4, .-+ • 
 
 THE FISHERY QUESTION: 
 
 ITS IMPERIAL IMPORTANCE. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. G. BOURINOT, 
 
 CCEBK OF THE CAJfADIAIT HOUSE OF COMMONS ; COBEESPONDIirG SECRETARY OF BOXAL 
 COLONIAL INSTIXCTB; HONOBABT SECRETART OF THE BOXAL SOCIETY 
 
 OF CANADA. 
 
 {Reprinted from The Westminstf^i Review for April 1886.) 
 
 OTTAWA: 
 
 J. DURIE k SON 
 
 r' A 
 
IT 
 
 THE FISHERY QUESTlOxN 
 
 ITS IMPERIAL IMPORTANCE. 
 
 1. President ClevelancVs Message to Congress, December 9 
 
 l«8o. Congressional Record, Washington, U.S. 
 
 2. Pctjjers respecting the Fishery Question. Canada Sessional 
 
 Papers, No. 101. Ottawa. 1885. 
 
 3. Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries. Canada 
 
 Sessional Papers, No. 9. Ottawa. 1885. 
 
 4. Trade and Navigation Returns. Canada Sessional Papers 
 
 No. 2. Ottawa. 1885. 
 
 5. Report on the Fishery Articles of Treaties between Great 
 
 Britain and the United States. Bv W. F. Whitaker 
 Commissioner of Fisheries. Ottawa^ 1870. ' 
 
 G. Record of the Proceedings of the Halifax Fisheries Com- 
 mission. English Commons Papers, 1877. 
 
 7. Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute, Vols. IV. and 
 IX. London. 
 
 rpHE fisheries of British North America have been the subject 
 X of international controversies ever since the commencement 
 of the eighteenth century. France was the first amoncr European 
 Powers to avail herself of the riches to be found in the waters 
 which wash the eastern shores of the noble domain which she 
 once possessed on the North American continent. From the 
 earliest days of which we have any accurate historical record 
 Basque and Breton fishermen have toiled on the prolific banks 
 of Newfoundland. It was in the days of Queen Anne thai the 
 
 B 
 
4 Tlie Fialtery Question : 
 
 ambition of France received the first ^reat blow in America, and 
 England obtained control of the most valuable fisheries of the 
 New World. It has been often questioned whether Englnnd, 
 after all, received any snbstanti;d advantai,'es from the victories 
 which, during the war of the Spanish Succession, humbled the pride 
 of the Grand Kinij, and 2[ave to Alarlborouirh an eternal fame. In 
 Southey's well-known poem little Peterkin but voiced the puijlic 
 sentiment of the century when, after listening to old Kaspar^s 
 account of Blenheim, he sagely asked, '• but what good came of 
 it at last?" We all know that the issue was the Treaty of 
 Utrecht — that much-abused emanation of the diplomatic in- 
 trigues of Hailey and 8t. John. Professor Seeley, however, in 
 his very suggestive work on the "Expansion of England," does not 
 place himself among those historical writers who have nothing 
 but censure for the conditions of that famous instrument. In 
 his opinion this treaty marks one of the important epochs in 
 the history of England's greatness. He looks upon the war 
 as "in reality the most business-like of all the contests in which 
 England ever engaged/' Much is certainly to be said in support of 
 his argument, that the successful accomplishment of the designs 
 of Louis Quatorze on the crown of Spain would have closed 
 *' almost the whole New World to the English and Dutch, and 
 thrown it open to the countrymen of " Colbert, who were at 
 that moment exploring and settling the Mississippi." By the 
 signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, however, the ambitious plans 
 of the Fr(!nch King were foiled, and England entered on a new 
 career of colonial and maritime greatness. 
 
 Englishmen in these days will hardly care to dwell on that 
 part of the treaty wdiich induced England to enter, as a com- 
 petitor with Spain, on the infamous slave trade. All of us, 
 however, will recognize the value of the provisions which gave 
 England the undisputed possession of Newfoundland as well as of 
 Nova Scotia, then known by the historic name of Acadie. Here 
 was the commencement of that new Dominion which in later 
 times was to stretch across the northern half of the continent, 
 and in a measure compensate England for the loss of those 
 colonies which in the davs of Queen Anne were strucjcfling to 
 establish themselves on the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to 
 the Carolinas. Here for the first time the fishery question makes 
 its appearance in history. J?y the Treaty of Utrecht France gave 
 up Newfoundland to Great Britain, but at the same time received, 
 certain privileges on the coast as essential to the prosecution of 
 the fisheries which she valued so highly. As a base of opera- 
 tions for this great industry, she retained possession of He 
 Royale, now known as Cape Breton, and of the islets of St. 
 Pierre and Me(|uclon, ofi" the southern coast of the Prima Vista 
 
I fa Inipi't'hd Itnportnnce. 5 
 
 of the early navigators. Half a century passed, and the battle 
 between France and England for the supremacy in xVmerica was 
 continued on the sliores of tiie St. Lawrence and of Lake Cham- 
 plain. At last, Louisbourg, Quebec, Montreal, and less important 
 French posts fell before the victorious soldiers of England, and 
 when th'j Treaty of Paris was signed in 17G'3, of all the posses- 
 sions France once owned on the St. Lawrence and by the sea, 
 there remained to her only two rocky islets otf the coast of New- 
 foundland. To St. Pierre and Mequelon, insignificant as they 
 look on the map, she has always clung with great pertinacity 
 whenever it has been a question of a new treaty between herself 
 and Great Britain. The privileges she obtained by the Treaty 
 of Utrecht, of participating in the fisherins of Newfoundland, and 
 of frequenting a limited range of coast for purposes solely con- 
 nected with the prosecution of those fisheries, have remained in 
 force up to the present time, with a few modifications necessary 
 to preserve peace and order on the shores of the island, where a 
 small British population has grown up in the course of years. 
 St. Pierre is now a place possessing many of the characteristics 
 of a port on the Breton shores, and is the headquarters of a naval 
 squ£.dron for the protection of the large fleet of French fishing 
 vessels which frequent the waters of Newfoundland from spring 
 to autumn. This little island has all the essential features of a 
 French colony — a commandant, a staff of minor ollicials, and 
 several gens d'arnies. Its existence for nearly two centuries is 
 very clear evidence of the importance France still attaches to 
 the prosecution of the fisheries in North America. 
 
 Disputes have often arisen between British and French fisher- 
 men as the consequence of the concessions made originally by 
 this famous Treaty of Utrecht. The Government of Newfound- 
 land has deluged the Colonial Office with dispatches on the 
 subject, and several Com mi'-sions have been appointed to prevent 
 disputes. If Newfoundland were a portion of the Dominion of 
 Canada, or was able to otFer anv larijje inducements to immiora- 
 tion, we should probably hear more (;f the discontent that crops 
 'ip from time to time in the island, and the matter might assume 
 a more serious i.spect ; but as it is, the whole question has never 
 received any at;ent'<>n outside the Foreign and C(jl()nia.l Oltices, 
 and a new Convention is (juietly arranged, as was tiie case a few 
 weeks ago, for the purpose of tiding over difficulties as they arise. 
 
