The Portland daily press., 1886-05-26

t,oing ~ dnpta ne an expert against tnes5
| Other gentlemen) that all these nSn "ie eooo
| after the spawning season sovin0 the effect
| To resume what was saylns,s nv ~ a.
of stopping the catching Of the hsn az ns ene
season when they are bad ana Igahif shnii havs nvs
| suitable for food will be tnat II ~ distrihnfed
| good fish caught, and good nsr srhere will he
all over the United 9t%.etih fGr them and an in
| craased snnnly because the catch o1 sVVSS, -,
sound mackerel will be Largely 1hsbeif Of
then urge this bill, not onK, (, o. an he neo-
my constituents, but on DenaiA "a GA
R4G Gentiemen @ NAV ask, ''What people are you y,
keenne ont ?" and among the cries ralset 't ~ ~
opposition to this bill is this .Sa Ta cast of
wait until these fish get up along catcb saH them
Maine, so that YOUR people can catcn '1v,r vca,
ali. The fish proceed northward' ana yogf ~
want to shut us out until after tne ~. 90 90
June, when they will have gone w M thsn, :"
that you can catch the wnole t2a,,sa ~ long
Well l trust have been in this hQuse, IN
enonsh NOT 70 aftemnt a steal of that kind.
Laughter.) What is the tact " " a;yg,bty- tr
fact is that Of the one hundred anu ei5r;y 5-;1yg
four vessels that are engaged ~ aInSad IaS NOT
mackerel fishery, which we want clvoGiIi, ctiis 81
a solitary vessel can be found OUTSIDE o.
Maine and Massachusetts. 20 Mo .ha trI,tb
the whole business now. 1ut tlo ne hara
about it is that as Captain collins say say siIad
in tins report when the diHe din 40 down in order
another difficulty. When the tsh start ~ ~
the warm waters about thelGulf otreani, l ,nd as
theIbeginnng they are huddled togteslTh,, hreaRs i
this pursuing them with purse-nets, DIeShs 1.a
them up and drives them way on snoie'
scattering as well as destroying them. ..s.
Why, look at it. In the face. OIL sclentlnc
authorities, will not undertake 70 say We
can prove that the destructive agency OF man man
will extirpate the whole mackerel trlDe iIoin sn
the face of the earth; but Will say tnlS,
every man on the New England coast knows
that the lobster has almost dlsappeasnaeu.
You can now only catch Holsters ABOUT ~ El
IL inches long, and can remember Wheh the
ordinary size of the Holsters caught was
pretty nearly twice that size; ana accoIulns
to Mr. Evarts there are affidaV1ts In exlstence
as to Holsters weighing 25 pounds, althoug4t
believe the lobster of. that weight was NOT
producible at the time the affldaVlt WAS
made. [Laughter.l We know that the sup
ply of halibut is thinned out, anu that tne
case is the same in regard to great many
other kinds of fish. | am aware tnat fro. -
fessor Huxley says there is no PROOF that
the herring has been diminished py tne
agency of man. But while l cann9I t aDso-
lutely prove the necessity, say all tnese
considerations put together render It ex.
ceedingy desirable that this experiment
should be tried.
hold in my hand the printed statement oi
a gentleman who is probably as conyersant
with this subject as any other man: lie came
to the committee with the emphatic recon-
mendation of Professor Baird, who has EN-.
ployed him specially with regard 10 TINS part
of the fishery question: and whatever ln1or-
nation Professor Baird may have has been
derived largely from this gentleman, VINO
says there IS no doubt that there would be q
great improvement in the quality OF the Iisn,
if we should adopt this measure; ana then
he comments upon the question of cheap food
very much as have DONE
A member.-Who is he?
Mr.. Reed, of Maine.-J. w. Collins, gem
tleman well-known to allwho are interested
in this business
One other consideration. Why is it that
our people, having complete possession OF
this fishery, wish it to be closed as proposed
in this bill? | have given you some OF the
reasons; and will give you another 1t is
at present fishery of so poor a character
that it does not pay; yet nevertheless we are
forced into it, and why? From the same pc
culiarity of human nature that sustains the
Louisiana Lottery. Out of one hundred and
eighty-four vessels engaged in this fishery
three or four make large hauls, and find the
business profitable: the others expect that
they may do the same land II one goes into
it all go into it, Now, all should be stopped.
think have stated reasons why this bill
should be passed Let me recapitulate them.
The bill is trial proposition for five years.
1t is proposition to close this fishery during
the spawning season, from March until the
1st of June. Its purpose is to increase the
character and value of the fish which will be
distributed to the people of the United
States. If have made these points as clear
To lilt I1OuSc dS blcy SldliQ III NY ONu lulllO
cannot doubt the result Allow me to aed
that this is a matter of serious import to my
people. They are deeply concerned in this
question; and l know of no opposition to
this measure that has not its origin in the
astronomers association of one place or an
other. We propose to stop the catching of
these fish during the period named by stop
ping the importation and sale; and thesI n5a~-
ed States being the only place where they
can be sold, if we stop their sale here the
fish will not be caught.
There is another class of fishermen repre-
sented by my friend from New Jersey fMr.
Buchanan, class with which | confess l
have sympathy; and | hope, when perfect
ly understand his amendment to be able to
assent to it, if not, / shall have to submit to
the vote of the House ON that question. He
states that the people on the New Jersey
coast are interested in fishing carried on in
rowboats; and that this measure, without
the amendment he suggests, will cut them off
from some degree of sustenance during the
period to which the prohibition will apply.
l sympathize with the gentleman's position;
for the consideration he presents is of SINH
lar character to that | present in behalf of
my people. 1t may be, however, that we
can not arrange a close season without iniur-
ing somebody. But l trust have shown the
counterbalancing advantages to be so great
that this House will not hesitate to give the
fishermen of this country what they all de-
mand