No. 301.
Mr. Evarts
to Mr. Lowell.
Department
of State,
Washington, February 4,
1881.
No. 109.]
Sir: Inclosed herein you will receive the
affidavits of the masters of two United States fishing vessels, detailing
the acts of violence by which they have been prevented from exercising their
rights of fishing in certain Newfoundland waters.
You will observe that in these occurrences no questions arise as to the
character or force of local legislation. They exhibit simply and distinctly
the determination of the inhabitants of Newfoundland that the fishermen of
the United States shall not be permitted to exercise the right of fishing
guaranteed them by the treaty of Washington, but shall be compelled to
purchase from provincial fishermen the bait which they are clearly entitled
to catch.
There is no question here of the size of the meshes of the seines, of the
right of fishing at limited periods, of the use of the strand as auxiliary
to legitimate fishing. It is simply the denial by force of the exercise of a
right which is not disputed, but which is denied because it interferes with
the profits of provincial fishermen. There is no pretense of the
interference of lawful authority, general or local, but the undisguised use
of mob violence to prevent the exercise of an undoubted right secured by
treaty to our fishermen.
You will bring these complaints immediately to the attention of Her Britannic
Majesty’s Government, and in doing so you will say that the Government of
the United States sees with a dissatisfaction to which it is unwilling to
give full expression this repeated and continuous invasion of the rights of
its citizens; that this rude and persistent opposition to the exercise of
rights guaranteed by treaty, and liberally paid for, is practically an
abrogation of the very provisions which the treaty was intended to secure,
and that the Government of the United States [Page 497] cannot permit the rights and interests of its citizens to
be thus subjected to the ill-temper and unlawful violence of an excited
mob.
It can make no difference that these particular proceedings did not culminate
in acts of personal injury or in the destruction of property. This has only
been avoided by the fact that the United States fishermen, in a spirit of
forbearance which cannot be too much commended, but which cannot be always
anticipated, have yielded to an exhibition of force which they had not the
power to resist.
The Government of the United States cannot reject the conviction that the
protracted delay of Her Majesty’s Government in the matter of the
disturbances at Fortune Bay has strengthened the impression of the
provincial fishermen that the course of Her Majesty’s Government had shown
no severe condemnation for the violent methods which have been pursued to
defeat a competition which was fairly purchased.
It is impossible that this condition of things should be looked upon with
indifference by either government. The Government of the United States
cannot believe that Her Majesty’s Government would prefer that the
Government of the United States should by the exhibition or exercise of
force in the provincial waters maintain the obligations of the treaty of
Washington, rather than that by the exercise of the power of the British
Government our fishermen should be secured in the use of their treaty
rights; and yet, unless some prompt remedy be found, the fishermen of the
United States must abandon entirely their fishing rights upon the shores of
Newfoundland, or they must enforce their rights by methods which will
necessarily threaten, first the local peace, and then the amicable relations
of the two countries.
You will say further that the Government of the United States earnestly
presses these complaints upon the immediate attention of Her Majesty’s
Government for that fair and full compensation to which the United States
fishermen are entitled for this violent interruption of their lawful
industries, and in this connection you will impress upon Her Majesty’s
Government that the immediate and direct loss of cheap bait cannot be
accepted as the measure of damages in these cases. These repeated
infractions of treaty obligations have disorganized the whole fishing
industry which the treaty was intended to protect. No vessel can calculate
with certainty whether she will be allowed to catch her own bait or forced
to purchase it, and so a whole cruise may be rendered profitless by this
denial of the right to procure bait. But, independent of this pecuniary
damage, Her Majesty’s Government cannot surely deny that this systematic
demonstration of violence against citizens of the United States pursuing a
lawful industry is in itself cause of serious complaint and fair
indemnity.
You will present these views in your own manner to Lord Granville, but if you
find it necessary to impress upon Her Majesty’s Government the earnestness
of the Government of the United States, you are at liberty to read him this
dispatch confidentially, as in the exercise of your own discretion, without
express instructions from your government to that effect.
I am, &c.,
[Page 498]
[Inclosure 1 in No. 109.]
Deposition of John Dago.
November 18,
1880. (Received February 2, 1881.)
I, John Dago, master of the American schooner Concord, of Gloucester,
Mass., do, on oath, depose and say that I left Gloucester on the 1st of
April, 1880, for a trip to the Grand Banks. Our first baiting was at
Freshwater Bay, Newfoundland, buying capelin and ice to the amount of
twenty-five dollars. On the 9th of August, 1880, we went into a cove in
Conception Bay, called Northard Bay, for squid. I put out four dories
and attempted to catch my bait with the squid jigs or hooks used for
that purpose. My men went into the immediate vicinity of where the local
shore boats were fishing for squid, but in a short time they returned
and reported to me that they were not allowed to fish by the men on
board the shore boats, and not wishing any trouble they returned on
board. I then manned my lines on the vessel and commenced to catch
squid; the men in the shore boats seeing us fishing came off to us to
the number of sixteen boats, with some thirty men. These men demanded
that I should stop fishing or leave, or else buy squid from them. They
were very violent in their threats, and to avoid trouble I bought my
squid, paying them one hundred and fifty dollars for the squid, which I
could easily have taken if I had not been interfered with.
