The Portland daily press., 1893-03-11
Especial to the Press.1

Line-The Resolve in Favor OF the
Maine General Hospital Approved.
Especial to the Press.]
AUGUSTA, March 10.-This was Friday
and the lawmakers besides eating fish,
talked about fish nearly all the forenoon
and heard some more fish stories. The
general bill to regulate the shore fisher
les, which the House refused to consioer
passed the Senate by vote Of 10 to 4,
and its friends say it will secure victo-
ry in the House yet.
Senator Nickerson made the principal
speech in its behalf, presenting mass of
statistics and showing an intimate knowl-
edge of the subject. He said, in part:
"Our fishermen imost of them) have
grown up from childhood in the busi-
ness. They know no other business, and
their education, as a general thing, be-
ing limited they are not prepared to
readily procure chances by which they
can support their families, in case they
are obliged to give up their present oecu-
patton.
'sFew of us, excepting those who have
been or are now in some way connected
with the fisheries, have much of an idea
of the amount of capital invested at
present, or which has been in the past,
in that branch of business in our state;
in the year 1877, the year before the pro-
hibitory law was passed by our state, the
menhaden business alone in Lincoln
county had invested in it's II factories,
crafts, outfits, etc., etc., 81, ,046, 800, en-
ploying 1,027 men, 4S steamers, and 13
sailing vessels. The mackerel fishery
had invested at the same time about
$350.O00 in 80 sail of vessels, wharves,
etc., and made employment for at least
1000 men.
''The prohibitory laws have been tink-
cred from time to time since, and the
business has gradually diminished until
today the amount of money invested in
the menhaden business in the same
county will not exceed $175. 200, and the
mackerel business cannot show more
than $100, 900 invested, with a fleet of 25
sail of vessels and, of course, CORES
ponding falling off in the number Of men
employed. do not, of course, claim
that the decline is wholly occasioned by
of it is. Mr.. President, give us the law
we ask for today and allow the fisher
men to prosecute their business under lit
for 10 years to come. and I can almost
guarantee that you will see in that time
a marked increase in the business, and
at the end of 10 years we shall have
business built up in our state that we
may well feel proud of. Do not be be-
hind other states in these matters, but
allow our own fishermen the privileges
to enjoy the same rights in his own
state that he is allowed when he goes to
others. This he does not have under the
present. Massachusetts restricts us
from entering Buzzard's Bay for men
haden, but all the rest of her waters are
free to fishermen of any state.
cat present there is a new branch of
fishing sprung up in the vicinity of Booth
bay Harbor, that of catching herring
with seines right off the harbor and
among the islands between the Penobscot
and Kennebec rivers. These fish are
used for food and are sold to vessels to
be used for bait for the cod and haddock
fishery on our fishing banks, and are also
packed and salted for market. Within
the past year there has been a company
organized and second cold storage plant
built at Boothbay Harbor at an expense
of about $4,000. This company pur-
chases of the fishermen the herring while
they are fresh, and by placing them in
cold storage they are frozen and kept in
that state as long as necessary, and when
the deep sea fishermen from our own and
other states cannot procure bait fresh
from the water, they are supplied from
the cold storage at paying, prices. This
company stored through the months of
October, November and December last
about 1000 barrels OF these herring, and
have employed since the erection large
number of men and boys, beside the fish
ermen who catch the fish. The stock
holders in this company are scattered all
through Lincoln county, and until after
their plant was completed supposed there
was no question as to their right to seine
these fish when and where they pleased,
but it is, nevertheless, fact that every
fish which this company used, and every
fish sold for other purposes in that vicin-
ity (amounting to upwards of 10000 bar
rels within the three months mentioned),
were caught in violation of the law"
Mr.. Nickerson referred to the report of
Commissioner Gould's report and the
commissioner hlmself When appointed
seashore fisheries and like all men in a