare," and
whose necessities they seldom refuse to relieve, even to their own

301

deprivation. The fact is not to be disputed. Nor is this all. Our
fishermen are often of service in other respects. I have room for hut
a single instance. In a gale, in 1845, at Shippigan* — within one of
the interdicted " bays," be it remembered — upwards of one hundred
British lishermen, exposed to the fury of the storm in open boats, were
preserved from death by the courage and exertions of the American?
there, who were fishing in decked vessels.

The act of Nova Scotia, passed in 1S3G, claims our attention. Under
tliis law an American vessel "preparing to fish" within three miles of
tlie coast is liable to be forfeited; the oiaier or claimant of such vessel, in
case of seizure for an alleged violation of this or of any other ]yrovisio7i of the
law, is required to show that there ivas no ground of seizure or to pay trchh
costs; the owner or claimant is also compelled to appeal from the
seizing officer to the admiralty court, and try his action there within
ttiree months, or to lose all remedy; the owner or claimant is compelled
to give one month's notice of his intention to contest the legality of the
seizure, and to embody in such notice every fact and circumstance on
which he means to rely to prove the seizure without good cause, and
to show, before trial, that the seizing officer has been notified in iorm,
and within the time prescribed. The seizing officer, on the other hand,
may inflict the most wanton injury, and escape unharmed. The ] 3th
section provides, " that in case any information or suit shall be brought
to trial on account of any seizure made under this act, and a verdict
shall be found for the claimant thereof, and the judge or court before
whom the cause shall have been tried shall certify on the record that
there was probable cause of seizure, the claimant shall not be entitled
to any costs of suit, nor shall the person who made such seizure be

* This gale was on the 18th of July. The Miramichi Gleaner, of August 9, thus spoke of
it and of the unknown humane American captains : " On the 18th ultimo this place was visited
with one of the most fearful gales ever remembered by the oldest fisherman. On the morning
of that day the wind blew lightly from the southwest, and the appearance of the day so fine
that every boat belonging to Shippigan, Carraquet, and Miscow, put ofl"for the fisliing grounds,
with every prosi)ect of a fine catch. Up to this time not a cloud was to be seen, and tl>e
horizon gave no indication of an approaching storm, when about 10 a. m. the wind veered
roiuid to the northwest and blew a perfect hurncane. The violence of the wind carried every-
thing before it ; schooners, boats, and flats were upset and driven on shore. Amongst the
boats which had proceeded to sea, fear and consternation prevailed. They had no alternative
but to weigh anchor and be driven before it ofl" the land ; the sea was running mountains-high,
and as, from the violence of the wind, they were unable to carry sail, every succeeding
sea threatened to engulph their tiny barks. By this time they had lost sight of land, when,
fortmiately, some American schooners, fishing for mackerel on the Bradillo and Orphan
banks, hove in sight, and, on seeing the perilous situation of the boats, these humane men
innnediateiy got tmder weigh and stood towards them. As the gale was increasing, and the
schooners considerably to leeward, they signalled them to bear down, and by skill r.nd good
seamanship happily rescued every soul on board, and made fast as many as possible to the
schooners, and directed their men to anchor the remainder on the banks and leave them to
their fate. By this noble act every soul, amounting to one hundred, was saved. On Saturday,
after the violence of the gale had somewhat subsided, the schooners stood in for the shore and
landed the men and boats in safety. A small vessel was immediately procured and despatched
in search of the boats which had been left at anchor on the bank at Miscou island, (twelve in
number,) and, strange to say, found them all safe. As some of the men had lost their clothes,
the Ainerican captains generously distributed a quantity of wearing apparel amongst them,

" One of the strange captains reports, that at the commencement of the gale he perceiv»l
several boats laboring heavily, and bore up to render some assistance, but as they dissappeared
suddenly it is feared they have all gone dowTi; it is supposed they belonged to the Canada side.
It is much to be regretted that neither the names of the schooners nor of the captains are knowTJ
here, in order that they may be publicly thanked.

302

liable to ony nction, indictment, or other suit or prosecuticm, on account
of such seizure ; und if any action, indictment, or other suit or prosecu-
tion, shnll be brought to trial against any person on account of such
seizure, wlierein a verdict shall be given against the defendimt, the
plaintilf, besides the thing seized, or the value thereof, shall be entitled
to no more than twopence damages, nor to any costs of suit, nor sh;ill
the defendant in such prosecution be fined more than one f~hilhng."
No American citizen can speak of this infamous law with calmness.
Well did Mr. Forsyth* say that some ol its provisions were "violations
of wcll-cslablished principles of the common law of England and of
the principles of all just powers and all civilized nations, and seemed
to be expressly designed to enable her Majesty's authorities, with
perfect impunity, to seize and confiscate American vesscLs 'ind to em-
bezzle, almost indiscriminately, the property of our citizens employed
in the fisheries on the coasts of the British possessions." Well, too,
did Mr. Evereitt stigmatize it as possessing "none of the qualities of
the law of civilized States but its forms;" and Mr. Davis, | as being "a
law of a shameful character," and "evidently designed to legalize
marauding upon an industrious, enterprising class of men, who have no
means to contend with such sharp and unwarrantable weapons of war-
fare."