 It is not with the fishery difficulty between France and 
 Newfoundland that we purpose to deal in this paper, 
 but with a much larger Question affecting the interests 
 of the most important dependency of the empire, as well as 
 those of the great island itself which still stands sullenly apart 
 from the confetierated pritvinces. This cpiestion has arisen 
 
 B-2 
 
6 The Fisher ij Question : 
 
 during the hundred years since the United States became inde- 
 pendent of Great Britain. As long as the old colonies remained 
 in the British Emjnre they had a right to participate in the 
 valuable fisheries found on the coasts of Nova Scotia and other 
 parts of the British North American dominions. Until the 
 War of Independence, and indeed for many years afterwards, 
 the fisheries off the Atlantic coast of the United States wore 
 valuable, and sufficiently engrossed the enterprise and industry of 
 American fishermen, and there was no occasion to go beyond 
 their own territorial limits ; but as the population of Nev/ 
 England increased, and the American fisheries became less 
 prolific, it became necessary to seek fresh sea pastures in order 
 to supply the urgent demands of commerce. Then the people 
 of the American coast, especially of Maine and Massachusetts, 
 looked longingly to the rich fisheries owned by the countries 
 which remained faithful to the Empire, and have ever since ex- 
 ercised their ingenuity to obtain access to British American 
 waters. 
 
 The history of the efforts made by the United States to 
 obtain the liberty of fishing on the coasts and within the bays 
 over which Great Britain claims, as an incident of her sove- 
 reignty, full territorial jurisdiction, affords abundant evidence of 
 the value their people have heretofore attached to the fisheries 
 of Canada and Newfoundland. All that diplomatic or legal 
 ingenuity could devise in the shape of argument has been 
 brought forward to influence Great Britain to concede the use 
 of these fisheries to the fishermen of New England, as long and 
 on as easy terms as possible. As we shall see in the course of 
 this paper, Great Britain has in this, as in other negotiations 
 affecting the relations between herself and the United States, 
 acted in a spirit of compromise and conciliation which at times, 
 in the opinion of some Canadians, seemed likely to lessen the 
 value of the fisheries, and consequently jeopardize the interests 
 of the British people who own this great source of national 
 "Wealth and greatness. But the statesmen of Canada as well as 
 of Great Britain have invariably been ready to take into con- 
 sideratiou the importance of having the most amicable under- 
 standing on all disputed points with a people so nearly allied to 
 them by language and interest, and have made concessions to 
 the United States which perhaps some of their citizens have not 
 always fully appreciated at their full value. 
 
 When Great Britain formally acknowledged the independence 
 of the Thirteen Colonies, and it became necessary to consider 
 the question of the fisheries, the United States obtained " the 
 liberty " to take fish on the coasts of Newfoundland, but not to 
 dry or cure the same on that island. They were also allowed 
 
Its Imperial Importance. 7 
 
 " the liberty" of taking and curing fish on the coasts and in the 
 bays and creeks of all British possessions in North America as 
 long as the same remained unsettled. Their right " to enjoy 
 unmolested the fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland and at 
 all other places on the deep sea where the inhabitants of both 
 countries used at any time previously to fii^h," was explicitly 
 acknowledged in the third article of the same treat3% which was 
 signed at Paris on September 3, 1788. During the years which 
 elapsed between the signing of this treaty and the breaking 
 out of the war of 1S12, the British population increased along 
 the shores of the bays and creeks of Nova Scotia and New 
 Brunswick, and their interest in the fisheries, enjoyed in com- 
 mon with the Americans, became very much greater. When 
 the war came to a close the question of the fisheries was revived, 
 and Great Britain at once, in accordance with the rules of inter- 
 national law, considered that any " liberty " formerly extended 
 to the United States had naturally terminated, and refused, in 
 obedience to the demands of the British population now largely 
 engaged in the fisheries, to grant to the Americans "gratui- 
 tously" the privileges they formerly enjoyed "of fishing within 
 the limits of British territory or of using the shores of the 
 British territories for purposes connected with the fisheries/' 
 At the same time they very properly refused to consider the 
 remarkable claim set tfp by the United States Government, of 
 "an immemorial and prescriptive right to the fisheries." It is 
 hardly necessary to observe that any rights enjoyed by the 
 people of the old colonies in common with other British subjects 
 ceased in those countries or waters which were still British pos- 
 sessions when the former became independent. When no under- 
 standinoj could be reached durino^ the negotiations which ended 
 with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, on account of the untenable 
 claims set up by the American Commissioner, Great Britain 
 instructed the officers of her fleet stationed in British American 
 waters not to interfere with American vessels on the Newfound- 
 land banks, or in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or on the high seas, 
 but to exclude them from the harbours, bays, and creeks of all 
 His Majesty's possessions. Several American vessels were sub- 
 sequently captured for trespassing in British waters, and the 
 Government of the United States was at last forced to come to 
 an amicable arrangement on a question which might at any 
 moment lead to a serious international difficulty. The issue was 
 the Convention signed by England and the United States on 
 October 20, 1818, in which the rights of these two nations were 
 clearly defined. By the first article of that treaty it was agreed 
 that the inhabitants of the United States should have for ever, 
 in common with British subjects, the liberty to take and euro 
 
H The Fi.ilu'i >/ Qiit stion : 
 
 fish on certain parts of Newfoundland and Labiador, and on 
 the coasts of the Magdalen Islands, under a few restrictions, on 
 which it is not necessary to dvvel), since no serious differences 
 have arisen on the subject. In the same article the United 
 States " renounce for ever any liberty heretofore enjoyed or 
 claimed by the inhabitants thereof to take, dry, or cure tish on 
 or vntkin three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, 
 or harbours " of the British dominions in America not included 
 within the limits just mentioned. At the same time American 
 fishermen were to be permitted " to enter sucli bays and harbours 
 for the purpose of shelter and of repairing damages therein, of 
 purchasing wood, of obtaining water, and for no other purpose 
 wlia^ever." 
 
 Now, the whole controversy in past years between Great 
 Britain (representing the Dominion of Canada and Newfound- 
 land) and the United States has tvtrned upon the true effect of 
 the renunciation on the part of the latter "of any liberty here- 
 tofore enjoyed to take, dry, and cure fish on or within three 
 marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbours" of 
 British North America, In order to understand the importance 
 of this point — wliich is in effect the fishery question constantly 
 cropping up when all temporary arrangements like the Washing- 
 ton Treaty of 1^71 cease between Canada and her neighbours — 
 it is necessary to study the natural configuration of the eastern 
 or maritime provinces of British North America. Looking at 
 the map, we find first of all the large island of Newfoundland 
 standing like a sentinel at the approaches of the Gulf of St. 
 Lawrence. The French and Americans have free access, as a 
 matter of right, to the Grand and other banks, and certain 
 privileges of catching and curing fish on the coasts. American 
 fishermen frequent the Grand Banks and come at times into the 
 bays and harbours for repairs and bait; and the only important 
 question that has arisen with respect to Newfoundland is the 
 value of these privileges within her territorial limits. Leaving 
 Newfoundland, we come to the fishing-grounds much frequented 
 by the Americans for the mackerel, herring, and other fisheries. 
 We see the fine island of Cape Breton, separated from the main- 
 land of Nova Scotia by a narrow strait known as the Gut of 
 C'vnseau, and noted for its wild, picturesque beauty. This pas- 
 sage, whose average breadth does not exceed two and a half 
 miles, takes us into the Straits of Northumberland, which lie 
 between Nova Scotia and the fertile Prince Edward Island. We 
 are now in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which receives the waters of 
 the noble artery of the commerce of the provinces of Quebec 
 and Ontario, and of the rich country which is known as the 
 Great West. In the middle of this gulf arc the Magdalen 
 
