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PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION.
THE
LEASING OF THE ST. JOHN
SALMON RIVER
FOR 1866.
r^^,y-./^-j- -
EPISODE IN THE
EXPERIENCES OF AN ANGLER.
MONTREAL:
PRINTED BY J. C. BECKET, 84 GREAT SAINT JAMES STREET.
1867.
PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION.
THE
LEASING OF THE ST. JOHN
SALMON RIVER
FOR
1866.
!.i . « ' • • • •;■
EPISODE IN THE
EXPERIENCES OF AN ANGLER.
MONTREAL :
PRINTED BY J. C. BECKET, 84j GREAT SAINT JAMES STREET,
1867. •
• • .♦.
t. « * • f
• t tt
. ' • • • •
teSS
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h
B.Q.FL
^k'
Tho correspondence now printed seems to require some expla-
nation, and in giving it, I beg to say that it is with considerable
reluctance that I decide on placing it before my friends.
It refers to a matter of a purely private nature, most un-
warrantably imported into a public discussion, by persons from whom I
had presumed to differ in opinion.
The dispute is an episode in the great Salmon Net Squabble,
which sputters every now and again into temporary fury in some
direction or other, and in which the writer has only taken a very un-
important share. That share has been confined to criticism on the
Annual Reports of the Quebec Club and the productions of its Secre-
tary, which I have always believed to be damaging to the best
interests of the sportsmen of Canada.
It never occurred to me that I had thereby earned the animosity
of the Club or any of its members, and it was therefore somewhat of
a surprise — and not an agreeable one — to find myself one day last
summer referred to in the pages of a sporting paper in terms by no
means flattering, and at a later period, to learn that the Secretary of
the Quebec Club had set himself to enquire into my private affairs,
with which he had, neither officially nor individually, any concern.
The circumstances were these : —
In January last year I applied to the Department for the lease
of a Salmon river, and in reply was offered the St. John at the
annual rent of $250, payable each season in advance ; after con-
siderable demur, for I knew it had last been let for $75, I took it
for nine years, and paid the season's rent.
That no favour was done me the terms proved, on the contrary,
I bfilieve a hard bargain was dri\eu with mc, and had I known that it
had previously been offered to other parties for $200 and refused,
ais I now learn from the correspondence, I too might have declined it.
Considerable preparations had been made by me for an expedition
58670
to the river, when I found that business engagements would entirely
prevent my leaving Montreal in time, and in accordance with a
common practice and the clearest right, I sub-let the fishing for that
season to an American angler.
In the party which fished the river was a Mr. Genio C. Scott of
New York, who on the way down spent some time in Quebec, and left
that city fully imbued with the Club's views on nets and net-fishing, and
apparently with the worst possible opinion of some gentlemen (myself
included) who, as it happened, had criticised the utterances of the
Club.
Immediately on his return he published in a well-known New
York paper, a very elaborate series of articles descriptive of his trip,
in which my name repeatedly appeared. In Part IV he says, " Our
company of four anglers with rods paid to Mr. Drummond of
Montreal $300 in gold for the fluvial part of the St, John river,
being almost as much as was paid to the Canadian Government for
the estuary:" and in a subsequent number,-" I hear also that sharpers
are not wanting who hire rivers from Government to speculate on."
These allusions are unmistakeable ; but that no doubt might exist
of his intention of making an offensive charge, there shortly appeared
a characteristic letter from him, in reply to a correspondent who signed
" Sportsman," from which I extract the following : — '• I do not know
the person who uses the nom de plume of ' Sportsman,' but I am
informed that he hired the salmon river which our party fished last
summer for $80, and that he gave it up in the fall of 1865, when
it was let to another person for $250, and this person let us have it
for $300 ; whether *a nigger in the fence' may be evolved from these
facts, of which I know nothing except through gentlemen of Canada,
or whether the lessees of estuaries and shores for netting have
employed him to advocate the use of stake-nets as -x protection to
salmon, I know not." Mr. Scott's assertion that he did not know
' Sportsman,' and objected to his anonymous character, met with sub-
sequent disproof. The whole of his insinuatory allusions were marked
by a marvellous lack of discretion and gentlemanly feeling, but they
were principally interesting as evidence of the proceedings of the " gen-
tlemen of Canada" who originated them. If these persons were
other than the ofl&cials of the Quebec Club, the evidence is sadly
astray and I do them great injustice.
No notice having been taken by me ofMr. Scott's insinuations, the
4 »*5 ' V / k '*<M
Secretary of the Club proceeded to address a letter to the Honorable
Commissioner of Crown Lands on the same subject. The replies
elicited and subjoined are so explicit as to save me thj trouble of
saying one word on the facta of the question.
That the officials of the Quebec Club had the hope of extin-
guishing criticism and punishing opposition as a motive for their
proceedings is plain enough. Its last Annual Report gravely states
that " attacks on it have been invariably traced to pnrties having a
pecuniary interest in destructive modes of fishing, or ii concealing the
abuses it is the province of this Club to denounce," and this way of
disposing of all difference of opinion, and warning off all future op-
position, seems to the officials of the Club so clever and effective
that they proceeded at once to apply it to ray case.
The President and Secretary appear to have suspected a good
many frightful things, which are by no means clear at least in their
written statement of them, and they seem far from Jigreed as to what
charge they will advance, whether I alone, or the De])artment through
me, or Mr. Watt the foriper lessee, or some two of us, or all together
were to be attacked ; — it is amusing to notice thati both of them in
writing to the Honorable Commissioner, disclaim the slightest sus-
picion of any one in the Department, and apologize fervently for any
annoyance which has been given, while to me the President expresses
a very low opinion indeed of the Department, which, only considera-
tion for me (he says) prevented his exposing.
It may save some future trouble to say that neither Mr. Watt
nor any other person has now or ever had the slightest connection or
interest with me in my lease. The attempt of the Secretary to avail
himself of the quasi official position conferred on him by a little
knot of private persons to exercise a censorship on personal affairs, is
so monstrously impudent that it is almost unlucky he should have
been at the same time so unfortunate in selecting an opportunity. His
insinuations could not in the least affect me ; the charge at worst is
absurd in the highest degree, and I treat it as a curious example of
the extent to which controversial rancour can go.