These are strong expressions; but they were uttered by gentlemen
who measure their words, and are entirely true. J\ay, moie; for I
shall presume to add that the politicians of Nova Scotia remind us of
the theory of Hobbes, who maintained that the natural state of man is
a state of war against all; since these very loyal gentlemen are in con-
tinual dispute with one another, with the government of the mother
country, with British subjects in other colonies, and with the people of
the United States. In fact, these persons, in their various contests,
have succeeded in miking Nova Scotia the Barbary power of this hem-
isphere. It was contended in England, as late as the opening of the
present century, that the capture and sale of an English ship by Al-
gerines was a piratical seizure. I am d sposed to regard die proceed-
ings against Anieric m fishing vessels, under the authorit}'^ derived from
the act of 1S:J6, as open to the same objection. When, in 1S24, young
Howard and his associates rescued the Uuby and the Reindeirfrom
the possession of the captors, the British government — as we have seen —
made formal and repeated demands for reparation ; but it may be diffi-
cult to show what o h-T or greater right to interpret the convention of
1818 can possibly belong to a British colony than was exercised by
this party of American youth. If Nova Scotia may lawfully interfere
with, and legislate upon, a matter which is entire!}^ national, so may
Miissachuselts a,nd Maine. That colon}'^ is but a dependinicy of the
British crown; die colonial armed cutters are mere corsairs, and their
seizures of our proj)erty are acts of piracy. The sea-robbers hold our
vessels at their mercy. The act of 183(5 places them above respon-
sibility, and screens them from punishment. The term ^'■yrciKirivg to

•Despatch to Mr. Stevenson, February 20, 1841.

t LcttPi- Co 1.01(1 Ab.M(].'f'n, April '2, 1845.

X Letter of Hon. JoLu Davis to the fishermen of Maseachus^tte, September 1, 1852.

803

yfs/i," allows them to seize our vessels under every imaginable pretence.
The repairing of damages to sails, rigging, and boats; the arranging
or reeling of lines; the preparation of bait; the eating of food; the
mending of garments, are all prohibited — for all are performed with ref^
erence to the main objects of the voyage. An American vessel, when
within three miles ot the coast, or when in a harbor for shelter, cannot
escape seizure, if the colonial cutters enforce the law; for it is obvious
that everything done on board may be embraced in the comprehensive
words — "preparing to tish." The act is a flagrant violation of the
convention, which restricts us in certain particulars, when within three
marine miles of the colonial shores; but "preparing to fish" is not
among the interdictions. The convention provides, "That the Amer-
ican fishermen shall be admitted to enter such bays or harbors for the
pui-p,ose of shelter, and of repairing damages therein, of purchasing
wood and of obtaining water, and tor no other purpose whatever; but
they shall be under such restrictions as may be necessary to prevent
tjieir taking, drying, or curing fish therein, or in any other manner what-
ever abusing the privileges reserved to them." What, then, is the
common sense construction of these words? I reply, that a fishing
vessel at home, secured at her owner's wharf, is said to be "preparing
to fish,"^ when, among other things, her crew are "repairing" her, and
are taking in "wood" and "water;" and that a repetition of these acts,
when in a colonial harbor, constitutes the same preparation. If this
interpretation is just, it follows that while our vessels cannot take, dry,
or cure fish within the colonial harbors, or within three miles of certain
colonial coasts, they can prepare to do one and all, whenever necessity
arises; responsible only for '■'■abusing the privileges reserved to them."

The a!)surdity, the inhumanity, of the pretensions set up by Nova
Scotia, can be shown by the report of one of her own officers. " I
have seen," says Paul Crowfll,* (February, 1852,) "instances where
American vessels had been fishing the whole of the day, and towards
evening, a gale springing up, they were forced to run tor a harbor with
fifty or sixty barrels of fresh mackerel on deck ; and if salting those
fish is understood curing fish — which I think is the onl}' way in which
mackerel can be cured — under those circumstances these people must
cast their fish into the sea again, or run the risk of having the vessel
and cargo seized."

And again : "When cruising in the schooner Telegraph, last fall, being
in Little Canso, an American vessel lay near. Observing the men
busily employed on deck, I manned my boat and boarded her ; I
found ihem employed grinding bait fiir mackerel. The captain ap-
peared quite innocent, and said he had been so careful that ht; had not
taken a lobster while in the harbor. This might be understood ' pre-
paring to fi.-h.' "

This g.;ntleman, to his honor, refused to seize the vessels to which
he refers; but, under the new construction of the convention, they
were all j)rizes. He states truly, that mackerel caught on the eve of
a gale, and not dressed and salted at sea at the peril of human life,
cannot be "saved" in a colonial harbor resorted to f)r shelter, without

* The Crowells of Cape Cod are of the same lineage.

304

mvolving the loss of vessel and cargo ; and thai confiscation also awaits
ihose wlio, in the same barbarous precincts, presume to use a bait-
mill ! The degree of civilization in colonial legislation is wonderful,
and witliout a parallel, except in Tunis or Tripoli.*

As the conclucUng topic, we pass to examine into the causes of the
seizure of our vessels, by ships of the crown and by the colonial cutters,
for alleged " aggressions."

Chronological order is not material to the inquiry, and will be dis-
regarded. In many cases we have die seizing officer's own account.
Thus says one :

•'I found the said American schooner Rebecca at anchor, cleaning
fish and throw'ing the offal overboard. It being fine weather, and they
having three barrels of water on board, with a sufficient quantity of
wood, I detained her, and took her to St. John."

Again, reports the same officer to his superior :

*' I found the American fishing schooner William anchoring in Gull
cove ; the weather was fine until after she got in, when it came on
foggy, with light breezes ; and they having two barrels of water on
board, which myself, Mr. Tongeau, and boat's crew subsequently usetl
from, and plenty of wood, I detained her."

Still again :

*' I received information from the fishermen at Gull cove, as well as
from the master and crew of the fishing schooner Minerva, of Grand
Menan, that an American schooner was at anchor at Beal's passage.
I went out from Gull cove, and saw her there ; at nine o'clock in tlie
evening I boarded her, which proved to be the American fishing
schooner Galeon, and found all the crew asleep. On questioning the
master the reason of his being there, he told me he had com.e to throw
the gurry (offiil of the fish) overboard. They not being in want of wowl
or water, and a fine fair wind for them, I detained her, got her under
weigh, and ran for Gull cove, a direct course for their fishing ground.
What the crew of |he last mentioned vessel asserted in their protest is
not true. I never said that I would release their vessel, but told them
that it was not in my power to do it, as they had decidedly violated
the treatyof convention between England and the United States ; but as
they pleaded poverty, saying their vessel was their sole support, I told
them I would recommend their case to Captain Hoare, of tlie Dotterel,
my comm;mding officer."

