History of the government of the island of Newfoundland / With an appendix containing the Acts of Parliament made respecting the trade and fishery

by John Reeves

PART II.

PART II. From Stat. 10 & 11 Will. 3, to A. D. 1728.

Mr. Larkin’s Observations—Character of the fishing Admirals—Character of the Commanders—Want of Police—Opinion of the Board 1706—Representation 1708—For Sea Commanders to command at Land—Such Commission issues—Laws and Orders made at Newfoundland—Representation 1718—Claim of the Guipuscoans to fish—Of the Lands ceded by the French—A Salmon Fishery granted—Opinion on the 7th Sec. of Stat. 10 and 11 Will. 3.—Representation 1728—Recommends a civil Government—A civil Governor is appointed—Disorders of Newfoundland, and Conduct of the fishing Admirals during this Period—Complaints from the Merchants.

It has ever been the disposition of the principal merchants in the west of England to extol the provisions of stat. 10 and 11 Will. 3. as the soundest policy that could be pursued in relation to the fishery. We know, after perusal of the former part of this historical enquiry, that there was always an opposition and jealousy subsisting between the merchants and adventurers on the one hand, and the planters and inhabitants on the other; and the utmost credit we can give to the former, on this subject, is to believe, that this statute fully established their claims and pretensions, and gave them an ascendancy over the latter; and that they now saw sanctioned by parliament, what before depended upon a tenure of less validity. So far, and no farther, can this eulogy have a meaning; for as a scheme of regulation, that was to be generally beneficial, this act was, in the first place, no novelty; in the second place it seems never, from the very beginning, to have been completely executed; and thirdly, it gave power and jurisdiction to hands that were unfit to exercise it: and I shall presently shew, that those concede too much, who allow this act might have been a very good regulation at the time it passed; for it will appear from the best authority, that, at the very time it was passed, it was in no way of being carried into execution as the parliament intended.

To the heads of inquiry, which were delivered and given in charge to the commodore, who commanded the ships on that station, this act, and all the particulars of it, were now added; and there appear in the returns made thereto every year, their observations and opinion, both upon the act and its execution. Upon such a subject there cannot be adduced better authority than this. In the answers given to these heads of inquiry, and in the correspondence of the commodores, may be traced, from time to time, the actual state of the fishery; and it will be curious to bring together the information that may be collected from these sources. Among the earliest information of this sort, I find a letter from Mr. George Larkin, written from St. John’s in the year 1701. This was recently after the passing of the act; and the writer goes more fully into many points of the trade, than the officers of government usually did. These circumstances make this a valuable paper; and it becomes much more so, when it is considered, that Mr. Larkin was a gentleman bred to the civil law, who was sent out to make observations in the American settlements, for the information of government at home, as to the state of the Plantations, and the execution of the laws of trade and navigation.

Mr. Larkin’s Observations in 1701.

He begins by saying, that the rules and orders of this act were not so much regarded as he could wish, which he ascribes to there being no penalties in it. The trees were rinded, and the woods destroyed, as much as before passing the act; and in a few years, he thought there would not be a stick left fit for the use of the fishery within five or six miles of that, or other harbours. The flakes that were left standing, were most of them made use of by the inhabitants for firing in the winter.

He says, the then admiral of the harbour of St. John’s, Captain Arthur Holdsworth, of Dartmouth, brought over from England, that fishing season, two hundred and thirty-six passengers, all or great part of which were bye boat-keepers, and they were brought, under a pretence of being freighters aboard his ship, though it was only for some few provisions for their necessary use. These persons he had put and continued in the most convenient stages, &c. in the harbour, which all along, since the year 1685, had belonged to fishing ships; in so much, that several masters of fishing ships had been obliged to hire rooms of the planters. These bye boat-keepers were most of them, he says, able fishermen, and there was not one fresh man, or green man, amongst them, as the act requires. He says, that this person, and one or two more, who constantly used the fishery, made it their business in the beginning of the year, to ride from one market town to another in the west of England, on purpose to get passengers; with whom they made an agreement, that in case they should happen to be admirals of any of the harbours, they would put and continue Mr. Holdsworth, and such persons, in fishing ships’ rooms. This, he says, was a very great abuse and discouragement to the adventurers: besides, these bye boat-keepers could afford to sell their fish cheaper than the adventurers, which must lessen the number of fishing ships.

There was great complaint of the New England-men, who for seven or eight years, he says, had resorted to Newfoundland. They had also their agents in most of the harbours, and drove an indirect trade, supplying several commodities to the planters, which they ought to take from England. Such New England vessels generally made two or three trips in a year, with bread, flour, pork, tobacco, molasses, sugar, lime-juice, and rum. They sold cheaper in general, but obliged their purchasers to take certain quantities of rum. This the inhabitants sold to the fishermen, and so encouraged them to stay behind, and leave their families in England a burthen on the parish. The inhabitants also sold rum to their servants, who run in debt, and were forced to hire themselves in payment of their debt; so that one month’s profuse living, and a pair of shoes, often left them in bondage for a year; and good fishermen, who deserved fifteen or twenty pounds per annum, were thus made to serve for seven pounds. He says, the New Englanders, at the close of the year, used to inveigle away a great many seamen and servants, with promises of great wages; but these men were often disappointed, and turned robbers and pirates. The New England vessels were said, the last year, to have taken away five hundred men in this manner, in Conception Bay only; many of these were headed up in casks to prevent discovery. He recommends, for preventing this practice, that the masters of New England vessels should give bond, when they cleared out, not to bring men from Newfoundland without leave from the commodore.