Dismissing this unpleasant subject for the time, I shall refer
briefly to the general question.
I think the Quebec Club seriously to blame, in the agitation
it has laboured at for a year or two, for persistently endeavoring to
. 8
impress the public mind with at least three false ideas : —
Ist. That the Salmon Fisheries of Canada were thriving up to
the time when the present law and management came into existence.
2nd. That they are declining now.
3rd. That the fixed-nets now in use bar the rivers, and prevent
the ascent of the Salmon to their breeding grounds.
I may be allowed a word on each of these vital points.
First, then, is it true that the salmon fisheries were thriv-
ing up to 1858, when tlic present law and department came into openv-
tion ?
The late Col. Bouchette, Surveyor General of Lower Canada,
writing about 1830 ("Topographical Dictionary" — Article Sague-
nay) says: — " The number of salmon now taken is much less than
formerly only 3500 [fish] arc annually caught in the whole extent
of the King's Posts, including the Saguenay and its tributaries as fiir
as Chicoutimi." The King's Posts extend as far east as Mingan
and thus include the i\Ioisie and other of our best rivers.
The appendix to a well-known book, " Salmon Fishing in
Canada," contains a paper on " The Decrease, Restoration, and Pre-
pcrvation of Salmon in Canada," by the Rev. Dr. Adamson, written in
1 856, and the writer, who is probably the most experienced angler in
Canada, gives two reasons for the " deplorable decrease " then exist-
ing, and these are : 1st. Over-fishing at all times and B«ason.«s, and
2nd. The construction of impassable mill-dams. There is a paper
in the B.mie appendix from the pen of Dr. Henry, without date, but,
as lie fished in Canada between 1830 and 1839, it must liave been
written many years before the preceding. He also .speaks of the
" alarming decrease,"' recommends a close-time carefully enforced,
and adds the following remarkable sentence : — '' Indeed if matters go
on as at present, salmon which arc even now sold at a high rate in
the Quebec market, will, in all probability, before many years pass,
become so scarce and dear, as to be quite beyond the reach of the
community." From the body of this work (published in 1860) I take
the following noteworthy passage ; — " It is a melancholy fact that the
extermination of this noble fish, has been commensurate with the
civilization and settlement of the country." " The spear of the In-
dian would never have accomplished this, the gill-net of the settler
would never have effected it, the fly of the angler would have re-
volted from such an outrage, the whole evil has arisen from neglect
in ^he formfttion of njill-dams."
Later and more circumstantial evidence is however furnished by
the late Superintendent of Fisheries for Lower Canada, who, on his
appointment under the new law in 1859, inspected the rivers, rmd
reported as follows : •' I found havoc and destruction being carried on
in all places. * * * Schooners trafficingin salmon taken on their spawning
beds, and the fish often weltering in their spawn. * • • The whole of the
salmon fisheries were given over to destruction, no law, no system, no
order, and the only object in view, appeared to be the capture of the
fish. I found the Moisie a valuable salmon river with about 12,000
fathoms of net set in it. The Goodbout fast verging to destruction
by netting and seining above tidal waters. The St. John, the Na-
tashquan, and a dozen minor rivers almost denuded of fish ; the Min-
gan with scarcely a fish in it."
The decay of our fisheries therefore was going on from the settle-
ment of the country until the inauguration of our present sjstem, it
began in the period of no law, it continued in the time of inefficient law,
and it increased under the operation of bad law, (the last of which was
18th. Victoria cap. 114, which the Secretary of the Quebec Club ap-
proves of highly). The " alarnung decrease," of Dr Henry's time had
become a ** deplorable decrease " in Dr. Adamson's, and streams in
which Dr. Henry had good sport were fishless when Dr. Adamson
wrote. The present Fishery Department, when it came into existence
in 1859, inherited on the above evidence a barren patrimony and we
must now consider how it has dealt with it.
Second. — The act of 1857 met the case with provisions, in the
main judicious. It had many defects : not preventing nets in fresh
water, nor spearing, and in making each occupant of a fishery absolute
owner, etc. — were some of them.
The amendments to that act (29th Vict., chap. II.) passed last
year, made extensive changes : — *' Fishery overseers arc appointed;
summary powers to compel the erection offish-passes over mill-dams are
obtained ; a strict close-season is enacted, being nine months each year
for net fishing, and eight for rod fishing; the capture of parrs, smolts,
and grilses under 3 lbs. weight, is prohibited ; an open period of 36 hours
each week is provided for ; spearing is prohibited ; and last though not
least important, there exists the following clause :— ' Bag-nets, trap-nets
and fish-pounds are prohibited, except for catching deep-sea fishes,
other than salmon ; and no net or other device shall be so placed as to
obstruct the passage of fish to and from their accustomed resorts for
the purpose of spawning and increasing their species.'"
10
The Quebec Club devotes itself to prove that our fisheries aro
steadily declininjir, Jnid their evidence is this and never anything else :
— Tn 1859 Captain Fortin (Government Officer) reported that his
ostiniate of the total catch for all Lower Canada was 3,500 to 3,800
barrels while in 1865 he estimates the catch at 1,832 barrels, eras
near as possible one-half only.
This seems conclusive, but l\\v (,'xplanation is much more so, it
is this: — 77<f means of catcltiiKj salmon have been reduced by
the Department in a much larger ratio during the same period in
jiursuanec of a policy of nursing and restriction inaugurated and
rigidly enforced by it, (Sec letter No 12, appendix.)
During this period, many rivers have not been fished at all with
nets, nor supplied one fish to our markets. The propriety of this as
a remedial measure T do not (|uestion, but it certainly does not surprise
WW that the fish cannot be in the rivers, and be barrelled to swell the
Inspector's acpount, atone and the same time. The Quebec Club is,
in effect, protesting against this policy of resting rivers and closing up
^alnidii stations.
Why is the evidence of Anglers who have visited the rivers not
adduced as to the scarcity of fish. It is a matter of notoriety that in
most of our rivers larger angling scores have been made during the
last year or two than ever before. Till they do so I must avow my
belief that it is rank nonsense to assert that salmon are decreasing,
something worse to reiterate it after periodical refutal.
