Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-04-10
FORTY-NINTH CONGRESS-.
SENATE.

fornla elected TO nj the vacancy caused oy
the death of Senator Miller, were presented
and he was sworn in.
| Mr. Frye then touk the floor and addressed
the Senate in support of the resolution here
totore submitted bv him in relation to fish
cries. The resolution declares it to be the
sense of the Senate that Congress ought not
| TO provide for the appointment of COM
mission in which the governments of the
| United States and Great Britain should be
represented. charged with the consideration
and settlemen on just, equitablet and hon.
| orable basis of the eutlre question of the tish
! ing rights of tine two government and their
citizens on the coasts of the United States
and British North America.
This was a question, Mr.. FRYE said, im-
portant not only to our own fishermen but to
the nation. He showed the preat and grow
ing importance of the fishery business and
entered upon historical review of the diplo-
matte arrangements between the government
of Great Britain and the United States from
1873 to the treaty of Washington, in every
negotiation Of which, he claimed, Great Britain
always obtained decidedly an advantage over
the United States. OF the treaty of 1878
MIR. Frye said: "For several years we had
but little trouble under this treaty, then it
came in perfect avalanche. England and
her colony covet, our increasing market and
as usual without scruple went for 1t. They
seized vessel after vessel, condemned them
| in colonial courts on the testimony of colo
nil witnesses, refused them shelter, drove
them to sea in storms, seized and searched
them on the high seas, broke up voyages till
| in fact the perils of the sea on the Banks
were not greater than the dangers of the laws
within the shore line. Our government in
tertered again and again. Mr.. Van Buren
sent the Grampus into those waters in 1889.
Pierce ordered fleet there. The Kearsarge
and Mississippi cruised there and in the
presence of our armed vessels our fishermen
were undisturbed. but Immediately on their
withdrawal the outrages " re renewed. The
records of the Halifax commission are full
of evidence of illegal seizures, OF seizures
and condemnations on complaints of a most
! trivial and inconsequential character, of
every conceivable outrage and wrong, of
every violation of the ighs of hospitality and
| friendly intercourse. In pursuit of those
unJustiiabe methods England and her colony
had but one purpose-to force open our mar
| kets-and in 1854 their efforts were crowned
with success in the ratification of the so-called
| reciprocal treaty. reciprocal, however, only
! in name. They opened their fisheries to us
and we our markets to them. OF the advan-
tages of the treaty of Washington to the
! l nlteu states, ne Salu NOW, SIT, WHAT du-
vantages have accrued to us from the treaty
of Washington? First-W ood, water and
shelter ou. we had them before and now,
too, under the treaty Of 1918. Second-Oi
commercial privileges, none under the
treaty Third-The right to take fish within
a three mile limit What has this been worth
to us? The right to take bait would have
| been of value, but the moment we undertook
| 70 avail ourselves of il we found cables cut,
nets destroyed and ali manner OF damage was
| inflicted. Careful compiled statistics for the
whole period OF twelve wears shows the un-
usual average of 90 5-6 vessels engaged in
/ the Cult fisheries and within the shore line.
The average annual catch in the Gulf was
worth in our market Sl94 $50, within the
shore line S64 $50. That would give each
vessel in the GUT S20l0, in the shore line,
/ S673. Now American vessels IN the Gulf To-
pay the expenses OF outfit. insurance, depre-
citation of vessel, crews share ard masters
commission must take $4,000 worth OF mack
erel SO every mackerel taken in the Gull
or shore line actually cost nearly twice what
it was worth During the whole twelve
years our vessels took s750,000 worth and
thev cost them more than Sl,200,000. The
statistics of the last half OF the treaty period
make still worse the showing Formerly II
was not unusual for us to have 500 mackerel
vessels at time in the Gulf but in 1879 WE
had "A. in 1880 A. in 1881 3, in 1882 " OF
the negotiations of the secretary of state
after the notice of the abrogation treaty, Mr.
Frve said ''Our fishermen heard with
amazement and indignation that Secretary
| Bavard was making, without the interposi-
ton of the Senate, new treaty extending
certain provisions OF the old one, with new
agreement that the president would bring the
q
at the next session and recommend the ap
pointment Of joint commission by the gov
ernments OF the United States and Great
Britain to consider the matter in the interes
of maintaining friendly intercourse between
the two countries, thus atiordiug a prospec
of negotiation for the Development and ex
tension of trade between the United State,
and British North America"
Mr.. Frye said that he didn't intend to at
tack the honorable secretary ''His inten
tions were doubtless of the best but he hat
no doubt that Sir Ambrose Shea and Mr.
West, British minister, had persuaded the
secretary that the Gulf of St. Lawrence wa,
great and profitable fishing resort for our
fleet, that very likely Canada would enforce
the penal laws, that our adventures would be
broken up, that even the peace of the ma
tons might be disturbed. The fault of the
secretary was tnat ne snOuiu take the cOunse
only of an enemy, that he shouldn. have con
suled George Steele, president of the Amer
lean Fishery Union, who wrote him under
the date OF April 2Sth, 1885, that the officers
of the fishery union desire to present the in
terests of their pursuits in the present emer
gency to the attention of the secretory per.
sonslly or to the president, that he shoulC
have replied to him under the date of MAY
ID, 1885: The interests which your associa
ton represents has, a. you can see ALREADY
received and shat a,nr,nue to receive tbs
earnest and abunda., consideration on thu
part of the president and of his department
and knowing this you probably see the littl,
need for incuring the inconvenience of send
ing just now a personal delegation to Wash
ington to present your views. If this hear
ing had been reasonably granted neither tn,
President or Baysrd would have fallen int,
the diplomatic trap West set for them.
commission of Boston merchants in thei
hearing before the House committee on for
eign affairs argued with great force the ne
cessity of our fishermen enjoying the right I
purchase bait and ice in ports of the Dc
! minon and asserted that under the treaty Z