The schooner Battelle was seized for setting nets in a hai'bor, and lor

* As an instance of the falsehoods ref?ortcd to in Nova Scotia to inflame the minds of the
coloniiil fisheruien, I cite the followincr paraf,'raph which appeared in a Halifax paper in 1845:

" Mac/cerel Jisliery. — About four hundred vessels engaijed in the mackerel tishery (from t\w
coast of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton) arrived at the port of Gloucester (United States) on
Sunday, September 27. 'I'heir cargoes a»era^fed one hundred barrels. Thus this tleet had
upwards of forry thousand barrels of fish — pr(!tty piekinfrs enough ! The whole catch of our
provincial iishermen will not exceed ten thousand barrels."

There is one other " iish story'' equal to this, namely: Some six hundred years ago, a woman-
jish direct from the ocean made her api)earaHee among the fishermen of Holland, w 1th whom
she lived awhile in great amity ; but desiring finally to see her children, she took alfectionate
leave of the kind l>utchnjen, and retunicd to her old home in the sea, where, for aught that
appears iu history, she is alive at this day. Tlie skii)pers above raentioneil reported falling in
with her on the "c(»ast of Nova Scotia and Cape iiretou" m 1845, but the veracious HalifaJt
editor euppresses the importaut fact.

305

this offence was condemned ; the Hero was seized because one of her
crew dressed some fish on shore ; the Hyder Ally was seized and con-
demned for using nets within three miles of the coast ; the capture of
the Madison was solely upon the suspicion that her master had been
engaged previously in an affray with the boat of a British man-of-war.

Mr. Towneau, a midshipman of the Dotterel, in his examination,
gives the following account of the seizure of the schooners Reindeer and
Ruby:

"I recollect while in Gull cove of having received information on a
Sunday, from some men and a Mr. Franklin, that several American
fishing vessels were at anchor iu White Head harbor, and that they
anchored there the evening before; that on their anchoring one of them
fired three muskets, and said they were armed and manned and would
oppose our boarding them. I acquainted Mr. Jones with the informa-
tion I had received, who went immediately in the small boat to cruise,
and returned in the evening. He told me that he had boarded an Eng-
lish fishing schooner (Industry) near White Head, who gave him in-
formation that several American schooners were at anchor at Two
Island harbor, and that they got their wood and water at White Head.
They fired several muskets on their anchoring, and told the crew of
the Industry they would not allow a man-of-war's boat to board them;
and after they completed their wood and water, they shifted to Two-
Island harbor. We got the yawl under weigh about nine o'clock in
the evening and went towards Two Island harbor, and anchored about
two o'clock in the morning. At daylight we observed several vessels
at anchor at Two Island harbor, and shortly after got under weigh,
when we chased them. Observed three of them lashed together, and
all the crews collected on board the middle one. We ordered them to
sepai'ate, which at first they refused to do, until Mr. Jones threatened
to fire on them. They dropped clear of each other. We boarded
them, and detained the American schooners Reindeer and Ruby."

These vessels were rescued, as has been related, off' Eastport. Mr*
Jones, the prize-master, in his report of the affray, states that —

"It being fine weather, and they not being in want of wood or water,
I detained the Reindeer and Ruby, and put their men, with the excep-
tion of the masters, on board the two American schooners, with provis-
ions for a passage to Lubec, and made sail in the Reindeer and Ruby
for St. Andrew's, through East Quoddy. About 6 p. m., when abreast
of harbor De Lute, I observed two schooners, and an open boat full of
armed men, muskets and fixed bayonets, hoisting American colors; one
of them went alongside Mr. Towneau, in the Ruby, boarded, and took,
the arms from him and his three men : the one abreast of me was kept
off for about a quarter of an hour, when they commenced firing into
us. Though with great reluctance, I thought it most prudent to sur-
render to such superior force, having but lour men, one musket, and
three cutlasses.

" On dehvering them up, I found there were in the two schooners
about a hundred armed men, (including the crews of the schooners,,
about thirty in number.') the rest having the appearance of mihtiamen>
20

306

and headed by a Mr. Howard, of Eastport, said to be captain in the
United States militia."*

The Masnolia was charged with fishing while at anchor in a harbor,
but the mjister averred that he caught no fish within fifteen miles of the
coast ; that he went into the hnrbor for shelter, and for wood and water;
and that his only offence consisted in the purchase of a barrel of her-
rings for bait. The Magnolia was, however, condemned.

The Independence, on her way from the fishing ground to a colonial
port to get a compass repaired, and to procure water, encountered a
gale which required her to put into an intermediate harbor, where she
lent her nets, lor a single night, to a British fisherman, and was seized
and confiscated.

The master of the Shetland, importuned by a lad, sold him a pair
of trousers, one pound of tea, and six or eight pounds of tobacco, for
which he received four dollars. The seizing officer himself confessed to
the American consul at Halifax that he gave the boy the money to in-
duce the master to sell the articles mentioned. The Shetland "escaped
condemnation," says the consul, "b3^the merest accident;" she was
released on payment of about six hundred dollars expenses.

The complaint against the Amazon was for selling goods on the
coast. The charge was denied, and was not proved. She was restored
on payment of S13S 88, as follows:

Captain Taylor, master of the schooner Amazon,

To DuxcAN McMillan, Dr.

1839. To sundry attendance on said vessel .£21 10 0

James Turnbull's fees 1 3 4

Mr. John Bvillam's charges for wharfage, storage, &c. 7 11 1

Lauchlin McLean's bill for watching vessel 3 10 0

34 14 5

Captain Taylor deposed before the American consul at Pictou, that
.being reduced to the alternative of paying this enormous demand, or
«t "leaving his vessel in the hands of said McMillan, chose the for-
mer, and gave a draft on his owners for the amount; on which his ves-
sel and stores were deUvered to him by said McMillan, with the ex-
ception of a rifle and a musket, which the said officer took possession
of, because "he thought they would get rusty on board the vessel, and
he would take care of them ; and they were not returned, * * al-
though he demanded them from said Mc^NIillan. * * * That
the said vessel was detained in the possession of the said officer from
the 7th day of July last until the 21st day of the present month, be-
ing forty-five days, which detention has ruined his voyage, deprived
the owner of the power of procuring the bounty for the vessel for this
season, and, together with the other heavy expenses incurred, * *
the whole loss to the owners and crew of the said vessel, in consequence
of such seizure, cannot amount to less than from two thousand to two
thousand five hundred dollars."