Third. — Since salmon arc actually increasing in our waters, it
soems scarcely necessary to prove that the nets now permitted do not
act as barriers preventing the annual ascent of salmon to their
breeding grounds, because every body knows that extinction of the fish
and must inevitably follow if they were so prevented.
The law is explicit enough.
The 29th Vict. Sect. 6, Clause 4, says:— -''The main chan-
nel or course of any stream shall not be obstructed by any nets or
other fishing apparatus : and one-third of the course of any river or
stream, and not less than two-thirds of the main channel at low tide
in every tidal stream, shall be always left open and no kind of fishing
apparatus or material shall be used or placed therein." This seems
perfectly plain, and, if observed, would obviate any reasonable ob-
jection. Is it enforced ? The Quebec Club endeavours to prove that
it is not, and insists strongly on the idea that the nets now permitted,
11
seal up the rivers with impassable barriers, preventing all but a few
fish in a wounded condition, from penetrating to the upper waters.
I quote one of the Secretary's illustrations : " To state that fixed-
engines, stake-nets and brush-weirs arc not injurious, is to assert that
a wall built across Notre-dame street, or other public thoroughfare,
would not intercept the trafiic." This is a very strong statement and
is corroborated by an independent eye-witness, Mr. Genio C. Scott,
who, on reaching the St. John river from Quebec, saw the thing
with his own eyes, and describes it in language nearly as strong. He
says: — " The river is nearly two miles wide, with a channel about a
half niile wide. Stake-nets for taking salmon appear at short inter-
luds all over the river, except in the deepest part of the channel. In
fact, so eager were the netters to cover nil the salmon-approaching
points in the estuary (which includes the river from the mouth to twelve
miles above), that the close weft of their nets so dammed the river, that
in one freshet, a few days before the arrival of our party, many hun-
dred dollars worth of nets were swept away. The law prohibits
stake-net fishing on Sunday, the nets to remain in the river from
Monday morning at six o'clock to Saturday night at six. The stake -
net fishermen profess to think that they should have the right to fish
on Sunday, and thus hlock up the river all t^e season while salmon
run, which is from a month to six weeks, ihey do not seem to care
for the conse([uencc of preventing er^cry sahnon from going up to the
headwaters of tlic river to spawn, any more than the boy did that
killed the goose which daily laid a golden egg." And again : — " the
seal eats merely the heads of salmon, leaving the mutilated fish fast
in the nets, to frighten back to the sea all salmon that get a glimpse
of their cruel destiny. If nets are to be employed, they should not
be set in the mouth of the river or along the shores of the gulf.
There should not a net be set in the river within a mile of its mouth,
and those above this mile should not extend above tide water, or
into the fluvial part of the river. Mr. Beaulieu, as representative of
the Government in this matter, decides what part of the river shall
be called fluvial, and what part estuary , and for the St. John, he
has decided that the estuary extends from the mouth to twelve miles
up the river. Now, supposing the upper line of the estuary to re-
main where it is, then if the lower end of the estuary was decided to
be two miles above the mouth of the river, and if the salmon way, or
Queen's gap as it is termed in English Law, should include all the
current in the river, and at least half tb»^ width of the river, or even
12
one-third, the netting of the ten miles of estuary would not deplete
the river nearly so fast as it does now, and the present generation
naight continue to hope for a supply of salmon, even though it should
annually become more scarce and dear."
This account is so circumstantial and so alarming that if true
it prove conclusively two things : — 1st, That the illustration of a wall
across Notre-damc street was almost correct and all that had
been alleged against the present system was justified ; and 2nd, That
my rights in the upper river were not worth much. I applied for
and obtained <in official map of the river with the nets set in it last
season, this map is appended and will repay examination. The results
of measurement I now give with Mr. Scott's statements in contrast :
Mr. Gen 10 C. Scott.
" The river i:- nearly two miles
wide, with ;i cliimncl about lialf-
a-mile wide."
" Stake-nets for taking Salmon
appear at short intervals all over
the river except in the deepest
water of the channel."
'^ The close weft of their nets
so dammed the river that in one
freshet, many hundred dollars
worth were swept away. They do
not seem to care for the conse-
quence of preventing every salmon
from going up."
" The estuary [i. c. net limits]
extends from the mout^ to twelve
miles up the river." "From mor-
ning to midday we threaded the
intricate nets, thankful finally that
we had passed those impediments,
and wondering how any anxious
salmon could so navigate as to get
above the labyrinth of nets."
Fact.
Width at entrance less than
half-a-mile ; average width inside,
also less than half-a-mi!e ; extreme
width at the bay inside about three-
quarters of a mile ; average width
of the channel less than a-quarter
of a mile.
The number and extent of the
nets set, appears on the plan, and
is ten; all of which are on the
east bank of the river except one
which is in the branch.
Average clear unobstructed dis-
tance from the outer end of the
nets to the opposite bank, 500
yards. Narrowest space left free of
nets or obstructions of any kind
250 yards.
Distance from mouth of the
river to fishing limit about four
miles ; distance froui mouth of the
river to highest net three miles ;
distance from Beaulieu's (whence
canoes start) to highest net a little
over two miles, — a half hour's
journey for any well manned canoe,
13
I fear Mr. Scott must be dismissed with a caution ; — seeing dou-
ble is not uncommon, but an estuary twelve miles by two miles coming
down to only four miles by less than half-a-mile is on strict principles,
a little too much ; and " dammed " with stake-nets too, with
" anxious salmon" caught by the tail, and " seals eating their heads
merely " — affecting picture !
No other nets or other method of fishing (except angling)
Itefeides those shown on this map, is permitted in this river, and the
salmon can penetrate to its upper waters without the least artificial
obstacle or hindrance. No nets are now placed outside the moutli of
the river for many miles on either side.
We have had a good deal of English sympathy lately on the
ruin of our fisheries, elicited by the statements of the Quebec
Club, and it may be interesting to compare the obstacles to the
ascent of a salmon, presented in a fair specimen of a Canadian
river under Canadian law, and in a British river under tlii> latest
legislation of which we have heard so much. It is as follows : —
Severn (England).
Number of nets and engines
employed in 1 864 :
Weir trap 1
Hedges leading into nets 10
Draught nets 57
Stop nets 20
Lave nets 500
Putts 1,200
St. John (Canada).
Ten stationary nets mcasuriii!
in all about 1600 fathomf.
