Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-03-20
MAINE LEGISLATURE.
lContinued from 1st page. ]
the Senate adhere to It's former action and
appoint a committee of conference.
La q 70

By this act was passed to be engrossed.
Mr.. Hume of Washington moved the
indefinite pCstponement OF the bill.
Motion Lost TO Is.
On motion Of Mr.. Spofford the Senate
receded and concurred with the House
in rejecting Senate amendments A and d.
Mr.. Hume then offered Senate amend
rnent G, which made the bill take effect
July 1, 1895, and stated that he did SO for
che reason that the Gamers had already
laid in their stock Of cans for the coming
spring season, and had them all ready and
the labels pasted on them, and that II this
law were to take effect at the present time
they would suffer large loss OF capital
which had been invested in the business
for this season. He said:
There Is no safety for the lobster inter-
csts Of our State until you have close
time that will apply to the whole OF the
State. The men who are here asking for
this 1917 inch law are the men who are
depicting the lobster fisheries OF the State.
The express companies are well repre-
scntcd here In this matter and one OF
their representatives told me today that
they make more out Of the Holsters than
out Of almost anything else. The Holsters
arc scattered all over the face of this
country in countless numbers. AS said
before, we in Washington county are pc
culiarly situated, and hope that the
Senate will be just and generous to the
Gamers Of the State, and not allow this
law to 20 into effect at a time which will
cause them the loss of all the capital al
ready invested for the coming seasc n.
Mr.. Spofford of Hancock: Thtre are
other interests on the floor of this Senate
besides the express companies. ! have
here petitions from very large number
Of persons from Washington county for
straight 1917 inch law. ] have here
petition signed by 81 or 20 Of the fisher
men OF Jonesport asking for straight
1917 inch law. am representing some
thing besides express companies Isimply
voice TO YOU the sentiments and wishes of
the fishermen of the State, Of Washington
county as we'll as OF all the other coast
counties.
Mr.. Nickerson of Lincoln supported the
amendment, and said that he did not sup
pose that the Legislature wished to push
out of existence the canning factories in
this State, and that the passage Of this
law without this amendment would cause
them the loss Of all the capital which they
had already invested for this seasons
work.
Senate amendment G was then adopted,
and the bill passed to be engrossed as
amended
House document No. 2S4, an act relat-
ing to tho use of purse and drag seines
in State waters, specially assigned Tor TO-
day, was taken from the table.
MIR. Nickerson of Lincoln moved that
H. - pf N m
accepted in concurrence.
Mr.. Ferguson of Sagadahoc: would
like to amend by moving that we non
concur with the House in the adoption OF
the majority report, and accept the minor
ity report. 1t is we'll known to all the
senators that part of our State, Hancock
and Washington counties are practically
exempt from the use of purse and drag
seines. Now, I wish to adopt the minor
ity report, and then adopt an amendment
which shall present, which strikes out
tho two sections of the bill, and substi-
tutcs section exempting Sagadahoc
county from the provisions Of the law,
just as Hancock and Washington counties
are exempt from it. This purse and drag
seining Is q very great injury to Sagada-
hoe. AS q unit We arc opposed to 1t, and
we simply ask that the State will grant
to Sagadahoc the same privilege as is en-
joyed by other counties.
Mr.. Nickerson of Lincoln: The Senate
understands that the committee have
listened to all this testimony In relation
to purse and drag seines. The opposition
has come from one little spot in the city
Of Bath and the surrounding territory.
They have n grievance; they say that the
seincrs catch somes had during the year,
and therefore they think that their shad
fishing in the kepnebcc river is destroyed.
The fishermen catch all their shad during
the spawning season, they say that the
shad are of no use on the market unless
they are caught at that season. Their
fishing for shad in the Kennebec ends on
the first day of July, and the seining
commences about the first day Of July,
sometimes as carly as the Goth of Juno,
but generally about the LIST of July.
When these seiners catch their shad OIL
the mouth Of tho Kcnncbec river it is
after the 1st of July, after the fishermen
in the river have finished their fishing.
Besides II is not the river shad that we
catch outside; it is what is called the
hickory shad and they do not 60 into the
river to spawn, we do not know where
they spawn.
This was the only opposition that was
brought out at our hearing. and we do
not see why the fishing interests of the
whole State should be ieopardized for the
sake Of the shad fishing on the kennebec
river.
East of the Penobscot river they do no.
operate seines. they fish entirely with
weirs But in Lincoln and Knox coun
ties they fish with seines. In Lincoln
county they have the herring fishing,
which Is prosecuted with soines, and there
is no other way to catch the herring ex-
cept with seines. This fishing hurts no
ono; the herring is fish which no one
uses except for smoking or bait.
Tho speaker then went on to point out
the limitations already imposed on the
seiners in Casco bay and along the coast
in pogie fishing and said that the element
which they had to fight every time was
these same people from Bath and the inn
mediate vicinity. He said that the law
as It at present stood had worked admir-
ably, and had been observed better than
any law now on the statute book.
Mr. Ferguson said that hisamendment
as to strike out the two sections of the bill
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