* Thia statement we have shown to be incorrect in several particulars.

307

The consul, in a communication to Mr. Forsyth, after the Amazon
had proceeded to sea, remarked, that " the (as I apprehend it) un-
justifiable detention of that vessel led not only to the destruction of her
intended voyage, but, as I am informed, to her total loss in a gale on
the coast of Cape Breton, soon after she was released."

The Charles, drifting from her anchorage under a fresh wind and
heavy sea, (according to the account of her master,) put into a harbor
for shelter, and was seized. The British minister at Washington, who
considered that she was a lawful prize, alleges no offence, except that
a ship-of-war found her "at anchor in Shelburne harbor, into which
she had not been driven by stress of weather. From that harbor she had
already sailed once, after having previously anchored there, and had
returned a second time, before she was captured by the Argus,* the
weather being fine and moderate the whole time. She was accordingly de-
tained by Captain Arabin, for a breach of the act 59 George III,
chapter 38, passed for the protection of the British fisheries, in con-
formity with the stipulations of the convention concluded between his
Majesty and the United States on the 20th October, 1S18. On the
same grounds that vessel was subsequently condemned by the vice-
admiralty court, at St. .John, in the province of New Brunswick.

" With regard to the equipping of the said schooner by the captain ot
the Argus, and despatching her in quest of smugglers, you will ob-
serve, sir, that Admiral Fahie acknowledges that act to have been
irregular ; but he, at the same time, states that irregularity to have been
practised then for the first time, and announces that he has taken
measures for preventing the recurrence of it." But the Charles was
condemned.

The Hart, while in a harbor for wood and water, assisted one Brown,
a British subject, (as fishermen often do,) and was seized and con-
demned. Her master made oath that he had " never, at any one time,
remained in any hai-bor or place for a longer period than twenty-four
hours; that neither he nor his crew, since her departure from Deer
island, have taken or prepared to take fish of any kind or description,
with nets, lines, or in any manner, at a distance from the coast less than
fifteen miles." And Brown deposed that the Hart had frequented the
Tusket islands, ''when, in his behef, shelter was necessary;" that she
"was always brought to anchor close to his own vessel;" that "he
verily believed that no herring or other kinds of fish were taken by the
crew within or near to the said islands;" that when at these islands,
"had her crew attempted to fish, or to set nets, he must have been
aware of it;" and that he gave the master, and one of the men, "two
and a half barrels of herring as a recompense for assisting him, at his
request, in picking herrings from his nets, and in dressing and salting
fish."

The Eliza canned away one of her main chains, and put into a harbor
to repair the damage ; she was seized, but released on payment of a
claim of three hundred and thirty-nine dollars and fifty-six cents, the
amount of expenses incurred during her unlawful detention.

The Mayflower was carried into port, but finally restored on pay-

* Formerly of the United States navy ; captured in the war of 1812.

308

menl of a bill of three hundred and one dollars and twenty-five cents,
"assessed" against her by her unjust captors; the agent preferring to
liquidate the claim rather than to risk further difficulty.

The Three Brothers, relates Lieutenant Paine, in a letter to Mr.
Forsyth, (1839,) "having met with some injury by grounding, com-
menced lightening; but the captain was advised to apply for permis-
sion, and did so: the permission was refused, and the articles landed
(some barrels of salt) were seized. This was afterwards ordered to be
restored to the owmers, but had already been sold ; and the proceeds
are now in the hands of the collector of customs at Charlottetown,
subject to the orders of the honorable the board of customs in London,
and Ccinnot be claimed by the owners without first entering into bonds —
probably ten times the amount of the salt seized."

A second vessel, called the Charles, having fitted for the Magdalene
herring fishery, (says the collector of the customs of the district of
Frenchman's Bay, Maine, in a communication to Mr. Forsyth,) "after
making her fare, on her return put into the harbor called Pirate Cove,
near the Big Gut of Canso, and had not lain there twenty-two hours,
when the schooner was boarded by an officer of the revenue, called a
seizing officer, and by him taken possession of and carried to Guysbor-
ough. The only pretence for this seizure was, tliat the schooner was
imder cod-fishing license, and had on board herrings. The vessel, after
a detention of nineteen days, was given up by directions from Halifax.
That at the time of said seizure, the officer took from him ten barrels
of his herrings, which have never been returned; and the remainder of
his cargo, by the detention, has been nearly all lost. The name of the
seizing officer was John G. Marshall." The master of the Charles, he
adds, "is a very poor man, and totally unable to bear such a loss. It
is at his request 1 write to solicit the aid of the government in his be-
half, knowing of no manner in which he can obtain compensation for
his losses from this British officer, but through his own government."

The allegation against the Pilgrim was that her lines were cast, and
fish caught, within one and a half mile of the shore. After her capture,
her master, assisted by one of the prize crew, rescued her. The Di-
rector and Pallas were seized for "aggressions," which do not distinctly
appear in the official papers, and were "ultimately wholly lost to their
owners," who claimed redress; but, as is believed, none was obtained.

The Java, the Hero, and the Combine, were probably condemned
for good cause. With regard to the first, however, it may be said, that
the American consul at Hahfax, feeling a deep sympathy for her owners,
gave directions for her purchase at the government sale, "if it was
possible, by so doing, to save these poor men from ruin."