Putchers,
10,000
Total
11,788
Legal size of mesh in England,
two inches from knot to knot.
Legal fishing time seven months.
Nets used on the St. John three
and a quarter inches from knot to
knot — nearly thrice as large.
Legal fishing time three months.
The river St. John is thus not unduly fished, and there arc abun-
dance of fish in it. The guardian on the river reports, that " the upper
part of the river is one moving mass of salmon in the breeding
places." Another gentleman who accompanied Mr. Scott, writes
me : — " In regard to the net fishing at the mouth, I do not
sgree with Mr, Scott as to its evil effects ; I think lie greatly exag-
14
gerates as to its destructiveness ; though we were two weeks too late
for the best fishing, we found the one pool we visited filled with
salmon, plenty of them, as manj as any angler could wirfi."
The Natashquan and the Moisie, rivers similarly netted, are
also full of fish, and heavy scores have been made on each of them ;
the lessee of the first named killed in 1865, to his own rod on single
gut in 18 days, 212 Salmon weighing 2,080 lbs, ; in 1866, in the
same time, 156 Salmon, a decline he attributed to his being too late on
fcbe ground by a fortnight. The St. John was fished in 1805 by two
rods, find in ^ae day they killed 35 Salmon, seven of which i,/eighed
fiom 21 to 27 lbs. each.
Facts like these, are worth any quantity of such arguments as
the Quebec C ' o furnishes ; they prove our system to be working
well, and that under it the fisheries arc now vastly better than they
liave been for many years.
Sportsmen may have different opinions of methods of fishing
aod the probability of their successful application to this country; it
is their distinct right and duty to watch closely the operation of the
Law and to criticise it freely ; but the unscrupulous methods pursued
by the Quebec Club, can have but one efi"cct, and that is to lessen
the influence of sportsmen in this matter.
Seining in salt-water might, I think, be fairly tried ; brush-
weirs are, in my opinion, an unmitigated nuisance ; but it is lucky
that the present law is most ably and energetically administered by
gentlemen who, sportsmen themselves, are thoroughly aware of
the errors and deficiencies yet to be remedied.
G. A. D.
Montreal, May, 1867,
APPENDIX.
1. — Mr. Austin to the Commissioner.
Quebec, 23rd January, 1867.
Sir,
Representations having reached the Fish and Game Protection
Club for Lower Canada, that the fluvial portion of the river St.
John, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, had la.st summer been
made the object of a private speculation on the part of the Govern-
ment lessee by a sub-lease, with the approbation or consent of the
Honorable the Commissioner of Crown Lands, or by some one of the
oJKcers of the Fisheries Department ; I have the honor respectfully
to enquire whether any approval or consent to such sub-lease was
given either by the Commissioner or any other officer, and by whom,
connected with the Department ?
As these representations are constantly adverted to, it is desirable
that this Club should forthwith be placed in a position authoritative-
ly to deny that any portion of the public property administered by
public trustees, had been allowed to form the object of private specu-
lation.
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
F. W. G. Austin,
Secretary, etc.
The Honorable the Commissioner |
of Crown Lands, Ottawa. )
2. — The Commissioner to Mr. Rhodes.
Sib,
Department of Crown Lands,
Fisheries Branch,
Ottawa, 28th January, 1867.
The Commissioner wishes to know if the letter of which the
18
enclosed is a copy, has been written with the knowledge and appro-
bation of yourself and other gentlemen assooiatcd together as the
Fish and Game Protection Club of Quebe
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Vour obedient servant,
W, F. "Whitcher,
For the Assist. Commissioner
of Crown Lands.
W. Rhodes, Esq.,
President Fish and Game
Protection Club, Quebec.
3. — Mr. Rhodes to the Commissioner.
Quebec, 31st January, 1867.
Sir,
I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th inst.
asking whether a letter of which you furnish a copy dated 23rd inst.
and signed by F. W. G. Austin, Secretary, has been written with
the knowledge and approbation of myself and other gentlemen of the
Fish and Game Protection Club of Quebec.
In reply I have to inform you, that the letter was written by the
Secretary alone, to enable him to explain publicly what I believe to be
untrue. I should not have suggested the writing of such a letter,
because knowing the St. John river had been leased to Dr. DuflF
for $40 in 1864, and to Mr. Watt for $75 in 1865, I thought it very
extraordinary that some American gentlemen, friends of mine, should
be charged $300 in gold for it in 1866. The inquiry I made obtained
for me the reply, that the St. John had been leased privately to Mr.
Drummond in 1866 for $250, but I was not to use this information
either for or against the De;^artmont ; this satisfied me that an in-
hospitable act had not been levied upon my friends.
The circumstance, however, has been a good deal discussed in
the Garrison of Quebec, owing to the fact of one of the American
gentlemen being a general officer of the U. S. army, and from the
St. John having been first fished by an officer of this Garrison. Why
19
the information given me was accompanied with " private and con-
fidential" and a mystery made about Mr. Drumraond's name, I do
not know ; I vas satisfied black-mail had not been levied upon my
friends, so I let the matter drop. There is, however, a very prera-
lent opinion amongst American sportsmen that we keep our fishing
livers for oflBcers of the British army, or for the personal friends
of the Canadian Government ; the letting of the St. John for $300
in 1866 when Mr. Watt was offering it to Dr. Duff for $75 in 1865,
and getting the river refused at that price, appeared to confirm tVo
American opinion.
The Fish and Game Protection Club, however, think these let-
tings of rivers ought to be made public ; or if let privately it ought
to be for some well-known public service in connection with the sal-
mon fisheries, such as have been rendered by the lessees of the Good-
bout, the Jacques Cartier, or the Ste. Marguerite rivers. Why Mr.
Drummond's name should be connected with the St. John river in
1866 is alone known to the Department, as the river was paid for
and fished by other gentlemen.
It is not however within the province of the Club to en ; er fur-
Itlier into the fishery question, than to protect sportsmen from impo-
sition and tho fish from destruction. I am therefore of opinion it
would have been better if Mr. Austin's letter had not been written in
the name of the Club ; it is, however, proper to state that I have never
made any public explanation of the real way tho ease stands, being
debarred from doing so. I am sure Mr. Austin will regret, together
with myself, if his letter has in any way been an annoyance to the
Department, which he never contemplated, — it is not in this way we
hope to promote reform in the management of our fisheries.