hit 1 mptrud Impiniance. 9 
 
 Inlands, the home of venturesome Canadian fisliennen. The 
 coast of New Brunswick, which forms tlie western boundary of 
 the Ljulf, is indented l>y several hays, one of which — the liay 
 des Chaleurs, so named by the French navigators in the early 
 days of New France — is one of the most pictures(jue estuaries 
 and the most proliHc iishing-oroumis of the continent. In this 
 bay, and on the coasts of (Jape Breton and Prince Kdward 
 Island, the American fishermen during this century have 
 dragged up fish to an enormous value. But leaving the (iulf 
 of St, Lawrence and passiuL^ around the southern coast of Nova 
 Scotia, we come to the Bay of Fundy, which is a great arm of the 
 sea, bounded on the north by the province of New Brunswick, 
 and having a small portion of the United States teriitory o[)posite 
 to its southern headland. Tiiis bay is celebrated for its tides, 
 which rise to the height of seventy feet, and rush into the bays 
 and harbours that indent the coasts with remarkable velocity. 
 One of the headlands (Blomidou) has been immortalized oy the 
 poet Longfellow in his exquisite poem on a sad episode itj the 
 history of the province of N ova Scotia, which forms the southern 
 boundary of the bay. As in the days of the Acadian farmers of 
 Grand Pre, 
 
 Pleasantly gleams in the soft sweet air the 
 
 Basin of Minus. '^ 
 
 All the valuable fish to be caught in North America frequent 
 this arm of the sea and the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
 These are the great Hshing-grounds so long envied by the fisher- 
 men of New England. 
 
 Now, it is admitted that the hirgest quantities of fish are 
 found within three marine miles from the coasts and bays of the 
 maritime provinces. It is clearly shown by all authorities on 
 international law, judges who have interpreted that law, or 
 statesmen who have negotiated treaties, that every nation has 
 the right of exclusive dominion and jurisdiction over those 
 I3ortions of its adjacent waters which are included by " promon- 
 tories " or headlands within its territories. Accordingly, Gre-\t 
 Britain has always maintained that the three marine miles from 
 the coasts, bays, and creeks of her possessions must be measured 
 from the headlands or entrance of such classes of indents. But 
 this correct assertion of the territorial and maritime jurisdiction 
 of the Dominion of Canada, as a section of the British Empire, 
 is extremely unpalatable to the United States, since it shuts 
 them out practically from the fishing-grounds to which they 
 attach the most importance — from the Bay of Chaleurs, for 
 instance, and other parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the 
 most important inshore fisheries exist. In their anxiety, then to 
 
10 The Fishery Question : 
 
 get free access to these 'private fislieries of Canada, tliey have 
 heretofore raised the issue, that the line of demarcation between 
 exclusive and common water should not be measured from the 
 headlands of bays, but should follow the shores of those iiidents 
 as if they were sinuosities of the coast. If their contention were 
 founded on any sound principles of international law, or sustained 
 by any generally admitted authority, then it would be difficult 
 to exclude them from the most important ii>hing-grounds of 
 America. We do not propose to go at any length into this 
 question, inasmuch as it is only necessary to refer our readers to 
 all the recognized authorities on the subject to prove that the 
 issue raised by the Americans is entirely untenable. Their own 
 jurists and legal authorities have disposed of the question in a 
 sense favourable to the British interests involved in the matter. 
 That well-known authority Wheaton states the rule very clearly : 
 *'The maritime territory of every State extends to the ports, 
 harbours, bays, mouth of rivers, and adjacent parts of the sea, in- 
 closed by headlands belonging to the same State." Chancellor 
 Kent, an equally hii>h authority, admits that bays like Delaware 
 Bay, which may be compared in many respects to Bay des 
 Chaleurs, is wholly within the territoriid jurisdiction of the United 
 States, and that this jurisdiction extends for three miles seaward 
 from its headlands, Capes May and Henlopen. The same rule 
 applies to Chesapeake and Massachusetts Bays, which are also 
 inlets of large size. The eminent lawyer and statesman, Daniel 
 Webster, admitted, when the question came under his notice in 
 185:<i, that the claim of England to draw a line from headland 
 to headland, and to capture all American fishermen who might 
 follow their pursuits inside of that line, was well founded, and 
 that " it was undoubtedly an oversight in the Convention of 
 1818 to make so large a concession to England ! Indeed, if we 
 look at the first article of this Convention, we find that the 
 United States " hereby renounce for ever any liberty hereto^ 
 fore enjoyed or claimed " by their people in British waters. In 
 these words they acknowledged the exclusive right of the British 
 to certain fisheries, and solemnly withdrew any pretensions they 
 had previously advanced to those fisheries. In the various 
 documents that have been published by the British and Canadian 
 Governments ever since the fishery question has been a matter 
 of controversy, the whole issue is clearly set forth, and the posi- ^ 
 tion of Great Britain is shown to be incontrovertible. The word 
 " bay " has always received a positive definition in all text- 
 books, and is invariably spoken of " as a portion of sea enclosed 
 within indents of coasts," and it is also estalDlished beyond reason- 
 able doubt that the three marine miles from which Americans 
 are excluded must be measured from the outer edge or chord of 
 
Its Imperial Tin porta nee. 11 
 
 the bay, or other indentation of the British coasts. In tlie 
 Franconian case,* which came before the British Courts in 1*^76, 
 the question involved was whether or not a foreigner command- 
 ing a foreign vessel could legally be convicted of manslaughter 
 committed whilst sailing by the external coast of England, 
 within three miles from the shore, in the prosecution of a voyage 
 from one foreign port to another. The Court, by a majority of 
 seven judges to six, held the conviction bad on the ground that 
 the jurisdiction of the Common Law Courts extended only to 
 offences committed within the realm, and that at Common Law 
 such realm did not extend on the external coasts beyond low- 
 water mark. None of the judges, however, doubted that Parlia- 
 ment had power to extend the laws of the realm to a zone of 
 three miles around the outer coast, if it saw fit to do so. The 
 Lord Chief Justice of England, by whose casting judgment the 
 conviction was quashed, not only guarded himself expressly 
 against being understood as throwing any doubt whatever upon 
 the jurisdiction of the Courts over inland or territorial waters, but 
 emphatically affirmed such jurisdiction. " If an offence was 
 committed/' he said, "in a bay, gulf, or estuary, i nter fauces 
 terrcv, the Common Law would deal with it because the parts of 
 the sea so circumstanced were held to be within the body of the 
 adjacent county or counties." In another case, which was 
 decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Councilt in 1877, 
 the question arose between two telegraph companies whether 
 Conception Bay in Newfoundland (which is rather more than 
 twenty miles wide at its mouth and runs inland between forty and 
 fifty miles) was within British waters or a part of the high seas. 
 One of the companies laid a cable and buoys within the bay at 
 a distance of more than three miles from the shore, and the rival 
 company contended that the former had infringed rights 
 granted to them by the Legislature of Newfoundland. The 
 Judicial Committee held that Conception Bay was within the 
 territorial dominion of Great Britain. All bodies of water or 
 inlets inter faiices temv, being then clearly within the terri- 
 torial jurisdiction of England and her dependencies, it follows 
 that when the Americans by the Convention of 1818 explicitly 
 renounced all liberty previously enjoyed to fish "on or within 
 three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or har- 
 bours of His Britannic Majesty's dominions," they gave U[) 
 any pretensions they muy previously have had, and confined 
 