Wherever I have been in Newfoundland I find the same spirit exists, and
that it is impossible for any American vessel to avail herself of the
privileges conferred by the Treaty of Washington; that the fishing
articles of that treaty are entirely useless and valueless, and in no
sense does the American fisherman receive any benefit from the
treaty.
Massachusetts, Essex, ss:
Gloucester, November 18, 1880.
Personally appeared the above John Dago and made oath to the truth of
the above affidavit.
AARON PARSONS,
Notary
Public.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 109.]
Depositions of Joseph Bowie, master, and Charles G.
Ferguson, one of the crew.
November 18,
1880. (Received February 2, 1881.)
I, Joseph Bowie, master of the American schooner Victor, of Gloucester,
Mass., do, on oath, depose and say that I sailed from Gloucester on or
about the 7th of June, 1880, for a trip to the Grand Banks for codfish.
I went into Musquito, Newfoundland, three times for bait, and bought
capelin from the local fishermen, which they had taken in seines of
their own. I paid for bait (and ice to preserve it) sixty-six dollars
for the three baitings. The next time I went to a place called Devil’s
Cove on the chart, but it is called Job’s Cove by the people; this was
on the 4th of August, and the only bait to be obtained was squid. I
anchored in the cove about ¼ of a mile from the shore, and commenced to
catch squid with the common hooks or jigs used for that purpose. I had
no nets or seines on my vessel. I had been fishing about fifteen minutes
when some sixty boats that had been fishing in-shore from us, manned by
at least one hundred and fifty men, rowed up alongside of us and forbade
our taking any squid. I was not interfering in any way with their
fishing, they being a long distance inside of us; in fact, we were
outside of the cove, in open water. I had intended to buy my squid, but
finding them plenty I found I could catch them and save the expense of
buying. I was acting in perfect accordance with my treaty rights and
knew what my rights were.
I tried to reason with these people, and told them that I had a right to
take bait or other fish without being restricted to any distance from
shore; and that I should not interfere with them, and they had no right
to molest me. I told them the United States had paid a large sum for
this privilege, but they declared they knew nothing about it and cared
nothing about it. They told me I should not catch my bait, but should
buy it of them. I kept on fishing, and they then attempted to board my
vessel, they threatened to cut my cable, and threatened other violence.
Fnding myself powerless against so many, I told my crew to haul in their
lines and stop fishing, which they did; this pacified the mob and they
then left me.
The next morning I determined to fish and not submit to this violence. I
manned my lines and commenced to fish. The boats came off in large
numbers, and the men were very violent; they said, “We warned you not to
fish, yesterday, and we will cut [Page 499] your cable and drive you on shore if you don’t stop.” They came
alongside, struck at my men with their oars, and some of the men leaped
on the vessel and gathered around the windlass. I went forward and asked
them if they were aware what they were doing; they told me they were and
that I should not fish there; at the same time I saw a heavy oar lifted
over my head and jumped oneside to avoid the blow which if it had struck
me would have struck me down. In the meanwhile the mob had entirely
destroyed our lines and jigs, leaving me no means of fishing. The boats
being around my bow at the cable, and knowing if it was cut my vessel
would be likely to go on shore, as the wind blowed directly on, I had to
submit again to mob violence and agreed not to fish any more.
They then left my vessel and went for the American schooner Moro Castle,
which had come in and was trying to catch bait. The wind blowed so hard
that I was obliged to get under way and leave without my bait. As my
trip depended on my getting bait speedly, I returned there and bought my
bait the next day, paying one hundred and twenty dollars for squid. I
was obliged to do this, as there was no squid at any other place. It is
universal in the baiting places at Newfoundland to experience the same
feeling and action, and it is impossible for American vessels to take
their own bait, as the local fishermen will not allow it, but compel us
to purchase it of them. We are thus compelled to pay at least $100,000
yearly, although the treaty of Washington gives us a perfect right to
take these fish, and I am satisfied that the United States receives
absolutely nothing for the immense sum paid for the privilege of fishing
on the coast of British North America.
JOSEPH BOWIE,
Master of Schooner
Victor.
I, Charles G. Ferguson, one of the crew of the schooner Victor of
Gloucester, Mass., do on oath depose and say that I was on board the
schooner and know that all the facts stated by Captain Bowie are
true.
CHARLES G. FERGUSON,
One of the
Crew.
Massachusetts, Essex, ss:
Gloucester, November, 18, 1880.
Personally appeared the above-named Joseph Bowie, master, and Charles
E. Ferguson, one of the crew, of schooner Victor, and made oath to
the truth of the above affidavit.
Before me.
AARON PARSONS,
Notary
Public.