I have read Mr. Austin this letter, who was not aware of the
foregoing facts, as, for the reason stated, I never communicated them
to him.
T have the honor to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
W. Rhodes,
President Fish & Game Protection Club.
The Honorable the Commissioner ")
of Crown Lands, Ottawa. |
20
4. — Mr. Austin to the Commissioner.
Quebec, 1st February, 1867.
Sir,
Colonel Rhodes, the President of the Fish and Game Protection
Club for Lower Canada, has jast read to me a letter containing certain
facts touching upon the various rumours which have been in circu-
lation in this city and heard by me, I think, in July last, connect-
ed with the sub-leasing of the angling on the river St. John, by a
Mr. Drummond, for the sum of $300 in gold. I was altogether un-
acquainted with these facts at the time I solicited the information
asked by my letter of the 23rd instant, which I did with the desire of
contradicting these rumours, as sportsmen naturally apply to the
Club not only for information and explanation, but for the removal
of any cause creating inconvenience.
I infer from your transmitting to the President a copy of my
letter, in which I do not yet see the least incongruity, that you had
taken umbrage at its contents, which, perhaps, viewing them only in u
strictly unfavourable light might be warranted. I feel it therefore duo
to myself (assuming the contents of my letter might possibly be so
construed) at once to disclaim any intention of conveying the slightest
insinuation, as the Secretary of the Club, or as a private gentleman,
upon you or any officer of your Department, and therefore now also
beg leave to withdraw the letter referred to and thus leave the
rumours unexplained.
I have now but to express the hope that, with the foregoing ex-
planation, accompanied by the retiring of the letter, that you as
well as the fishery officers, will accept with the same cordiality with
which it is adopted, the course I have deemed it due to myself to
pursue, in removing impressions never contemplated.
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
F. W. G. Austin,
Secretary, etc,
The Honorable the Commissioner )
of Crown L^nds; Ottawa, )
21
5. — The CommisBioncr to Mr, Austin.
Department of Crown Lands,
Fisheries Branch,
Ottawa, 15th February, 1867.
Sir,
Since you perceive nothing objectionable in your letter of
'2'in\ ultimo, the Commissioner sees no reason for you to withdraw it,
but, as it refers to " rumours" which arc enlarged on in the letter of 1st
instant, written as " Secretary, etc.," and in one from the President of
the Fish and fiamc Protection Club of Quebec, it is better to dispose
of the whole correspondence.
Evidently you knew of the leasing of the angling division of the
river St. John, and that the occupation of it for last summer had
])ccn sub-let by the actual lessee ; and it cannot be possible that you re-
gard tho propriety of a lishery lessee exercising his right to sub-lease
as open to individual opinion, or that it is a legitimate subject of
animadversion for sportsmen's clubs. The practice of sub-leasing
is of common occurrence among lessees of fishings, who may be them-
selves prevented by business engagements or other causes from
fulfilling an intention to fish during any season. This Depart-
ment exacts specified rents in advance, and is not at all concerned
about the conditions (as to rental) on which sub-letting takes place,
rcfjuiring merely that tho rivers shall be occupied by parties who can
bo relied upon to observe the fishery laws and abstain from any
practices injurious to the fishery.
Therefore, your letter could imply nothing else, than that some
collusive arrangcmept had been made through officials cliarged with
the disposal of public property. The obvious impropriety, in this in-
stance, of conveying an accusation so grave, is certainly not lessened
in view of tho very siniple means by which you might at any time
since " July last " have so easily disabused your mind of suspicions
that seem to cause the Club such serious concern.
Whilst formal notice cannot of course be taken of the generally
unfounded statements that arc made from time to time in various ways
regarding the fisherieg and the fisheries' service, this Department can
always, when necessary, make such authoritative denial as the public
interests shall require.
Referring to the remark that sportsmen naturally apply to the
i
82
Club for iDformatlon and rodress, occasion is taken to call your at-
tention to the following from Wilket' Spirit of the Timei, dated 18th
August lost :—
** On application being made to F. W. G. Austin, Esq., of Quo-
" bee, any unlet river may be obtained by a citizen of the United
" States, on the same terms and for the same price that it could be
" hired by the most loyal subject of the British Crown.'*
Although this reference has not escaped your notice, it does not
seem to have struck you as sinjjularly needing immediate correction.
What can you, or the Club, have to do with the letting of fisheries,
or with giving information and affording explanation about matters
with which this Department is charged ?
It is not surprising that false impressions have prevailed among
fctrangers, and, besides deriving contirmation in the manner related
by the letter of the President of the Fish and Game Protection Club
cf Quebec, have found expression in the public prints.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
A. Russell,
Assist. Commissioner.
F. W. G. AiiSTLV. Esq.,
Secretary of the Fish and (i^uie
Protection Club, Quebec.
6. — The Commissioner to Mr. llliodcs.
Department of Crown Lands,
Fisheries Branch,
Ottawa, 16th February, 1867.
Sir,
With reference to your letter of the 31st ultimo, 1 enclose a copy
of the reply to other two letters from the Secretary of the Fish and
Game Protection Club of Quebec, which to some extent answers
your present letter.
The Commissioner's object in asking from whom the letter of
23rd ultimo had emanated, was to ascertain the origin of implied col-
28
loBion— if it really had any other foundation than iJlo rumour or
Itrect ROHsip. Ho repjrets to observe by what means impressions and
imours of official preference or malfeasance have been created from
jtrivial occurrences of a common-place and quite correct nature, every
^particular of which you could at any moment have learned by applj-
inj^ to this Office. There was not, nor is there now, the slightest ob-
jection to mukin<r known all facts connected with the renting of
the river St. John ; and, perhaps, in justice to the persons whose
names are mentioned in your letter, and with reference to whom
offensive and unjust remarks have been made, the circumstances
might as well be here stated.