 * The Queen v. Keyn, L. R. 2 Ex. Div. 63. 
 
 t The Direct United States Cable Co. (Limited), Appellants, i'. The Aiiijflo- 
 Aniericau Telcii^raph Co. (Limited) and other llespoiidents, L. R. App. Cases, 
 
 v(d. ii.:i'JJ., 
 
 b3 
 
12 The Fishery Question : 
 
 themselves to the waters a leafjue distant from those indents 
 measun^l from headland to headland. The British Govern- 
 ment, in their desire to afford every facility to the United 
 States consistent with their sovereii^n rights and the interests of 
 the people of British North America, have since 1815 thought 
 it expedient to relax, in the case of the Bay of Fundy, the appli- 
 cation of the rule to which they have generally adhered. They 
 have permitted American fishermen to pursue their calling it) 
 any part of the bay, provided they should not approach, except 
 in cases specified by the treaty of 1S18, within three miles of 
 the entrance of any bay on the coast of Nova Scotia or New 
 Brunswick. While maintaining, as a matter of strict construc- 
 tion, that this large bay is rightfully claimed by Great Britain as 
 a body of water within the meaning of the Convention of 1818, 
 they have considered that in one respect this inlet could be 
 treated exceptionally, inasmuch as there was some plausibility in 
 the reasonini]; of the United States, that the headlands were not 
 only sixty miles apart, but one of them was not British ; and 
 that, as pointed out by Mr. Everett to Lord Aberdeen in 1844, 
 " Owing to the peculiar configuration of the coasts of this arm of 
 the sea there is a succession of bays indenting the shores both of 
 ISiova Scotia and New Brunswick, within any distance not less 
 tha!i three miles, from which American fishermen were neces- 
 sarily excluded by holding the whole body of water to be in the 
 British territorial limits." The same argument could not bo 
 used in the case of the Bay of Chaleurs or other important 
 indents of the coasts, and under these circumstances, with a view 
 of preventing international disputes in waters so close to the 
 United States territory, the British Government have never 
 pressed their undoubted legal right to exclude American fisher- 
 men from the bay in question. 
 
 The Imperial authorities have on many occasions strictly 
 maintained the rights they possess under the law of nations. 
 From 1818 to 1854 the British cruisers detailed by the Imperial 
 and Colonial Governments for the protection of their fisheries 
 captured and confiscated several American vessels that were 
 found ranging at points varying from quite near the shore to a 
 distance of upwards of ten miles from land, on the ground that 
 they were within the headlands of bays. In 185 1<, after con- 
 siderable negotiation for years, the two Governments arranged a 
 Reciprocity Treaty which temporarily settled the increasitjg 
 difficulties on the question. By this treaty the United States 
 obtained free access to the fishing-grounds on tiie east coast of 
 British North America, and certain natural products of these 
 two countries, like fish, coal, fltnu^ meal, lumber, and salt, were 
 allowed to enter into Ctach, free of duty. This arrangement was 
 
ItH Imperial Importance. 13 
 
 of undoubted advantage to the United States and the provinces. 
 from a purely commercial point of view. Not only did it settle 
 for the moment an ever-present cause of irritation, but it opened 
 a large and increasing market to the export trade of British 
 North America, while the Americans were able to prosecute one 
 of their great industries at a decided advantage, and at the same 
 time obtain additional biiyers for their flour, corn, meal, and 
 manufactured goods. It is necessary, however, to observe that 
 the maritime provinces never considered the commercial conces- 
 sions made to them by the United States as an adequate com- 
 pensation for the very valuable fisheries of British Xortli America. 
 In those days, indeed, the Americans, by their greater enterprise 
 and the superiority of their vessels, practically beat the British 
 American fisherman in their own waters, and derived advantages, 
 it was claimed, beyond any granted by the United States. From 
 an Imperial or national point of view, the Reciprocity Treaty had 
 its dangers as long as the provinces had no bonds of union. It 
 enticed thousands of the most enterprising youih of the country 
 into the lishing fleet o> New England — and many of the schooners 
 of Gloucester and Marblehead are even yet manned by Nova 
 Scotians — and made the commerce of the maritime provinces in 
 the course of years very largely dependent on the United States. 
 In those days the provinces were isolated from each other, and 
 a commercial or political union between them seemed still far 
 off. In the absence of such a union, the people were not ani- 
 mated by a national feeling, but some of them began to consider 
 whether a closer connection with the United States was not 
 among the probabilities of the future. Manufactures were 
 brought in large quantities from the United States in return 
 for the natural products sent them by the provinces, and there 
 was no prospect of the growth of a native manufacturing industry 
 to add to the wealth and give additional employment to the 
 people, large numbers of whom were annually leaving the country 
 for the manufacturinfj: districts of New Ensfland. Whilst the 
 treaty lasted the balance of trade with respect to manufactured 
 goods amounted to £18,0(10,000 sterling in favour of the United 
 States. The treaty came to an end iu 1865 by the action of 
 the Washington Government. Its repeal was notoriously hastened 
 by the desire that generally prevailed among a large number of 
 people in the United States to punish, if possible, the provinces 
 for the sympathy which the majority of them were believed to 
 have extended to the South durin<j^ the War of Seces.^ion. A few 
 public men, especially in New England, seem to have been led 
 away by the belief that the treaty was indispensable to the 
 commercial prosperity of the maritime provinces, and tliut they 
 could be starved int«j annexation, or into eventually giving up 
 
14 Tlie Fhherij Question : 
 
 the fisheries on very advantageous terms to the Americans. The 
 results have not been as the Americans i:nticipated. Happily 
 for the national interests of British jS'orth America, its public 
 men agreed at this critical juncture in their affairs to a political 
 union, which has stimulated intercolonial trade, civen a new 
 direction to colonial commerce, and taught the people the neces- 
 sity of self-reliance, and of promoting a national policy in all 
 matters affecting their political and industrial interests. 
 
 ]n the meantime, while the people of the provinces were 
 endeavouring to consolidate their Government, and establish a 
 lederatiou on a '30und basis, they found themselves threatened 
 with ti;e fishery question in its irritating form. The Convention 
 of 1818 was again in force, and the fishermen of New England 
 were once more ranging in their waters. All the efforts of the 
 Canadian Government to bring about a satisfactory commercial 
 arrangement with the United States were entirely unsuccessful. 
 The question then constantly pressed itself upon them, how best 
 to meet the difficulty of maintaining their rights without bringing 
 about any serious international complication. The correspond- 
 ence between England and Canada, as it appears in the Canadian 
 Blue-books from lb 67 to 1871, is not very flattering to the 
 national vanity of those Englishmen who believe there are times 
 when a little firmness is necessary in the maintenance of un- 
 doubted Imperial rights. All the despatches of the British 
 Government are in the direction of conciliatinsf the United States 
 in every way possible, until at last it was pointed out in one 
 Canadian Minute of Council that "the course suggested (the 
 freedom of the fisheries for another year) would certainly be 
 regarded by the American people as an evidence of weakness on 
 the part of Great Britain, and of an indisposition to maintain the 
 rights of the colonists." The answers of the Canadian Govern- 
 ment to the despatches from the Imperial authorities are dis- 
 tinguished throughout by a firm assertion of the rights and 
 interests of Canada, and in yielding as they did on several 
 occasions to the suggestions of the Colonial Secretary they proved 
 the anxiety of Canadians not in any way to emharrass England 
 at a time when the Alabama question had caused u feeling of 
 deep irritation against her in the Northern States. Concession 
 after concession was made to the United States, until at one 
 time it did look, as Mr. Mitchell, the able Minister of Marine , 
 and Fisheries, pointed out to his colleagues, there was every 
 danger that " the hesitation on the part of England to assert an 
 undoubted national right would be misconstrued, and be made 
 the ground for other and more serious exactions, until such a 
 point la reached that neither country can recede from with 
 honour.'' However, the Canadian Government reluctantly 
 
