The New York herald., 1878-02-26
An Old Trouble Revived.

| special correspondence from Gloucester,
Mass, to which place the boats that suffered
the outrage belonged. A large feet of YES
sells left Gloucester in December after her.
ring. Some fifteen first class schooners
were in Fortune By early in January anx-
iously awaiting the expected arrival OF the
fish, having been prevented from buying by
the high price demanded by the Newfound-
land fishermen. On the 18th Of January
the herring struck in in immense quanti-
ties and the American vessels, after engaging
the help OF as many unemployed Newfound-
land fishermen as they could find, set to work
to fill their vessels. On the following day,
which happened to be Sunday, two Of the
schooners commenced making sweep with
seines between the vessels, the ends being
secured on shore, and they were soon filled
with herring, estimated at three thousand
barrels in ALL But the Newfoundland men,
enraged at the loss of what they had antici-
pated would be profitable market, resolved
to prevent the Americans from securing car
goes, and gathered in large numbers on the
shore for that purpose. After some incendi-
ary language had been addressed to them
by the leaders the Dominion fishermen
commenced their work OF violence. They
seized the ends of the seines belonging to
the schooners Ontario and New England,
dragged them ashore, destroyed the seines,
stealing and dividing the remnants, and let
out the whole school of fish, Emboldened
by this success they proceeded to warn
the other American vessels that their seines
would be treated in the same way if they
persisted in setting them, and that they
would be towed out of the harbor if they
did not desist from fishing. The schooner
Moses Adams had her seines down at the
time, and the crew were engaged in scoop
ing the herring in and transferring them to
the vessel when the infuriated Newfound-
lers put off in boats to repeat the outrage
they had already committed and to capture
the seines. But the captain of the schooner
was not disposed to yield his rights quite
so easily as the Bluenoses imagined. Ac-
cording to the Cape Ann Adcertiser Captain
Jacobs proved himself to be possessed of
the true grit of a Yankee seaman He armed
his crew with revolvers, and, taking prom
shooter in his hand he quietly assured the
Newfoundland crowd that he intended to
protect his property and his rights
at any hazard, and that the first man
who dared to lay hand on his
seines would assuredly pay the forfeit of
his life The Newfoundlanders, perceiving
that Captain Jacobs was in earnest, displayed
commendable discretion and left him to Sc
cure Il cargo, but the other vessels of the
fleet, with one exception, were compelled
to return home light, entailing heavy loss
on the Gloucester people.
The American fishermen were clearly
within the limit Of the privilege secured to
them by the stipulations of the treaty of
1871, which became operative through the
necessary legislation by the several coun-
tries in July, 1873, and which stipulations
were extended to Newfoundland in accord
ance with q provision of the treaty by o
colonial statute passed in March, 1874.
The act of securing their seines to the
shore was The only one in which the Ameri-
cans could have possibly exceeded their
rights, and this would only cover techni-
cal point by which they might possibly have
been held liable to pay for the privilege. It
certainly did not justify or excuse the New
foundland men in their lawless and violent
assault on the Americans or in their de-
struction of property. The rioters, or
probably their more intelligent and cau-
tious neighbors, appear to understand the
gravity of the offence they have committed,
inasmuch as they now set about making ex-
plantations and apologies for the outrage.
One OF their pretences is that local law
prohibits fishing in Fortune Bay on Sun
days. and they rely on this law to justify
the acts of the mob But there is no limi-
taton as to days in the treaty or in the legis-
lation which made its provisions operative,
and no local law could limit the privilege
conferred on American fishermen. II, how
ever, the American vessels were bound to
respect this local law, there is no evidence
that they knew Of its existence, and
their offence was one to be dealt
with legally, and not by lawless and
infuriated rabble. The true explanation Of
this new outrage is the same that applies to
the many tuuI nave pIeCeu'u I've Aue
people of the Dominion are jealous of the
American fishermen, and are ready to COM
NIT any Unfair or lawless act against them.
Their cupidity induces them 10 covet a
monopoly of the fishing privileges off their
coasts, and their disposition to avail them
selves of every means, legal or illegal, to
interfere with the business Of the American
fisherman is unfortunately strengthened by
the timidity or indifference which have
heretofore marked the action of our own
government in the several disputes and diff
fculties to which the fishery question has
given rise.
The people of the United States have
never been fairly treated by the Canadians
in this fishery business. Outrages have fre-