Under public notices issued at different limes since 1858, the
fluvial division of the river St. John has been offered to rent. No
body applied for it. The belief was almost universal that it was a
Bulky river and unfit for angling. In 1860 Mr. Whitcher, of this
Department, explored the stream, trying it everywhere as a fly-fishery ;
and after examining the pools by torchlight, and proving them with
artificial flies, he reported it to be, in its upper parts, an excellent
Btream, with many superior facilities for angling. But he also found
that by spearing and netting at the falls (nine leagues from the sea),
by dragging the spawning beds, by seining the pools, and by barring
across the eddies and tributaries with gill-ncta, immense numbers
of breeding salmon had been killed during August and September,
in addition to those killed along the estuary and middle course in
June and July ; so that the fishery was ruined. There were four dif-
ferent fishing and curing establishments (for the summer and autumn)
on these upper waters : one nine, one eighteen, another twenty-seven,
and the farthest fifty- four miles above the tideway. On his report a
stop was immediately put to such ruinous practices, and the seizures he
had made of great quantities of materials used at these upper fish-
eries were confirmed. The immediate reduction by him in that year
of limits for the net fishery to an extent of only four miles from the
mouth of the estuary, was also approved. Mr. Smythe of Ottawa
fished it in 1861, but found the river had been so depleted in previous
years that there was yet very indifferent sport. It remained vacant
and uncalled for until 1868, when Capt. Collingwood and J)r. Duff of
the Royal Artillery, and Capt. Savary of the 47th Regiment, were
induced on Mr. Whitcher's representations to fish it. They did so
under season license at $40, which they had the option of converting
into a lease at an increased rental, should they find the fishing sati»-
24
factory. This privilege was not afterwards availed of. Tn 18C4 it
was let by public tender to Mr. Watt of Montreal, for five years at
$75, his being the only offer. Unable to fish it himself, he sub-let
it, by official consent for that season, to Captains Collingwood and
Maitland and Dr. Duff, at the same rent. The lessee himself fished
it in 1865. He found it a distant river and somewhat difiicult of
ascent, and so stated to Mr. Whitcher. Knowing the river was full
of salmon and had increased in value, a proposal was at once made
for him to relinquish it. He did so in the autumn of 1865. It
was then offered at $200 to several parties who had been unsuc-
cessful tenderers for other streams, under the advertisement of 1864 ;
they declined, owing chiefly to its distant position, the high rent and
cost of guardianship. In 1866 Mr. Drummond of Montreal ap-
plied for a river, and was persuaded to take the St. John under lease
for nine years at $250, the then current year being paid in advance,
on execution of lease. (You err in stating that the rental was paid
by the sub-tenants.) A guardian was engaged by liim and sent from
Gasp6 Basin early in the summer-time, with canoes and building ma-
terials for shanties, etc. Mr. Drummond afterwards represented that
business exigences would prevent him from fishing it then, and ap-
plied for consent to sub-let the fishing. The Department being satis-
fied of the respectability of the parties named, consented, and it was
sub-let to an American gentleman at $300 ; all of which the lessee
had a perfect right to do.
What is meant by the river having been let " privately," I fail
to understand. The Department disposes of these fishings to the best
advantage on written applications, — and experience proves it to be a
much more expeditious and cheaper way, more profitable to the public
and fairer towards individuals, than the lottery of tender, or the
speculation of auctions.
The "private and confidential" intelligence you allude to was
certainly not procured here, as there is no privacy about any such
transactions, and the Department has nothing to conceal. Public
interests had in this case been duly considered, in obtaining an
enhanced rent for the fishery and at the same time securing a
desirable tenant.
If American sportsmen are encouraged in the belief, that
salmon rivers are kept exclusively ** for British officers and per-
sonal friends of the Canadian Government," it may be matter
25
for regret to all persons concerned in the good name of Canadians
charged with administering such public properties, but this opinion
is assuredly not confirmed by any facts. During five years the fly-
fishing of the best river on the coast — the Moisic — was held by
anglers from Boston. The Natashquan, another excellent stream, is
now held and has been fished for several seasons past, by an angler
from Philadelphia. No United States citizen has ever been denied
a fishery, and not one has at any time been disappointed in applying to
this Department. The intimation of favoritism towards friends etc.
suggests, that the origin of such an opinion as you s.ny prevails among
Americans is scarcely foreign.
As you indicate that a part of the mission of the Fish and
Game Protection Club of Quebec, is to remedy abuses connected
with Fisheries, the Commissioner takes this opportunity to draw your
attention to the reckless statements and unfair arguments continually
reiterated in newspapers, pamphlets, reports, etc., which being iden-
tical with those used in correspondence with this Department, and
such as have been repeatedly corrected or explained, must, it is pre-
sumed, proceed from a common source.
While there can be no objection to fair and specific criticism, and
the dissemination of correct data, it should be obvious, that wild
assertions of ruin, and general charges of neglect, preference, corrup-
tion, waste, etc., cannot pos.sibly advance the cause of protecting and
improving our fisheries, and are not at all calculated to promote the
views or influence of your Society, nor to ensure harmonious action
with this Department and its numerous officers.
I have the honor to be. Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
A. Russell,
Assist. Commissioner.
W. Rhodes, Esq., "^
President of the Fish and Game ^
Protection Club, Quebec. )
7. — xMr. Drummond to Mr. Rhodes.
Montreal, 1th March, 1867.
W. Rhodes, Esq.,
President Fish and Gumc Club, Quebec.
Sir,
Of course I have been for some time aware that Mr. Gcnio C.
26
Scott of New York, one of the party by whom the river St. John
was fished last summer, had, since his return, been writing in such a
manner as to convey the idea that he had been badly treated by some
parties in Canada, and had become aware of the facts through infor-
mation furnished by gentlemen in Quebec.
I also have long known that you were an active party in institu-
ting enquiries in the same direction, through members of the Legisla-
ture.
Within a few days I have obtained, by official application to the
Honorable the Commissioner of Crown Lands for copies of any
letters which may have passed on the subject, copies of your letter of
31st January, and the reply thereto.
I now understand that Mr. G. C. Scott was sent from Quebec
with the idea that he had been swindled, that black-mail had been
levied on him and his party, and an inhospitable act committed, the
latter charge more serious as being directed against a stranger and
an American, the whole being suggested to him by " gentlemen of
Quebec."
I presume you to be one of these gentlemen, and upon this
belief I now write you, to point out the extreme impropriety of their
conduct, because no one in Quebec had any knowledge of the facts ;
and all the statements furnished to Mr. Scott, and which he was
weak enough to believe, were quite contrary to fact as you now ad-
mit, and could only have originated in uncharitable suspicions.