Its Imperial Iinpoitance. 15 
 
 acquiesced in the sug:gestion of her Majesty's Ministers at tlie 
 very outset, and adopted the temporary expedient of issuing 
 season licenses to American fishing vessels at a nominal tonnage 
 /ate, " so as formally to preserve the right of sovereignty without 
 occasioning any dangerous comphcations such as were appre- 
 hended by the Imperial authorities.'^ American fishermen were 
 restrained at first to bays under ten geographical miles, and sub- 
 sequently to those only under six miles in width — a concession 
 entirely in accord with the demands of the United States before 
 and since 1854. They required that three warnings should l)e 
 given to American fishermen, and consequently rendered the 
 licensing system eventually a nullity. During the four years 
 this system remained in force it was systematically evaded, and 
 at last became practically worthless, according as the Americans 
 began to uuderstand that the British authorities were very lax in 
 executing it. In the first year of its existence, -'354 licenses w-ere 
 taken out, but they dropped to 25 in 18G9, though every one 
 knew that the Canadian waters were largely frequented by 
 American fishermen. The impression prevailed among the latter 
 that her Majesty's Government, in their great anxiety to avoid 
 anything of an irritating tendency in the existing temper of the 
 American people towards Great Uritain, arising out of the 
 Alabama grievance, would not make any seizures ; and, as a 
 matter of fact, notwithstanding repeated violations, no captures 
 were ever heard of. Vice- A.dmiral Wellesley, then in command 
 of the Noith American fleet, considered it his duty to point out 
 to the Secretary of the Admiralty that " as a consequence of the 
 continued indulgence towards the Americans, very few colonial 
 fishermen are engaged in fishing, owing to the almost prohibitory 
 tariff imposed by the United States on fish imported in colonial 
 vessels, and colonial fishermen therefore in considerable num- 
 bers man American vessels." The (government of Canada, led 
 then as now by Sir John Macdonald, known the world over 
 as a statesman of broad national views, felt called upon to state 
 that they viewed 
 
 with very serious concern the effect upon our maritime population 
 of such dependence upon American einjiloyers. It creates sympathy 
 with foreign sentiments and institutions, and aifords o[)portunities lor 
 instilling into the minds of our peoplf ideas and expectations altogether 
 inimical to British connection. There is actually presenter^ to tlieni the 
 example of subjects of a republican power and citizens of a foreign 
 JState prosecuting their calling at the very doors and in the exclusive 
 limits of British subjects in Canada, who are themselves shut out of 
 the markets of that country by a prohibitive tariff adopted in the 
 interest of their own fishermen, while ours cannot even enjoy their 
 own exclu&ive privileges. The influence of these considerations cannot 
 
16 The Fishery Question : 
 
 be otlierwise than seductive of the loyal attachment and pcrsonjil 
 enterprise of our seaboard population. It discourages the independent 
 employment of Canadian fibbing craft and provincial fishermen. It 
 tempts our fishermen to catch and sell their fish clandestinely to owners 
 of Air.erican vessels, who can afterwards market them in the United 
 States, free of duty, as American-caught fish. This practice demoralizes 
 our population, and accustoms them to violations of our own laws. 
 
 Finally, owing to the urgent representations of the Canadian 
 Government, the Imperial authorities arranged with the Admmis- 
 tration at Washington the appointment of a joint British and 
 American Commission " to treat of and discuss the mode of 
 settling the different questions which have arisv .1 out of the 
 lisheries, as well as those which affect the relations of the United 
 States towards Her Majesty's possessions in North America." 
 Though the chief object of this Commission, when first discussed, 
 was to consider the fishery question, the Government of the 
 United States succeeded in having its scope subsequently enlarged 
 so as to include the Alabama controversy. Consequently the 
 fishery question soon took an altogether secondary place, and the 
 strong claims which the Canadians had against the Washingt()n 
 Government for the expenses and losses incurred by them 
 through the Fenian invasions of 18G6 and 1^70 were entirely 
 ignored by the High Commission. The history of this Commis- 
 sion is well known, and all that is necessary to say here is, that 
 it looked very much for a while as if the fisheries of Canada 
 were to be given up to the United States without adequate com- 
 pensation. The American Commissioners, in accordance with 
 the policy which the United States had steadily pursued towards 
 Canada since 1805, refused to consider a new Reciprocity Treaty, 
 and it was at last decided to admit the United States to the 
 inshore sea fisheries of British North America, on condition that 
 Canadian fish and fish-oil were atlmitted free of duty into the 
 American market, and that commissioners be appointed to deter- 
 mine the amount of any compensation which in their opinion 
 ought to be paid by the Government of the United States in 
 return for the privileges accorded to their citizens under the 
 treaty. It will be seen that the claim which the people of 
 Canada had been making for years to have coasting privileges on 
 the American shores were not yielded, if indeed they were ever 
 seriously considered. But strong as were their doubts of the, 
 justice of the Treaty, regretful though they were that the 
 whole question of the fisheries, especially as respects the three 
 miles' limit, had not been for once and ever settled on a 
 fair and equitable basis, the Canadians acknowledged' the diflfi- 
 culties of the situation from an Imperial point of view, and 
 determined to yield to the force of circumstances, with the hope 
 
Its Imiierial Importance. 17 
 
 that their interests would be eventually guarded by the new 
 Commission that was to consider the question of compensation. 
 Their hopes were not disappointed by the decision of the Com- 
 mission, which met at Halifax in the summer of 1S77. Tlie 
 three Commissioners — M. Maurice Delfosse, Belgian Minister at 
 Washington ; Mr. E. li. Kellogg, and Sir A. T. Gait — gave a 
 most patient hearing to the claims of the parties to the issue, and 
 after v.onsidering all the evidencj submitted to them, a majority 
 decided to award the sum of 5,500,000 dols. in gold, to be paid 
 by the Government of the United States to the Government of 
 Great Ikitain, in accordance with the provisions of the Washing- 
 ton Treaty. Mr. Kellogg, however, on the part of the United 
 States, dissented i'rom the award, though it is impossible to read 
 the Blue-book containing^ the evidence and arofuments of counsel 
 on both sides without coming to the honest conclusion that the 
 Dominion made out a clear case, and that the sum in question 
 was only fair compensation over and above the relatively small 
 commercial advantages conceded to Canada by the terms of the 
 Treaty of Washington, In all probability the Americans were 
 surprised that for once in the history of treaties between them- 
 selves and Great Britain they were obliged to concede more than 
 they intended when they proposed a Commission for the settle- 
 ment of the question. The history of the JVIaine, Oregon, and 
 San Juan boundaries, had taught them probably to believe that 
 a little diplomatic ingenuity on their part would enable them to 
 get the better of England and her great dependency in this 
 matter. Iliac illw lachryinco. 
 