In the case of the Washington, there was no pretence whatever that
she had committed any offence under the convention. W^hen captured,
she was ten miles from the coast ; but being within the headlands of the
Bay of Funtly, was made prize of, merely on the claim set up that we
could not rightfully fish in the waters of that bay. The Argus was
seized off' the coast of Cape Breton, and fifteen miles from the shore,
upon the same general ground. Her owners, in a letter to Mr. Calhoun,
Secretary of State, say that she "had two hundred and fifty quintals
of fish on board ;" that "the vessel was valuable to them and to her

309

crew, who were turned on shore without funds or means to help them
home."

The Hope was captured without cause ; was tried in the court of
admiralty, and restored. Her master and crew had previously exerted
themselves to save the lives of the crew of an English vessel.

The Commerce was seized in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The cap-
tain states the facts as follows: "While employed," he says, in dress-
ing the mackerel which they had caught (on that day,) "there came on
a gale so severe that the vessel was hove down on her beam-ends ; part
of the fish, to the amount of fifteen barrels, was washed overboard, the
rest being stowed in the hold; the only boat was carried away, and the
gib was split in two." The next morning, being near the harbor of
Port Hood, he thought "it prudent to put in to repair sails, and pro-
cure a boat. On arriving there he came to anchor, at 9 o'clock ; and
while salting the fish, to keep them from spoiling, and waiting for the
sails to dry," the commander of a colonial cutter came on board, from
an old black fishing-shallop, with eleven men, and told him that he
"had violated the treaty by salting his mackerel in the harbor." The
colonial officer "put the men, except two, on shore, without money or
friends, and took the vessel, with the captain and the two other men, to
the Gut of Canso, where his cutter was lying, and on the following
day to Arichat. The vessel was here stripped of her sails and rig-
ging." On a hearing before the admiralty court, the Commerce was re-
leased; and, continues the captain, he "received an order, which was
sealed up, addressed to the officer at Arichat, directing, as he was in-
formed, the clearance of his vessel free of all expenses, and leaving
him to get back as he could. On arriving at Arichat, he found one
anchor taken from his vessel, and he was compelled to pay $22 for
wharfage, and for taking care of the vessel." The American consul
for Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, corroborates the
captain in the most important particulars. He remarks: " Off" Prince
Edward Island, one of our fishing-vessels lost her boat and injured
her sails, and was obliged to put into Port Hood for a harbor. While
there the captain was cleaning some of his mackerel, when his vessel
was seized by the British revenue cutter and taken into Arichat, where
the vessel was stripped of all her sails. As soon as I heard of the par-
ticulars from my consular agent at Port Hood, I immediately informed
our government of the facts, and laid the case before the authorities at
Halifax, who, after a delay of some three months, concluded to release
the vessel; the consequence was, the owners were put to great ex-
pense, and the captain and crew, many of whom had large families, lost
their whole fshing season.''''

The number of our fishing vessels seized between 1S18 and 1851
was fifty-one ; of which, twenty-six were released without trial or bj
decree of the admiralty court, and twenty-five were condemned. The
cases which we have examined embrace upwards of one-half of the
whole number captured during a period of more than thirty years.
Fifteen or sixteen thousand voyages, at the lowest computation, must
have been made to the coast of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince
Eward Island ; and yet, notwithstanding the hostile spirit which has been
manifested by the first-named colony, from the first, and notwithstandmg

310

the inducements held out to the colonial officers by the provisions of
the act of 1836, there have been barely fifty-one prizes. In view of
this fact, the story of "American aggressions," with which the world
has rung for upwards of a generation, becomes a mere fable.

Of the cases which we have noticed somewhat minutely, there is not
one of a flagrant nature. Those of the Reindeer and Ruby are seem-
ingly such ; but whoever reads the statement of the British officer with
care, will hardly find satisfactory proof, even by his own showing, that
the muskets of which he speaks were fired from these very vessels, or
that they were concerned in the outrages of which he complains. Cer-
tain it is, that the masters and owners, who were known to me, denied
the allegations made against them; and that the injustice of the seizure,
and the tardy redi'ess to be obtained by an appHcation to our govern-
ment— as understood at the time — were the causes of the rescue.

The pretences upon which some of the twenty-eight vessels included
in our examination were seized, are disgraceful beyond degree; and
that of the number, several were condemned without the shadow of a
reason, beyond the poverty of the owners, the iniquitous provisions of
the act of 1S36, and the enormous expenses which attend litigation,
cannot be doubted.

The American consul at Halifax, addressing the executive of Nova
Scotia on the subject, observed to his Excellency, that " a claimant
must be in a situation to procure funds to employ lawyers, and to pay
heavy court expenses under the vice-admiralty table of fees; which
cannot be done in any of these cases, as I am informed by professional
men, under an advance of at least thirty or forty pounds currency:
addmg to this the security of sixty pounds, it is evident that the owner
of each vessel so seized must either send on funds or letters of credit to
the extent of one hundred pounds, before he can oppose the seizure, or,
otherwise, the vessel will or may be condemned by delault.

" This sum is, perhaps, as much as any of these small vessels are
worth, and the claimant, if able to pay it, must actually place at hazard
the one hundred pounds mentioned, in addition to his property seized;
and although, perhaps, quite innocent of any offence, must depend upon
the proverbial uncertainty of litigation for the recovery of any part of
the property or money in such danger."

In a communication to the owners of the Ar2:us, he savs :

" The expenses in the court are very heavy, and previous to d(^fend-
ing a suit, the judge requires security to the amount of three hundred
dollars; so that, generally speaking, it is better to let the suit go by de-
fault, and purchase the vessel after condemnation."

Lit^utcnant Inline, previous to his cruise in the Grampus, entertained
the opinion which has often been expressed during the disturbances of
the pres(nrt year, (IS52,) that "the vessels seized had been generally
guilty of systematic violation of the revenue laws ;" but he confesses
that he " was soon led to suspect that this was not the cause, so much
as a pretence for seizing." And he states further, that " a vessel once
seized must be condemned, unless released as a favor; because the
owners will not claim her under the present laws of Nova Scotia, where
the only seizures have takcni place."

