Daily Kennebec journal., 1880-03-12

lived ON the sea coast nearly all of the time,
and v;thiu 100 rods Of the water in whicn
the porgie used to play. And. alfnouSn no'
! fisherman, have had some cpposfunisy TO
observe the effect of the seining BUSINESS on
the fisheries.
csnyery veil remember vten The Por-
sies used to come into our bay a great num-
hers, and came TO stay TOO. Ihe nsnernleu
r.ea to take them with nets in large numbers
for oil and also for dressisg for the land. ano n
think I can safely saw that there we're nity
r,.ces in the vicinity of Bluehill bay that
norgies we're taken and pressed for their oil:
a. that time there were plenty of hake and
paddock within four miles of our village
But how is it-now: If we look at the places
where they used to press porgies, we shaii
find only buildings going to decay, wharves
rottinp down. boiling kettles turned bottom
up and rusting. and occasionally part 0,
porpie net used to cover q hen yard. ana
We wish the pleasure Of catching haddock,
We must 90 about 80 miles down the Day 10
find one, and run the risk of falling in with
some friendly porgie steamer to get our oaH
or go without
Now I don't pretend to say that the porRie
can be DESTROY ed by those steamers and SCENES,
but | do believe that they can be driven out
of our bays and off from our coast. ana that
amounts to the same thing to those per-
sons that represent.
If the bill offered BY the minority should
become law and seining not allowed IN our
bays and rivers, we have reason to Deiiese
that the fish of all kinds will return to our
bavs. In fact am informed that the hake
and the haddock were more plenty IN our
BAYS the past summer than usual. when was
no doubt owing TO the absence OF steamers
and seines.
8. II has been stated before our committee,
thar the porgie is very unstable in his habits
and will not stay long in any one place, and
here let me offer a quotation from Professor
Baird, offered in the argument OF MIR. Mad
dox. and said to be the best authority in the
United States: 3 LEf
"Thev'' (the menhaden) ''delight to play
in inlets and bays, such as Long Island, Mar
ragansett Bay, and the numerous narrow
fiords on the coast of Maine. They seem
particularly fond of shallow water protected
from the wind, in which, if not molested, they
will remain throughout the season, drifting
with the tide. in and out of the shallow in
dentations of the shore, and into the mouths
of creeks and rivers" -.~ rt-s.r
Now, gentlemen, this is what we ask. that
they may be protected so that they will re-
main as they once did, and our fishermen pro-
tected in their rights and privileges.
In regard to the bill before the House from
the minority. have only to say that we have
conceded all in it, that in our Judgment the
Legislature and the people Of this State
would bear us out in. r
1t is the desire of the minority to give both
parties fair chance. and according to the
xt,-,y~ sftnv1-
ers'' the steamers do not take more than one
fourth Of their fish within the limits of the
present law. and his testimony was consid-
cred one of their best. And in the bill from
the minority we have taken off the one mile
on the coast and Inhabited inlands, and we
think that is all they can reasonably ask.
OF the bill offered by the majority, l need
not say word, for think that any one can
see that it is virtually repeal of all that was
of Importance in the old law, and is the writ
ten confession of those persons who favored
the unconditional repeal of the same.
1t is fact well known to the committee
tn the seiners will not go into the rivers,
within the meaning of this bill, and they care
nothing for the privilege.
Mr.. FENNELLY of Mt. Desert:
Mr. Speaker and Gentiemen:-I beg your
pardon for troubling you for one moment on
this much vexed question, but l think you
will all bear me witness, that it was not
nor the side that SO feebly represent that
has forced this question upon you. We would
fain have let the matter rest, and have let the
Porgie pass from your memories forever.
But it was not so ordered. The irrepressi-
BILE mephaden association are again at the
front, and again we are compelled to give
battle in our own defence.
Thosa routlou, on cOu,a hofnra vo,. vr;th a
pitiful tale of oppression and ruination to
their business, by the laws of 1878 and 1879
which they now ask You to repeal. But
gentlemen, by the grace of the Senate of the
State of Maine, and divine interposition of
Providence. these laws have never been test
ed, SO we have no means of knowing whether
or not they are any injury to their business.
There is one thing more, l think, gentle
men. you will bear me witness to, and that is,
We have neither Interrupted your meals nor
disturbed your slumbers by any attempts to
influence your action in advance. We were
willing to let our case come to the House on
its merits and there be discussed, and never
for a moment doubted that the sense of JUS
tice and fairness which has characterized this
House thus far, would see to it that no inius-
tice was done to the men that we represent,
who are not able to employ attorneys and
lobbyists to work their case through. would
could say the same of the gentlemen who
favor the repeal of this law.
Owing to various circumstances the mode
of fishing on our coast of Maine has changed
very much during the past twenty wears.
Previous to that time nearly all our fisher
men were employed in vessels of from twenty
to one hundred tons. The larger vessels
went to the Labrador, Bay of St. Lawrence,
and the Grand and Western Banks, while the
smaller ones pursued their calling on the
fishing grounds from twenty to sixty miles off
shore.
At the present time large proportion of
the men that formerly manned these vessels are
fishing in small boats, and are what we call
shore fishermen, and it is for these men that
we ask this slight protection, called for in the
minority report. The gentleman who has 40
kindly furnished us all With his argument in
favor of the repeal, gives the number of these
men as 6l2. From wherever he derives his
knowledge cannot say; but this / will saw.
that in the small district / have the honor
to represent, there are more than 800 fisher.
men, and, although have no means Of know.
ing the exact number Of shore fisnermen or
our whole coast, l venture to say there are
over SIX thousand, and think nv estimate is
small. Now gentlemen, these are poor men
and you know poor men are always blessed
with large families, apd at the lowest est;.