But even on the assumption that you had no part in originating
these calumnies, your action, so far as I now understand it, was
scarcely consistent with the apparently friendly relations existing
between us. Had you applied to me, I could promptly have fur-
nished the facts, but you took steps which seem to me to prove a
desire to propagate, much more than to remove this feeling against
me. And when you obtained information which vemoved your sus-
picion, you abstained from even an expression of opinion which
would so far have made amends, and would certainly have prevented
your Secretary's letter from being written.
You now understand that I leased the St. John by tendering
for it, and paying for it the handsome rent of $250, nearly four times
what it rented for before. I took it for my own fishing, and failing
that, do not propose to allow any one to interfere with my disposal
of it.
27
T do not intend discussing your suggestion that these rivers
should be allotted for " well known public services in connection with
salmon fisheries," which no doubt indicates a desire among the offi-
cials of your Club to have them distributed at easy rates among
themselves, but I take distinct objection to your remark about my
name being erroneously connected with the river. My name was
connected with it, because, as already explained, I lease it and pay
the rent. You knew the fact perfectly because you were told of it
by myself.
The charge, at worst, was a very silly one, and I have not hith-
erto noticed it, but the official form given to it by your Secretary,
has, while procuring its refutation, made it necessary for me to ex-
press my opinion of it and of those who uttered it.
Mr. Wood, to whom I rented the river, has written to me
expressing his extreme mortification and regret at what Mr. Scott
has written, and assuring me that no such idea was ever entertained
by him.
I am,
Your most obedient servant,
Geo. a. Drummonp.
8. — Mr. Rhodes to Mr. Drumraond.
Quebec, March 8, 1867.
G. A. Drummond, Esq.
Dear Sir,
In your letter received on the 6th inst. I do not think you do
me full justice ; I of course make allowance for your feelings as I think
you have some cause to complain.
The St. Jobr was first leased to Dr DulF and others for $40,
who were solicited to try it by Mr. Whitchcr, the second year, by
introducing the name of Mr. Watt, l)v. Duflf had to pay $75 j the
third year the Doctor refuses to lease it, though oflfered it by Mr.
Watt ; the next we hear of this river is that it has been leased for
$300. At this point I make enquiries to ascertain if the Depart-
ment was getting the money, as I have no hesitation in saying I
thought the transaction a most improper one to practice upon sports-
men visiting Canada for the first time. My enquiries led to
28
the information that Mr. Watt had given up the St, John
in September 1865, and that you had leased it in February 1866
for $250, no mention was then made of a nine years lease.
This was the first time your name was mentioned, / therefore
let the matter drop, because I knew you to be a public writer in
favor of the Department at or about the same time you were receiv-
ing this river, which you, like Mr. Watt, had apparently no intention
of fishing, but I did not think it fiiir to drag your name into an at-
tack upon the Department.
I was also bound over by Mr. Ryan to say or do nothing either
for or against the Department.
You will gather from the above particulars that I did not know of
your having leased the St. John except through Mr. Ryan; that I
think the Department responsible to you for keeping such transactions
from the knowledge of the public ; that when I saw any attacks
on the Department relative to the leasing of the rivers would involve
you and Mr. Watt, that I refrained from making them.
The enquiries I made through Mr, Ryan were for my own pri-
vate information, I did not speak to Mr. Austin about them, as he
was not one of a party in thr ^v..,,ack3 when the reading of Dr. Duff's
journals disclosed the pricCvS paid for fishing on the St. John by pre-
vious fishermen.
I do not understand how you " tendered" for the St. John. I
am informed you were offered it, that after due pressure you
accepted it, the transaction being one from which the public were
excluded.
You are quite in error in supposing any persons in the Quebec
Club are anxious to obtain rivers except in a manner public to all ;
we quite understand our position (which your letter reminds us of)
that all information relative to rivers becoming vacant is carefully
kept from our portion of the community, — you write " no one in
Quebec had any knowledge of the facts."
I have no recollection whatever of your speaking to me about
the St. John river in 1866 ; to the best of my recollection I only
met you once, on the Bergeronne riven I did not go down to Tadou-
sac till August, so we could not have met in June, when the Ameri-
cans were in Quebec, which was about the time I instituted my
inquiries. I of course regret that in a matter about sport, gentlemen
cannot agree, but the fimlt is not mine in this case, it is well known
29
this Fishery Department has killed itself through ita own inate bad
bits, we must therefore hope better things for the future,
I think, however, if you place thin correspondence before a disin-
terested person, say , he will tell you that the
sportsmen of Quebec were perfectly right to inquire into a matter they
thought wrong on a public subject, that they shewed much considera-
tion for you and Mr. Watt, by not introducing your names in any
attack on the Department. That it does not appear Mr. Scott and his
party were sent from Quebec with tJie idea they had been swindled ;
even by your own showing, Mr; Wood writes, ** no such idea was
ever entertained by me." I believe they all considered they had
some how or other paid more than (again to use your own words)
tlio handsome rent of $250, nearly four times what it rented before.
I do not understand Mr. Scott has said more than this. I admit I do
not think the whole thing looks well, hence the reason why I thought
it better to drop the inquiry at once.
If your name had not come up so unexpectedly, I should have
teposed the Department for imposing upon strangers, those persons
being Americans. The above explanation I hope will be found sat-
isfactory so far as you are personally concerned, if not, it possesses
tho merit of truth to the best of my recollection.
Yours truly,
W. Rhodes,
President.
9. — Mr. Drummond to Mr. Rhodes.
Montreal, 11th March, 1867.
}
Wm. Rhodes, Esq.,
President of the Fish and Game
Club of Quebec.
Sir,
When I wrote you last on the 4th inst. I had the hope that
you might be able to justify your proceedings, and deprive them of
the unfriendly look they had to me.
Your reply of 8th inst., just received, has quite disappointed
any such expectation, and, though your letter is apologetic, I am
bound to tell you that some of your observations are most oflFensive.
No good end will be served by discussing any details further,
but I beg to say that I wish no consideration whatever from you or
8Q
any other sportsman in Quebec in this matter, bej'ond adherence to
facts.
