The Portland daily press., 1888-06-07
SUSPICIOUS CANADIAN OFFICIAL.
petaIns Three Yankee schooners In
the harbor OF Digby.
The Captains Say that Their Bushes
Is Perfectly Legitimate.
But the Collector Thinks They May
be After Bait.

DIeBY, n. S., June 6.-Three American
sehooners have been detained In DIgby since
Monday last, owing to the new fishery trea-
ty. The hrst seizure under the Canada FISH
cries act was made at Digby, and the me-
mento, the schooner j. ID. Adams, still re-
mains here. 1t now seems thatlthe first test
under the fishery treaty begins here. Three
good sized schooners from Eastport arrived
here Sunday evening last. and are still de-
tanned, not through any force, but from a
lack OF knowledge Of what shall be done In
regard to them by the customs officials. and
why they cannot touch and trade. The cap
tains all came on shore TO enter and get.
permit to touch and trade under their regu-
lar clearance from United States port as
commercial traders. Their demands were
somewhat new TO our port officials. and ow-
The sehooners all hail from Eastport, Me-,
as follows schooner Eclipse, Captain
M. Greenlaw; schooner Georgie Linwood,
Captain J, +. Stewart; schooner Alert, Cap
tain b. Hilyard. These captains came here
ostensibly 10 buy fresh herring for shipping,
after curing them at Eastport, which they
say they have been doing the past three
years and buying in Dominion waters,
though they never had any dificulty except
Still they soon got their permit 10 trade as
regular merchants trading In the Dominion
waters. The captains Of the schO0ners are
In quandary at the strictness here, while
their papers have been received all right at
st. John and elsewhere in the Dominion
over two years. They felt and still believe
that they are all right as commercial traders,
and cannot see why this dinculty now
arises. On the contrary, the collector Of the
port Of Digby, J. N. Victs, also feels the
diniculty OF the matter lie says: These
vessels come here 10 enter as regular traders,
and l find by Inspection that each vessel has
on board 100, 200 and 800 bags of salt, which
Is dutiable article here. Next, find that
they seek to buy fresh herring from weir
men, which looks like buying bait.
The fact OF permitting them 10
buy direct from the weir would smell Of bait
and would thus entail the proceeding uniefN
the mOdus vivendi-that Is 10 say, 10 demand
$50 per ton. l have therefore asked for in
structioDs from Ottawa, this being q very
The captains ali say that for over over two
years they have carried on the same busi-
ness as commercial traders In the Dominion
waters. That they carry nothing but salt
to strike the fresh herring In order that they
cure them. That they have never been at
Digby before, but have done the same DLcs-
ness all along the coast Of New Brunswick.
Owing to the fact that herring has struck
IN at Digby, we have come to buy them. and
not 70 catch them. we always pay for what
we get. We have nothing on board to indi-
cate that we are fishermen in any sense Of
the word, as your custom house officer
knows. He came On board, and we threw
open our matches, and he will tell you we
TO strike our herring, that they may keep
till we get home. III we wanted to use the
herring as bait, we would have brought Ice
instead of salt.