 However disappointed the Americans may have felt at the 
 award, they had no other alternative open to them than to pay 
 the money and carry out the provisions of the Washington 
 Treaty. The arrangement was advantageous to both countries, 
 since it set at rest a vexatious question and stimulated com- 
 mercial intercourse between them. The Canadians were not 
 surprised, however, to find that the American Government, in 
 accordance with their ])ast policy with respect to the fisheries, 
 gave due notice of the repeal of the treaty after it had been in 
 existence for twelve years. Consequently it expired in July 
 1SS5, and the Convention of 1818 should have once more 
 immediately governed the relations of the two nations. It was 
 not thought advisable, however, by either the Canadian or 
 the Imperial Government to exclude American fishermen at 
 once from the fisheries, as many of them were already in Cana- 
 dian waters when the treaty came to an end, and had they 
 l)een seized without full notice having been previously given 
 them, a serious feeling might have arisen between the countries 
 immediately interested. After considerable correspondence 
 
18 The Fialurij Question •• 
 
 between the respective Governments of London, Ottawa, and 
 Washington, it was agreed that steps should be tak^n at the 
 earhest date possible for the appointment of a joint Commission 
 "charged with the consideration and settlement, upon a just, 
 equitable, and honourable basis, of the enJre question of the 
 fishing rights of the two Governr nts and their respective 
 citizens on the coasts of the United States and of iiritish North 
 America." Accordingly, during the past season, American 
 fishermen freely frequented the waters of the Dominion, while 
 Canadian fishermen had not only to suffer this foreign com- 
 petition at their own doors, but found the market heretofore 
 open to them in the United States crippled by high import 
 duties at a time when the price of this staple article of com- 
 merce was exceedingly low, and the demand in the West Indies 
 had fallen off on account of the depression existing in the sugar 
 industry of those islands. However, Canada had no other course 
 open to her in this perplexing dilemma, involving such im- 
 portant international considerations, than to agree to the tem- 
 porary arrangement in question, with the hope that the difficulty 
 would be satisfactorily settled in the way proposed. It is pleasant 
 to find that President Cleveland is evidently desirous of arriving 
 at a just and honourable solution of the question as soon as 
 possible. In his message to Congress in December last he 
 expresses his opinion that, " in the interest of good neighbour- 
 hood and of the commercial intercourse of adjacent communi- 
 ties, the question of the North American fisheries is one of large 
 importance/'' After recommending that Congress provide for 
 the appointment of a Commission, he proceeds to say: "The 
 fishing interests being intimately related to other general 
 questions dependent upon contiguity, consideration thereof, in 
 all their equities, might also properly come within the province 
 of such a Commission, and the fullest latitude of ex[)res:jion on 
 both sides should be permitted." 
 
 We have now given an historical review of this question 
 since it became a matter of controversy between Great Britain 
 and the United States. It will be seen that throughout all the 
 negotiations on the fisheries the public men of Canada have 
 shown a fair and conciliatory disposition, which ought to be fully 
 appreciated by their neighbours, now that happily there exists a 
 far better understar.ding on all questions than was the case up 
 to 1871, when the people of the United States were not so - 
 favourably disposed towards Canadians and Englishmen 
 generally. It is obviously inconvenient on all sides that these 
 international issues should be of constant occurrence when it 
 has always been possible to settle them for a long term of years, 
 if not for all time. The Canadians have always felt — and Presi- 
 
Its Imperial Importance. 
 
 19 
 
 dent Cleveland evidently feels the same way — that the fishery 
 question is intimately connected with the commercial relations 
 oH the two countries, and that it ohould be arranged in the shape 
 of a new Reciprocity Treaty like that of 1854. When their 
 efforts to brino; about such a business arranofemGnt failed in 
 1865, and a^T^ain in 1871 when the Washington Treatv was con- 
 eluded, they felt compelled to assume a dignified attitude and 
 make no more approaches to the United States on th6 subject, 
 though they placed a clause in their Customs Act which permits 
 the Canadian Government at any time to modify or remove the 
 duties on certain American products whenever their neighbours 
 pursue a similar policy towards the Dominion, They have been 
 always ready to meet the people of the United States ** in the 
 interest of good neighbourhood ; " and it is now for Congress to 
 show how far it is prepared to go in the direction indicated in 
 the friendly language of Mr. Cleveland. Canada is curious to 
 see whether there is to be at last a new policy with respect to 
 herself — a policy of liberality and justice worthy of a great 
 people. 
 
 Canadians cannot well exaggerate the importance of their 
 fisheries from a national as well as commercial point of view. 
 Whilst the fisheries of the United States on the New England 
 coasts have become relatively unimportant, those of British 
 North America still give employment to a large number of 
 people, and are the foundations of the wealth and prosperity of 
 the maritime provinces. They are not a declining, but an in- 
 creasing branch of industry and commerce. In 18(37, when the 
 provinces were confederated, the value of the total product of the 
 lake, river, and sea fisheries of Canada amounted to only a little 
 over £2,000,0(H) sterling in round numbers, but in 1884- it reached 
 
 roiiowmg ngures : — 
 
 
 Nova Scotia . . . . . 
 
 . £1,800,000 
 
 New Brunswick .... 
 
 800,000 
 
 Quebec ..... 
 
 350,000 
 
 British Columbia .... 
 
 300,000 
 
 Ontario ..... 
 
 250,000 
 
 P. E. Island .... 
 
 210,000 
 
 Total for the Dominion 
 
 . £3,710,000 
 
 Add estimated product of Newfoun 
 
 dland 2,000,000 
 
 Total for British North America 
 
 . £5,710,000 
 
 Newfoundland, however, does not stand in the same position 
 as the Dominion with respect to the Americans. Her fisheries 
 are chiefly of cod, pursued in the Grand and other banks on 
 
20 The Fmhery Question : 
 
 which English, French, and Arnericaus have equal rights of 
 fishing. When the question of compensation to all the provinces 
 came before the Commission in LS77, it was shown that the 
 Americans derived decided advantages from the privileges con- 
 ceded to them on the coasts of the island, of procuring bait and 
 supplies, refitting, drying, and transhipping their cargoes, while 
 their vessels contrive to prosecute the fisheries the whole season. 
 It is, however, as we have already shown, within three miles of 
 the bays and coasts of the maritime provinces of the Dominion 
 that the Americans prosecute the mackerel, herring, and other 
 fisheries, to which they attach so much value. The annual value 
 of the Canadian catch of mackerel is now about £i.j(),()00 a year, 
 and of the herring, £000,000, It is impossible, from American 
 statistical returns, to obtain the exact value of the tish caught 
 in Canadian waters by American tishermen, but if any one has 
 the patience to go through the evidence adduced before the Com- 
 mission of 1877, he will see that there has been for half a 
 century a large number of American vessels annually distributed 
 off the coasts of the Dominion. Between 400 and 500 vessels 
 annually pass through the Gut of Canseau on their way to the 
 mackerel fishery of the gulf, and it may be estimated that 
 altogether from 700 to 800 vessels now yearly compete with the 
 Canadians for their fisheries. Every schooner engaged in the 
 mackerel fishery takes on an average 300 barrels of that fish 
 alone, worth about £2 5s. each. The facilities enjoyed by the 
 Americans of landing and transhipping their fish to the United 
 States, as it may suit their convenience, under the treaties here- 
 tofore in force, have enabled them to compete with the Canadians 
 on the most favourable terms. Not only are the Canadians 
 forced to meet this formidable competition, but they find their 
 fisheries injuriously affected by the appliances used by the 
 Americans in prosecuting their vocation. One of the Canadian 
 inspectors, in charge of one of the most important maritime 
 districts, reports that " the practice of seine fishing is monopolized 
 almost entirely by the fishermen of the United States, and is 
 strongly protested against by the resident fishermen on the coast.^' 
 By this method the fish are culled, and all those too small to 
 furnish the required grade are thrown dead into the sea ; and 
 consequently there is an enormous waste of young fish every 
 year, and the fishing-grounds are seriously polluted. The same 
 officer also bears testimony to the vigorous prosecution of th6 
 Canadian fisheries by the Americans, and lets us into the secret 
 of the difficulty of obtaining accurate statistics of the American 
 catch in the waters cf the Dominion : 
 
 The seining by the fishermen of the United States, which proved 
 to them so prolific of rich fares, was prosecuted almost entirely 
 
Its Imperial Iinpoitance. 21 
 
 inside of the headlands and within the bays of the coast — i.e., the 
 three miles' limits ; yet it is a fact capable of proof that tliey had 
 private instructions to report, on their arrival in their own ports, 
 thao their cargoes were entirely taken outside of the three miles' limit. 
 