The consular' agent ol' the United States for the port of Yarmouth,

311

who is a legal gentleman, and a person of great private worth, gave
the opinion, in the cases of the Independence and the Hart, that "the
evidence was insufficient to authorize their seizure;" yet we have seen
that both were confiscated. Mr. Barnes, the naval officer of Boston,*
in reply to the collector of that port, who desired information in relation
to the seizures made in 1839, states, that " while at Yarmouth I had
the pleasure of meeting very many highly respectable and intelligent
gentlemen of that town, who seemed deeply to regret that their own
government officers should have proceeded with so much rigor against
the American fishing craft, believing with the consul and the Americans
generally, that, in a majority of cases, the seizures had been made for
causes of the most trivial character." He adds: "It is perfectly cer-
tain that our fishermen must have the rioht to resort to the shores of the
British provinces for shelter in bad weather, for fuel, and for water,
unmolested by British armed cruisers, or this important branch of
American industry must be, to a very great extent, abandoned. It
affords but poor consolation to the fisherman, whose vessel has been
wantonly captured, and who finds himself and his friends on shore
among jbreigners already sufficiently prejudiced against him, without
provisions and without money, to be told that the court of vice-admiralty
will see that justice is done him, and that, if innocent, his vessel will
be restored to him. The expenses of his defence and the loss of the
fishing season are his ruin."

The officer who for many years made the greatest number of cap-
tures died in 1851. It was the opinion of Lieutenant Paine, in 1839,
that he was "prompted as well by his interest as by the certainty of
impunity" in his course towards our countrymen. We may now pass
lightly over his proceedings, remarking only that, the year previous to
his decease, he levied contributions upon some of the masters of fishing
vessels he met with, compelling them to give him five, ten, or twenty
barrels of mackerel, according to circumstances, on pain of capture
for refusal.!

To avoid misapprehension, I deem it proper to observe, in conclu-
sion, that I have not designed to censure the admiralty court. As long
ago as the war of 1812, that tribunal restored to the Academy of Arts
of Philadelphia a case of Italian paintings and prints captured by a
British vessel and sent into Halifax, on the ground that "the arts and
sciences were admitted to form an exception to the severe rights of
warfare." It has lost none of its character since. Its decisions rest
on the law and the testimony. Still, since integTity and learning upon
the bench are insufficient to insure justice widiout honest witnesses
upon the stand, American vessels have sometimes been condemned
wrongfully.

The discussion may end here. The political leaders of Nova Scotia
have succeeded in disturbing the friendly relations which for a long
period existed between England and the United States. "We have

* In 1839.

t There seems no reason to doubt this statement, which rests on the declarations of the
persons concerned. It is said, further, that this officer dared not to dispose of the fish after
he had obtained them, and that they were suffered to remain in store a long time. Repre-
sentations on the subject were made to Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, in March, 1852.

312

been on the verge of a war," says the London Times, "with a nation
"which, from its identity in race and language with ourselves, would
have proved a truly formidable eneni}^ — a maritime and commercial
people, who would have met us with our own arms, on our own
element, and visited our commerce with mischiefs similar to those
which we should have inflicted upon theirs. So closely are the two coun-
tries united, that every inj^iry we might inflict on our enemy would have been
almost as injurious to our merchants as bombarding our towns or sinlang our
own ships.'''' And it continues : " It is no exaggeration to sa}^ that with this
people we were on the very verge of war; for, had we persevered in
carrying out with a high hand, by seizure and confiscation, our own
interpretation of the treaty, a collision with the American commodore*
was unavoidable; and such a collision must almost necessarily have
been followed by a formal declaration of hostilities. Now, what is the
question which has so nearly led to such serious results? It is simply
whether a certain quantity of salt-fish consumed in these islands shall
be caught by citizens of the United States or natives of our own colo-
nies. The question whether American fishermen shall be allowed to spread
their nets in the Bay of Tandy is one in which the p<;ople of this country
Jiave no hnaginablc interest: they will neither be richer nor poorer,
stronger nor weaker, more admired nor more feared, should they
secure the monopoly of fishing in these northern waters to the inhabit-
ants of the seacoast of our North American colonies."

These are significant declarations. Still further, says this powerful
press: "We are, in fact, in this disagreeable position, that, according
to the present compact between the mother country and her colonies,
she is obliged to talie tij) quarrels in which her interests are in no way involved^
and is bound over as surety for the good behavior of governments and legis-
latures actuated by felings, initiciples, and interests totally different from her
own, and over whose actions she has renounced all efficient control.''^

It is precisely so; and the London Times might have spoken of one
of these colonies as did Mr. Burke. t " The province of Nova Scotia,"
said he, "is the j'-oungest and favorite child of the board.f Good God!
what sums tlie nursing of that ill-tfiriven, Jiard-visaged, aiid ill favored brat
has cost tfiis ivit.tol\\ nation! Sir, this colony has stood ns in a sum not less
tfian seven liundred tfw2(^a?id jwunds. To this day, it has made no repay-
ment: it does not even sujiport tfiosc offices of expense wfiicfi are miscalled its
government. The whole of tJiat job still lies upo7i tfie patient, callous sJioul-
ders of the people of England.''''

I have not designed, in the strictures which have appeared in this
paper, to include the great mass of the people of Nova Scotia. Terms
of severity, wlienover found, have been designed entirely t()r the busy,
restless pohticians of that colon}^ who originall}'^ stirred up, and have
kept alive, the existing strife. The people, as a body, I am persuaded,
entertain no feelings of hostility towards us. If allowed, tfiey would
afford us all possible aid in conducting our enterprises in their waters,

* Commodore Perry, in the steamer Mississippi.

t Speech on ecouoniical reform, House of Commons, Febiniary 11, 1780.

X Board of Trade and Plantations.

H Witol, wittal, or wittul : an old Saxon word, signifybg a contented cuckold.