I regret extremely to have to tell you that I think the action of
the parties who originated this report aflfecting my name, was an im-
pertinent interference in private affairs, and that no further
opinion of yours in the least concerns me.
I am, your most obedient servant.
Geo. a. DauMMOND.
10.-— Mr. Wood to Mr. Drummond.
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., March 9th, 1867.
Geo. a. Drummond, Esq.,
Montreal,
My Dear Sir,
I have noticed with much regret in the public prints, several
allusions to you, made by Mr. Genio C. Scott, who formed one of my
party to fish the river St. John last season.
These allusions are generaUy of the nature of insinuations that
you had made our party pay too much for the river, and that as'
Americans we had felt ourselves inhospitably treated thereby. Now
I beg to tell you that Mr. Scott has not, in my opinion, the slightest
warrant for saying any thing of the kind, he has done so entirely
without my knowledge or consent, and that the other gentlemen who
composed my party, never thought or expressed, any thing of the
kind, then, or since.
I took the river from you at first, on my own responsibility, and
was very thankful to you for the opportunity of getting it. Mr.
Scott and others, were subsequently associated in it, knowing
perfectly the terms, I did not then, nor did he, think the rent
otherwise than reasonable. Indeed, since I have learned that you
gave yourself, some months before, the sum of $250 of rent for it,
and had proceeded to provide the canoes and outfit to fish it yourself,
I am convinced you could not have made one cent by it, but more
probably the contrary, and am confirmed in the opinion I have
always entertained, that it was a friendly act, for which, as a brother
81
I
ijportsman and an American, I felt obliged. Under these circumstances
i have felt and expressed much regret at the remarks of Mr. Scott.
In regard to the net fishery at the mouth, I do not agree
with Mr. Scott as to its evil effects, and I think he greatly exaggerates
as to its destructiveness. Though we were two weeks too late for the
best fishing, we found the one pool we visited filled with salmon,
plenty of them, as many as any angler could wish. We did not
make a large score 'tis true, the weather was against us, clear and
bright with scarcely any rain. A.11 the time we were there the river
Was down very low. Under these circumstances I think we did
very well, I for one am well satisfied.
I am, with great regard.
Yours truly,
Jamks G. Wood.
11. — Mr. Drumraond to the Commissioner.
Montreal, 27th February 1866.
Alex. Russell, Esq.,
Assist. Commissioner Crown Lands.
Sir,
With a view to obtain correct information on a question of
public discussion here, I beg to ask a statement from your De-
partment of the number of fixed- or stake-nets licensed annually since
1860, and generally for any information the Department may be wil-
ling to afford on these questions : —
Have the appliances for catching salmon been increasing *
diminishing ?
Have the numbers of fish in the waters under charge of the
Department, been increasing or diminishing ?
I am, respectfully yours,
Geo. A. Drummond.
12- — The Commissioner to Mr. Drummond.
Department of Crown Lands,
Fisheries Branch,
Ottawa, 15th March, 1866.
Sib,
In reply to the questions asked by your letter, I have the honor
^p state, that the Department does not license any particular kind of
82
net or fixed-engine for fishing. The leases and licenses issuei
are for fishery stations, upon "which the holders can use such method
of fishing and fish at such times as the law allows. There arc there
fore no means of ascertaining how many fixed-nets, or " stake-nets,"
or brush-weirs, are in existence since 1860 ; but there can
be no doubt that in numbers and in catching powers the ap
pliances used in salmon fishing have been reduced fully one-half sine
that year ; and in addition to such diminution, the extent of fish
ing limits in every one of the tsalmon rivers has been material!
decreased. The examples which show to what extent this has beei
done are chiefly among those on the Nortli coast : — the Esquimau:
river, formerly fished for thirty-seven miles up, is now fished for onlj
six miles ; the Natashquan river, formerly netted and completely barred
for sixteen miles up, is now fished for about .six miles ; the twc
Watschceshoo rivers and the Corneille, where Mr. Whitcher found
most destructive netting going on, are now free of nets; the Romaine
river and its fork, formerly fished for some twelve miles, is now closed
entirely; so also is the Mingan with its branch the Manito; the St. John
river formerly fished for twenty-seven miles up, and then speared at the
Kettle twenty-six miles further up, has now only about four miles ot
netting limits; the Moisie River, formerly netted for twenty-four
miles, and the N. E. branch barred across about three miles from it;;
mouth, is now fished for about nine miles ; the Trinity river, formerly
netted for forty-three miles up, is now closed against nets ; the Good
bout river formerly fished with nets for six miles, and sometimes with a
barrier-net in two places, and seined in the pools above, has not been
netted at all since 1860; the Betscie and Mistassini rivers formerly
fished all along their course, have not been netted since 1850 ;
the Laval river, formerly netted to destruction, has not been netted
for three years ; the Saguenay rivers have been six years without a net
being placed in them ; the Murray has not been netted for eight
years, neither the Jacques Cartier, nor the two St. Anne rivers ;
the St. Francis which used to be barred, seined and speared, is now
clear. These are but a portion of the wholcn umbers so dealt with :
and on the Soiith shore, and at Gaspe, Bonaventurc and Anticosti,
similar reductions of excessive fishing have been effected.
The great increase in the numbers of adult salmon which has
taken place, cannot be better illustrated than in the case of the river
Moisie. In 1857, when upwards of 13,000 fathoms of nets were used
in that river, the fish were so scarce that only 1,100 wore ttiken ; in
I
33
1859/»the nets were thinned and the river leased, ard since 1862, with
tin average of about 2,800 fathoms of set nets, the take of Salmon
has been, one year with another, upwards of 10,000 and the stream
is well stocked with large breeding fish ; the average weight also of
those caught has increased some 20 per cent.
In most of the streams salmon-fry are seen in very large num-
bers. Altogether, the improvement of the Salmon fishery is decided
and highly encouraging.
I have the honor to be. Sir,
Your obedient servant,
Andrew Russell.
Assist. Commissioner.
Geo. A. DauMMOND, Esq., )
Montreal. j
P. S. The quantity of nets needed to fish the Moisie is about
7,000 fathoms, less than forty per cent of which are at any one time
set, the remainder being for relays. The figures referring to this
fishery include the bay stations and frontage limits outside, where
the catch is from the breed in and frequenting Moisie river.
A. R.
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