Deposition of Silas Fudge., this 17th day of June, A. D. 1878

Deposition of Silas Fudge.

The examination of Silas Fudge, of Bellaram, Fortune Bay, taken upon oath, and who saith:

I am mate of my father’s schooner. I witnessed the disturbance at Long Harbor on Sunday, the 6th January last. I am certain that it was on the 6th January it happened. I saw the seines in the water; two of them American and one English. We told them to take them up. John Hickey, the Englishman, took his up; McCauley, the American, who owned the other, refused to take his up. There was another seine, which I did not see, in the water, belonging to Captain Jacobs. He had his in the boat at the time. He had shot once and discharged his seine into Thomas Farrel’s, who was working for him, and was going to shoot his seine out again. I saw it in the boat ready for shooting when the crowd came over. They first spoke to McDonald and asked him if he would take his seine up, and he said, “Yes, if I am forced”; and they then went to Hickey and told him to take his up, and he took it up; then they went to McCauley and asked him to take his up, and he said he would not. They then told him that if he didn’t they would take it up for him. They then went to Jacobs and told him they would let go the herring out of the seine of Tom Farrel, who was an Englishman. Jacobs then drew a revolver and threatened to shoot any man who touched his property. The crowd were very excited. I saw them haul McCauley’s seine in and tear it up. That was the end of the row that day. Farrel had, during the previous week, secured herring in the American seine, and then had placed his own round them, and taken up the American’s. This was done before Sunday. It was in this seine of Farrel’s that Jacobs emptied his own seine.

Question. You knew that the American fish were in the Englishman’s seine; why was Farrel’s seine allowed to remain?—Answer. Because he had not shot it on the Sunday, but on the week-day.

Q. Are you aware that it was illegal to use seines to catch herrings that time of the year?—A. No; I don’t know.

Q. Did you believe it to be lawful to use seines for herring that time of the year?— A. Yes, I thought so, as far as I could understand. I suppose the Americans thought, with reference to the destruction of the seine, that we did it in envy of them, but it wasn’t; but it was from regard to the Sabbath, on which day we never fish.

Q. How far from the beach were the American seines shot?—A. Close to the beach; the hauling-lines were on the beach.

The Americans remained in the hay after the occurrence for several days; they were never molested or interfered with afterwards; they continued to fish until they left the harbor; they were not compelled to leave the harbor, but I believe they were unsuccessful on account of the bad weather and for want of frost.