The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-01-26
RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE SAY
INGS BANK EXAMINERS
REPORT.
Bank Examiner Whitten Recommends
ers of Fort Popham-Committee Hear
ings on Railroad Taxes and the Eastern
Maine Hospital.
Especial to the Press.l

its hands. In its custody is small
mountain Of petitions. remonstrances
and various other documents, all bear
ing in some way upon the vexed ques-
tons arising from the present Maine
laws on the subject.
The people of the ancient village of
Stroudwater, whose small, portable win
ter cottages make cold weather fishing
enjoyable on the ice of Fore river these
frigid January days, will take an espe-
cial interest in the legislation asked for
concerning the small, but toothsome
smelt. This is in the form of numerous
ly signed petitions before the CO mmittee
signed By people who catch smelts with
hook and line, asking that the taking of
the fish by other methods be prohibited.
The lobster of course is represented.
A session of the Maine Legislature at
which the lobster was not heard from in
one way or another would be something
unprecedented. From different sections
of the state come many expressions of
views as to what should be done with
the lobster. 1t seems to be generally ad-
mitted that the present law is not salts
factory as a means of protecting the
fish. The committee will give hearing
on this matter February 2, and hope to
be able to devise some means of protect
ing the fish and at the same time making
the law satisfactory to all concerned.
But while these are important matters
perhaps the greatest question before the
committee is that raised by the coast
fishermen. They say that they are
obliged to use purse and drag seines in
order to gain livelihood, and will make
out strong case, The present law for
bios the use of seines in bays and har-
bors of less than three miles in width.
The fishermen say that in these waters
they cannot make living by hand,lin
fishing. Mackerel, for instance, which
used to be taken by hook and line, seem
to understand the Maine law. At any
rate, on some sections of the coast, they
now refuse to bite. So the coast fisher
men ask that the present law be SO
amended as to open waters now closed to
them by permitting the use of seines
therein. These petitions bear the names
of small army of men who live by fish
ing. They have not got their neighbors,
the farmers nd quarrymen, to sign the
papers. On the other hand, the commit
tee has before it petitions asking for
more stringent laws on he subject of
coast fisheries.
To meet these difficulties of the coast
fishermen, the committee has under con-
sideration law which will be in the
form of compromise and it is believed
work for the interests of all concerned.
The present laws on the fisheries are in
sadly chaotic state, there being so
many amendments and conflicting pro-
visions in the original acts and the va
rious additions thereto that the fisher
men themselves, the lawyers and the
courts have hard work to tell just what
the law intends. The law being pre-
pared by the committee has not been full
ly developed in all it's features but it is
so nearly arranged as to give its friends
great encouragement that it will be fa-
vorably looked upon. twill proceed by
repeating the law prohibiting the use of
seines in bays and rivers less than three
miles in width. But the law does not
contemplate by any means leaving all
the waters open. Instead it will estab-
lish certain specified lines which shall
divide the waters IN which seines may be
used from the waters in which such fish
ing is forbidden. This will open some
waters now closed to the seine fisher
men, but at the same time VII reserve
enough of the coast, it is believed, for the
protection of the fish. BY this system Of
lines extending between monuments or
other landmarks on the shores, it will
not put upon the fisherman the necessity
of Judging by his eye alone whether he is
two, three or four miles from the shore.
So it will be seen that with these va
rious petitions before it for changes in
the law relating to the taking of smelts
and Holsters and the coast fisheries, in
Guiding the catching of maclerel, men
haden and herring, together with the re-
monstrances against the changes de-
sired, the committee will have its hands
full
The committee devoted this afternoon
to clam digging and had the assistance
of many prominent clammers from Var
mouth and Cumberland As has been
already explained the Yarmouth olam-
mers think they should have the exclu-
sive right of digging over the Yarmouth
flats, now enjoyed in common with the
diggers for the bivalves from the neigh
boring town of Cumberland. This COM
mon enjoyment of the right to the clam
flats and mussel mud, together with
equal privilege in the burying grounds
of the two towns was established by an
act passed in 1921, setting off the town
of Cumberland from the town OF North
Yarmouth. The Cumberland people
say that by the proposed legislation
Yarmouth would become master of FIVE
sixths of the flats. Yarmouth replies
that if the existing arrangement con-
tinues much longer there will be no
CLANS for either party, Yarmouth now
being unable to protect the bivalves by
the appointment of clam wardens. The
Joint rights to the mussel mud and the
burying ground do not seem to be in dis
pute.
The Cumberland people were in force
Their ranks included: G. M. Hamilton
r. A. Soule, Edward Ross, Robert
Hamilton, Jr., Russell 3. Hamilton,
Edward P. Hamilton, Royal II. Bennett,
Alfred Hamilton, Emery W. Hamilton,
Isaac S. Hall, E. II. Trickey, Solomon f.
Hamilton, Aaron Cleayes, Isaac FL.
Webber, Herman Doughty, Howard S.
II Do,& n