 There is every reason to believe that the fisheries of Canada 
 are at the present time just as valuable to the United States as 
 they were in 1877, when it was decided to grant over a million 
 pounds sterling to Canada as C()mpens;iti()n due to her beyond 
 any advantages derived from the removal of the duty on the 
 products of her sea fisheries. The Canadian fish annually im- 
 ported into Boston and othi r ports of the United States is indis- 
 pensable as an article of food and commerce, and must be pur- 
 chased by the Americans as long as they cannot supply their 
 wants from their own waters. It is quite safe to say that 
 Canada is fully justified in demanding the free admission into 
 the markets of the United States of her coal, salt, lumber, lish, 
 and agricultural products, in return for giving the Americans free 
 access to her lisheries and reciprocity of trade in the articles just 
 mentioned. Indeed, it is well known that the lumber trade with 
 the United States has not dmiinished in consequence of the 
 heavy import duty to which it is subject, but must increase in 
 importance whilst the forests of the West become less valuable 
 and unable to supply the demands made upon them from year 
 to year as the country increases in population and wealth. In 
 the case of coal the removal of the present duty will be an 
 advantage to the maritime provinces, but looking at the bulk 
 of exports of Canada to the United States, it is clear that they 
 are of prime necessity to the people of the latter country, and 
 a new Keciprocity Treaty under existing circumstances will 
 lessen prices and conduce largely to the benefit of American 
 consumers. But Canadians have always recognized the fact 
 that a treaty based on equitable principles will be commercially 
 advantageous to both countries, and clearly "in the interest of 
 good neighbourhood." Canada, it must be also remembered, 
 occupies a position very different from the one she held from 
 l!S5t to 1865, when the provinces were politically and com- 
 mercially isolated from each other, and were annually flooded 
 by American manufactures. Now a large interprovincial trade 
 lias grown up since 1867, manufactures have been established, a 
 national spirit of self-reliance has been created, and the 
 Dominion can enter into a new Reciprocity Treaty without 
 any fear of the ulterior consequences upon the people in any 
 section. Canadians are now prosecuting the fisheries with great 
 vigour, and with the swift vessels and better appliances they are 
 now employing they need not so much fear competition in their 
 own waters as in old times. Animated by the new spirit of 
 
2E l^he Fishery Question : 
 
 national unity that is the natural outcome of confederation, and 
 fully conscious that their existence or prosperity does not depend 
 ou tlie commercial caprice of any country, they can survey the 
 whole situation with confidence and equanimity. They feel 
 at the same time that, with the friendly feeling that now 
 exists between England, the United States, and Canada, the 
 prospects of a newtreatyandof the settlement of the whole Fishery 
 question ought to be favourable. It is true there are signs of opposi- 
 tion to a Fishery Commission shown in New England ; but they 
 are of a purely selfish nature, and not based on broad national 
 considerations, and they should not prevail in the face of the 
 statesmanlike action already taken by President Cleveland and 
 Secretary Bayard. 
 
 Of the national importance of the fisheries there is abundant 
 evidence. It may be said of the maritime provinces of the 
 Dominion, as of the wealthy city of Amsterdam, that the origin 
 of their prosperity must be sought in the fisheries. They form 
 the basis of a great commerce, and of a large and increasing 
 marine, only exceeded in aggregate tonnage by three nations of 
 the world. At the present time Canada exports fish to the 
 annual value of £1,800,000 sterling, of which the United States 
 take £800,000, and the West Indies and South American 
 countries about £750,000. Newfoundland has an export trade 
 to about the same amount, but her commerce is chiefly with 
 Spain, Portugal, and South America. The prosecution of the 
 fisheries and their carriage to foreign countries have served to 
 create a hardy and industrious class of men, who possess all the 
 qualities of first-rate sailors. The following tabular statement 
 will show the importance that this industry has attained in each 
 of those provinces of Canada largely engaged in maritime 
 pursuits : — 
 
 Decked vessels. Boats. Men. 
 
 Nova Scotia . . 796 ... 7,528 ... 30,000 
 
 New Brunswick . . 2U ... 4,440 ... 9,000 
 
 Prince Edward Island . 25 ... 2,704 ... 5,500 
 Quebec . . .146 ... 6,761 ... 11,000 
 
 Total . . 1,181 21,433 55,500 * 
 
 The figures for Newfoundland are not available, but we may 
 add 36,000 as probably the number of men engaged in all th.e 
 fisheries in that island. The carriage of the products of the sea 
 gives employment to a large proportion of the shipping of British 
 North America. In 1857 the iJominion of Canada owned 5,882 
 vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 800,000 tons, and valued 
 at £5,000,000 sterling. The construction of steam and iron vessels 
 of recent years has necessarily lessened the demand for wooden 
 
Its Imperial Importance. 2S 
 
 craft, but nevertheless the marine of Canada shows an increase 
 during the past eighteen years. In ISSl tiie total number of 
 sailing vessels, steamers, and barges registered in the Dominion 
 was 7,254-, measuring 1,253,747 tons, and valued at over 
 £7,500,000. Even in that dull year Canada built 3S7 vessels, of 
 an aggregate tonnage of 72, HI tons, and of the value of £71)0,000. 
 The number of steamers is steadilv on the increase — the acrtjre- 
 gate tonnage of this class having been 207,0()*J tons in li^Si. 
 Canada consequently owns a commercial marine of which the 
 whole tonnage is exceeded only by that of Great Britain, the 
 United States, and Norway. It may be estimated that Cana<la 
 has now at least 75,000 men regularly employed in her fisheries 
 and carrying trade. In every port of the world, at some time 
 or other in the course of the year, we can see Canadian sailors 
 and Canadian ships.* 
 
 The foregoing figures show the importance of the fisheries as an 
 element of national wealth and strength. In the 'lefences of the 
 Dominion the seventy-five thousand men who sail the vessels and 
 till the deep-sea pastures of Canada must perform an active part. 
 Here exists a Naval Reserve from which the Empire could draw 
 at need in a great Imperial crisis. In an able essay, published 
 by Captain Colorab, R.N., some years ago, he referred at length 
 to this very subject, and showed how the resources of all parts of 
 the Empire can be efficiently combined and organized so as to 
 render each and all almost impregnable. He has shown that 
 the main object of the naval organization of the Empire should 
 consist in the maintenance of its communications by sea, and 
 that the coaling stations of Great Britain abroad are the principal 
 strategical positions which it is essential to guard. He argued 
 that this object will be best attained by the maintenance of an 
 adequate sea-going fleet, charged with two great defensive func- 
 tions — one to keep the enemy in his own ports, and the other to 
 keep open the great sea routes to and from the heart of the 
 Empire. No doubt the time must come when the whole 
 question of the defence of the Empire will require the earnest 
 consideration of Imperial and Colonial statesmen. If the grand 
 
 * I see to every wind unfurled 
 
 The flag that bears the maple wreath ; 
 Th)' swift keels furrow round the world, 
 Its blood- red folds beneath. 
 