313

and would deal with us in the most neighborly and liberal manner.
They are willing to admit that there are fish enough both for themselves
and for us. We are to spare our censures of colonial fishermen, then,
and to speak harshly of the political men alone who, for purposes of
their own, have conceived plans which, if executed, will do vast injury
to us, and ultimately to the colonists themselves; for it is not to be
overlooked that retaliatory legislation on the part of Congress would
utterly ruin the colonial fisheries.

POSTSCRIPT.

Until the last page of this report was put in type I indulged the de-
sign to compile and insert a table, to show the condition of the sea
fisheries of the United States during the ten years ending in 1850.
The materials which 1 had obtained from the private sources open to
me, as digested to satisfy my own mind, proved the decline in some
branches to have been so great, (the increase of the population, and
consequently of the consumers of fish, considered,) that I almost
doubted the accuracy of the results at which I arrived. The only
course, under these circumstances, was to defer the execution of my
plan until I could have access to official documents at the seat of gov-
ernment.

On application to J. C. G. Kennedy, esq.. Superintendent of the
Census Office, I am kindly furnished with the accompanying statistics
relative to the cod and mackerel fisheries, which show that these branches
of industry were, in 1850, in a more dechning state than I had appre-
hended. In Maine, in New Hampshire, and Connecticut, there has been
less change than in Massachusetts. With regard to the latter State, I
incline to believe that in the amount of capital invested, and in the
number of men employed, as well as in the value of the catch, the de-
crease (to consider the two fisheries together) was one quarter less in
1850 than ten years previously.

Such is certainly the fact, if the statistical matter furnished me by
Mr. Kennedy be accurate. This matter is official. To assume that
the returns to the Census Bureau are inaccurate, or that, if essentially
correct when completed by the respective local officers, important
mistakes have been made at Washington in preparing the " abstracts,"
is to cast suspicion upon the accuracy of the entire statistics to be con-
tained in the census report ; since no reason can be given for errors in
the figures that relate to the fisheries, which will not apply with equal
force to evei-y other branch of our industry. But to admit, for the mo-
ment, that errors do actually exist, it will not be pretended, I suppose,
that the fimctionaries of the government, anywhere, have been so very
remiss as to destroy all confidence in the results which, in due time,
are to be presented to the country. Without the aid of Mr. Kennedy's
statements, I was prepared, as before remarked, to find, by a careful
comparison of the two periods, that there had been a sensible decrease
in the fisheries mentioned, at least in Massachusetts.

Still, to abandon absolutely the official statistics, and those which I

314

had previously procured, I yet contend that there has been a poshlve
decHne, unless the j)J'oduccrs offish have increased as fast as the consumers
have done. The population of" the United States was several milhons
greater in 1850 than it was in 1840 ; while the means of transporting
fish and other ])roductioiis, during this decade, were multiplied beyond
example in our history. A corresponding increase in capital and men
emploj^ed in the cod and mackerel fisheries ought therefore to be shown,
in order to prove that our citizens who are engaged in these pursuits
were, as a class, in a prosperous condition. This conclusion will not,
it is believed, be denied.

From my personal observations, I conclude that there was a slight
improvement in a part of Massachusetts in 1851, which continued
until the spring of the following year. To again repeat the words
uttered in the first Congress by Fisher Ames, many of the fishermen
are "too poor to remain, too poor to remove;" and thus compelled, by
the necessities of their position, to persevere in their adventures upon
the sea, they endeavored, two years ago, by greater industry and skill,
by a better use of time and a more economical use of outfits, to com-
pete with the British colonists, and thus to preserve to themselves their
ascendency in the markets of their own country. The course of events
on the fishing grounds from July, 1852, to the close of the season, is
yet fresh in the public mind, and need not be related here. It is suf-
ficient to remark, that the results to our countrymen were disastrous to
a degree never before known in time of peace. The presence of her
Majesty's cruisers in the waters in dispute between the two govern-
ments nearly ruined some, and injured all, who adventured thither,
and was the occasion of despondency and suffering at many firesides
in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England. There can be no
change for the better while the controversy as to the intent and mean-
ing of the convention of 1818 shall continue. The fishermen can-
not remain idle: the fishing vessels cannot remain at their owners'
wharves to rot. Both, from absolute necessity, must be employed;
both — to use an emphatic phrase of the needy and starving — both
'■'■must do something.''''

Again: the statistics which follow show that the number of men
employed in the cod and mackerel fisheries in 1850, in the four States,
was 11,860; that the monthly earnings of these men, in Massachusetts,
was $137,995; in Maine, $51,829; in Connecticut, $1G,0S2; in New
Hampshire, $3,000. The aggregate, ($208,906,) divided, is less than
eighteen dollars per month to each mnn. To assume (what, on the
average, is not far from the fact) that, including the time of fitting for
sea, the fishermen are annually employed eight months, each earned,
in 1850, less than one bundled and fijrty-four dollars ; and to add
another month, only about one hundred and sixty dollars.

It will be seen that these calculations substantially correspond with
the statements which are contained in the body of this report, as ascer-
tained from a different source. I am satisfied that they are essen-
tially correct. It is possible that the fishermen who were employed in
1852, in waters not in dis])ute, earned the maximum here given ; but
those who visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the seas adjacent,
could not have received, (if "sharesmcn," as most of them were,) on

315

an average, more than one-half of the sum stated as the average in
1850. Wliile at Gloucester (December, 1 852) I made a detailed esti-
mate of the aggregate loss of the people of that town during the season
just closed, and found that it was certainly quite one hundred and fifteen
thousand dollars, aside from the wreck of vessels and the ordinary
casualties of maritime enterprises. The whole of this large loss I attrib-
ute to the course pursued by the colonial authorities, and the officers of
her Majesty's ships-of-war. For other fishing towns my data is less
complete ; but the loss to all New England, from the same sources of
annoyance and interruption to our flag, was a quarter of a million of
dollars at the lowest computation. Surely, our fishermen cannot long
bear this state of things without becoming beggars.

They feel that they have no assurance of the continuance of the
bounty to the cod-fishery, and they know by some years of experience,
that under the present tariff and the warehousing system, when unmo-
lested by their competitors, their hope of earning a bare subsistence is
less than ever before; and they appeal to the country which they have
always served, faithfully served, in war, for relief. They are certain
that, without more protection than they now receive, they cannot keep
the sea.

The duty of twenty per cent, on colonial fish, when put in the gov-
ernment warehouses for export,* as every one can perceive, is merely
nominal. Already the colonists, under this arrangement, enjoy a large
share of the export trade of the United States ; and, as a consequence
of the recent change in the bounty system of France, t the subjects of
that empire are to appear in our ports to still further depress the industry
of the class whose discouragements are almost insupportable, from the
various causes which have been discussed in this report.

I cannot forbear to add, that had our statesmen stood by the doctrine
which was asserted and maintained at Ghent by the American commis-
sioners, one source of calamity at least would have been spared to our
fishermen. The rights guarantied to us formed a part of, and in their
very nature were as perpetual as, our independence as a nation. The
first article of the convention of 1818 should never have been agreed
to by our government. The third aiticle of the treaty of 1783 ought
never to have been stricken from that instrument. It is too late to
correct the mistake. Our national faith is pledged that our flag shall
nowhere interfere with the colonial shore fisheries, and we must abide
by the contract. But it behooves us to see to it that we part with no
more of the rights which, won in the wars between France and Eng-
land, were bequeathed to us by the men who broke the bonds of our
colonial vassalage. Strange it is that we are at this moment willing to
offer the colonists the privilege of our market without the payment of
any duty whatever on the productions of the sea, when originally, and
until 1818, we possessed substantially all the rights to then- fishing

* About 200,000 barrels of pickled fish (foreign caught aud cured) were warehoased at
Boston, and exported from that port, in 1851. The quantity in 1852 has not been ascertained,
but I leaiTi from an official source that it was large.

t The French have, in fact, commenced bringing their codfish to our markets. One house
m Boston purchased, in 18.52, upwards of six thousand quintals; and several other houses
were buyers to a considerable extent. Probably 20,000 quintals were sold in Boston during
the last year.

316

grounds which we can now possibly obtain, and the right also to
tax their fish to the extent of entire prohibition. In other words, we
could once catch fish where wc pleased, and impose what duty we
pleased on the produce of the colonial fisheries; but, as the direct
result of the convention of 1818, we offer to rehnquish the latter right
without condition, to get back, to make good, the former one.

Statistics of the cod and mcLcTcerel fisheries of Maine, New Hampshire, Mas-
sackmctts, and Connecticut, June 1, 1850, a^ derived at the Census Office,
Washington.

o

n3

ID <D

J3

"3

3 0)

"to

ID

^

"5'S

>.

" t=C

« S

State.

.9
"3

©

e

Hi

jnt of
eaniin
nth.

a
"3

t*- to

^

a

isa

_a

a

_3 t:

"3 ■-«

O

s

<

O"

n

> *

Maine*

$491,430

2,732

$51,829

173, 094

15, 241

$558,250

New Hampshire . .

42, 700

300

3, 000

19,550

1,060

59, 281

Massachusetts t ..

2, 127, 885

7,917

137, 995

215, 170

236, 468

2, 188, 441

ComiectJcut

279, 300

911

16, 082

No return.

No return.

261,683

2,941,315

11,860

208,906

407,814

252, 769

3, 067, 655

* The return of the herring fishery of Maine is 29,685 boxes of smoked, of the Talue of $11,626.

f Note.

County.

Capital.

Men.

Wages or
earnings.

Quintals of
cod.

Barrels of
mackerel.

Value.

$1,230,185
12,400
699, .500
8,900
93,000
73,900
10,000

4,719

68

2,144

40

607

331

8

$73,941

1,284

45,491

680

9. .305

7,054

240

83.860

2.0O0

126.530

980

1,800

No return.

No return.

114.530
3.472
77.005
'487
15,329
l.'-).650
10.000

■
$1,031,027
18,047

Dukes (a)

836,112

Nantucket

6,156

Norfwlk

104.161

112,938

Suffolk

80.000

2,127,885

7,917

137,995

215, 170

236.468

2,188,441

(a) 1,250 barrels of herrings returned from Dukes county.

The Statistics of 1840 show that in Maine the catch of codfish was
106,062 quintals more than in 1850. In Massachusetts the difference
was still greater, the quantity in the former year being 389,715 quin-
tals ; in the latter, only 215,170.

The returns of 1840 give the catch of mackerel in Maine at 54,171
barrels ; and in Massachusetts at 1 24,755 barrels. By comparing these
figures with the above table, it will be seen that the quantity was much
diminished in the former State in 1850, and much increased the same
year in the latter.

The aggregate decrease in the produce of the cod-fishery in Maine,
New Hampshire, and Massachusetts is very large — the table for 1850
showing the catch to have been 407,814 quintals, while in 1840 it was
697,128 quintals.

317

NOTE.

I hoped to conclude with the welcome annunciation that the controversy between England
and the United States, relative to the intent and meaning of the first article of the conven-
tion of 1818, had been brought to a close. Such, however, is not the fact.

I may be permitted to remark, also, that as the despatches of the Hon. Abbott Lawrence,
our late accomplished envoy to tha court of St. James, relative to this subject, have not been
Blade public, an account of his endeavors to effect an adjustment of the difficulties between
the two governments could not be embraced in this report. It is understood, unofficially,
that Mr. Lawrence (but for circumstances not to be related here) might possibly have concluded
an arrangement which would have been satisfactory to his countrymen and have insured
iuture peace upon the fishing grounds.

Should the bill " To regulate the rights of fishing, and the rights of disposing of the proceeds
of the fisheries in and between the British North American provinces and the United States," which
was introduced into the Senate on the 5th of February, 1853, by the Hon. John Davis, become
a law, the object so much to be desired may be accomplished befoi'e the opening of the next
fishing season. The Mends of Mr. Davis cannot wish for him greater honor, at the close of a
long and useful public career, than the paternity of a measure so important to his native Com-
monwealth and to the whole country.

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