 Thy swift keels cleave the farthest seas; 
 
 Thy white sails swell with alien gales ; 
 To stream on each remotest breeze, 
 
 The black smoke of thy pipes exhales.^ 
 
 1 "Canada: A Poem." By T. G. Roberts. The Century Magazine, 
 January 1886. 
 
24 The Fishery Question : 
 
 scheme of Imperial Federation which is now the dream of 
 poHtical enthusiasts should ever reach the arena of practical 
 discussion, the question of defence will be one of the first subjects 
 of deliberation, but if that scheme in its entirety should prove 
 impractical)le, it ought at least to be the patriotic aim of the 
 ])ublic men of England and her semi-independent colonies to 
 unite for common commercial and defensive purposes. It is 
 quite clear that the old times, when England took part in 
 aggressive wars, as in the days of Louis Quatorze and Napo- 
 leon I,, are over, and that her policy will be henceforth to confine 
 herself to the protection of her widely extended dominions. A 
 I)oIicy of defence that will combine all the resources of her 
 dependencies is one calculated to maintain her prestige and 
 prevent the disintegration of her vast Empire. The triumphs 
 of steam and electricity are effectually surmounting the difficulties 
 of distance, and should render more practicable what some 
 persons persist in believing to be mere visions of a united 
 Empire. In any plan of Imperial defence Canada must hence- 
 forth perform an important part. On her Atlantic and Pacific 
 coasts are the finest harbours of the world, and enormous 
 deposits of bituminous coal available for steam purposes. 
 Halifax is a strongly fortified port, with a large dock3?ard ; and 
 at Louisbourg — now desolate, but once a famous fortress of the 
 French — could well be established another important station for 
 a naval squadron. Both at these places and in British Columbia 
 can be formed those coaling stations which, as Captain Colomb 
 has pointed out, are essential as strategical positions. The 
 present Governor-General of Canada in a recent speech referred 
 to the important works tl«at are now in course of construction 
 on the Pacific coast for purposes of defence. 
 
 You have here at Esquirnalt (he said) a naval station likely to 
 become one of the greatest and most important strongholds ot" the 
 Empire. You have a coal supply sulHcient for all the navies of the 
 world. You have a line of railway which is ready to bring that coal 
 up to the harbour of Esquinialt. You will shortly have a graving- 
 dock capable of accommodating all but one or two of her Majesty's 
 largest ships. You have, in short, all the conditions re<iuisite for what 
 1 beheve is spoken of as a j)lace (Valines; but until now that j)la':e 
 d'armes lias been inaccessible except by sea. We shall henceforth be 
 able to bring supplies, stores, and material of war, by an alternative 
 route, direct, expeditious, and lying for more than half its way over 
 British territory." 
 
 An astute statesman, the Marquis of Lansdowne, fully 
 appreciates the Imperial importance of the Canadian Pacilic 
 Railway as a meaus of keeping open the communications between 
 
Its Imjjeiial Importance. '^^ 
 
 England and her dependencies ia the East, and of strengthening 
 the defences of the Empire at large. Possessing as she does the 
 great steam fleet of the world, and the power of increasing it to 
 still larger proportions, she can always maintain a steady and 
 secure communication with China, Japan, Australia, and even 
 with India, and all other countries in which she has important 
 interests at stake. From her depots at Halifax, or other places 
 on the Atlantic coast of the Dominion, she can in four days 
 reach the shores of the Pacific, and supply a fleet ordered to 
 protect her interests in the East, should they ever be threatened 
 by Russia or any other Power. It is well known that Russia is 
 creeping down the coast of Mancl. uria to the borders of the 
 Corea, and has already taken possession of the island of 
 Saghalien. Mr. Laurence Oiiphant, in a recent issue of Blcck- 
 wood's Magazine, has shown that she has had her eyes for years 
 on Tsusima, which occupies a commanding position in the 
 straits separating Corea from Japan. Whilst preserving 
 Bladivostock, at the extreme southern corner of the Russian 
 Asiatic coast, as the base of all serious operations, she is likely 
 sooner or later to seize Tsusima, or other available spot in those 
 Eastern waters, and '• fortify it as a marine station, well armed 
 and provisioned, whence her fleets can issue at all seasons, and 
 prey upon our commerce and bombard our colonies."" Should 
 ever a great struggle for the supremacy in the East occur 
 between England and Russia — and there are many keen students 
 of Russian policy and history who believe it is inevitable in the 
 course of time — the ports of Canada and her trans-continental 
 line of railway must be found invaluable auxiliaries in supporting 
 the honour and dignity of England, The fishermen and sailors 
 of the Dominion must prove an element of great strength in the 
 maintenance of the line of communications with England and 
 those countries with which she is politically or commercially 
 identified. They can man the vessels necessary to protect our 
 ports, and otherwise assist in the naval defences of the Empire. 
 A thousand stalwart fishermen from Nova Scotia would aid 
 materially in the defence of British Columbia or any other 
 section of Canada. 
 
 Looking then at the maritime industries of Canada from an 
 Imperial as well as a purely commercial standpoint, we cannot 
 fail to see how intimately connected they are with the security 
 of the Empire. AVe all know that no country can be truly great 
 that has not a seaboard and does not follow maritime pursuits. 
 Spain sank low in the scale of nations as her maritime power 
 declined with the loss of her great colonies. The prosperity of 
 Italy has increased with the growth of her commerce and ship- 
 ping, and she need no longer lament the palmy days of Genoa 
 
26 The Fishery Question. 
 
 and Venice. We all know why St. Petersburg was built on a 
 marsh ; and the history of this century is replete with the evidence 
 of the desire of Russia to establish herself within the (iolden 
 Horn. France has fed her navy from the hardy Bretons and 
 Normans who have served a rude api)renticeship on the Banks 
 of Newfoundland. Canada, as yet with a population of about 
 five million souls, already possesses a marine greater than that 
 of Russia, Germany, Italy, or France. Prosperous as may be 
 hereafter her commerce in manufactures or in agricultural pro- 
 ducts, it is on her rich fisheries must always rest in a large 
 measure her maritime greatness. These fisheries must in the 
 nature of things continue to be the most prolific in the world. 
 The icy currents that come from the North bring with them a 
 vast collection of minute organisms, which form the food of the 
 myriads of fish that annually frequent the waters of British 
 North America. The industries that depend on the products 
 of these waters are expanding with the increase of capital and 
 enterprise, and there is no limit apparently, to their influence on 
 the prosperity of the provinces by the sea, and indeed of the whole 
 Dominion. As long as the fisheries of Canada are prosecuted 
 with vigour, they must form no inconsiderable element of the 
 wealth of the country, and at the same time continue to give 
 employment to a large class of hardy men, whose courage 
 and endurance will be found invaluable in the defence of the 
 Empire, with which the people of Canada hope always to remain 
 connected. 
 
 BALLANTYNH PRESS, CHANDOS STREET, W.C.