OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2355, 13 April 1899, Page 27

OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

JdR AYSON'S VISIT TO THE DOMINION CAPITAL. • IFkojc Oixb Own Cobbespondent.) OTTAWA, February 1. TThe officials of the Department of Marine and Fisheries extended a cordial greeting to Mr L. F. Ayaon, manager of the Masterton hatcheries, on the occasion of his recent visit to Ottawa. The readers of the Daily Times are well aware of the object which the New Zealand Government had in view in sending Mr Ayson to Great Britain and America. Probably in no country in the world has the hatching of ■^fish been carried to such a successful issue as in the Dominion, and the experience which Canada has gained, after years of trial and experiment, was freely placed at Mr Ayson's disposal. The New Zealand representative warmly acknowledges the friendly counsel which he has received here, especially from Professor Prince, Dominion Commissioner of Fisheries. Inasmuch as the experiment of shipping Atlantic salmon to New Zealand had not succeeded, Mr Ayson was particularly \ anxious to arrange with Professor Prince . for a trial shipment of Pacific salmon, which abound in the rivers of British Columbia. Accordingly it was decided to send a quarter of a million eggs of the Fraser River salmon, but unfortunately, on account of the mildness of the weather, this season the eggs are at least a month in advance of their normal condition, and Professor Prince thinks it would be too great a risk to ship them now. Speaking to your correspondent yesterday Professor Prince said : " The Dominion Government is most anxious to aid Mr Ayeon in his zealous efforts, and during the coming summer we shall arrange to forward ft special consignment of Fraser River salmon eggs to New Zealand. The rivers of British Columbia in many ways, it appears, resemble those of New Zealand. The melting snow from the Rocky Mountains keeps the water cool, and seems to have a most beneficial effect on the immense runs of salmon in the famous Fraser. Until the cold snow water comes down from the Rockies the innumerable schools'" of salmon linger in the estuary, but towards the end of June, and in July and August, the parent fish pass up the stream for hundreds of miles, spawning in the upper reaches. If, as I understand is the case, bcmcwhat similar conditions prevail in New Zealand, I see no reason wny our British Columbia salmon should not do well in the waters of the sister colony." Experts are of opinion that the Pacific salmon reach maturity much more readily than the Atlantic or British salmon. The results, therefore, of artificial spawning ■.vould be apparent much earlier. The Fraser River salmon are characterised by a rich red colour of the flesh, which makes them specially in demand. No other salmon has so rich and deep a colour in the flesh. If Mr Ayson's scheme, which he is most anxious to carry out successfully next season turns out all right he will be able, no doubt, to place some pi the fry n artificial enclosures until they attain a 'airly good size. This would overcome iome of the dangers which undoubtedly :ave acted detrimentally on the young ry which have hitherto been planted in >Jew Zealand waters. The quinnat salmon, which the United States Government has agreed to furnish to Jlr Ayson, are not so favourable for experiment as the Fraser Hiver salmon, which are locally known as "sockeye." The quinnat reaches a great size, some having been taken as high as 801b in weight, but this species does not ascend the rivers as high as the sockeye, and appears to be more independent of the snow water. The colour of the flesh is a pale pink, which renders them less valuable in the market because less attractive. Angling for quinnat is good sport both in summer and winter. In some harbours of ' British Columbia these fish are taken until February, and all round Vancouver Island, until the fish commence to ascend tho rivers, quinnat are taken with spoon bait. Very few of the sockeye, however, are caught by hook and line, although it is generally believed that they would accept the. bait. The impression is that on account of the ifluddy - snow water they do . not see the bait when it is offered to them. Another of the five varieties of Canadian salmon is the cohoe, or silver salmon, " which is declared by a well-known authority, Mr Ashdown Green, to be superior to the sockeye in regard to its edible qualities. The cohoe, unlike the sockeye, is late in ascending the rivers. It is towards the end of August or early in September before they make their appearance. It is, therefore, probable that along with the shipment of sockeves from 60,000 tc 100,000 eggs of the cohoe salmon will be 6ent to New Zealand, as Inspector M'Nab, the representative of the Canadian Fisheries department in British Columbia, thinks he can secure them on spawning grounds adjacent to those from which the Dominior hatchery obtains its supplies of salmor eggs. Mr Ayson agreed with Professoi Prince that the cohoe would be a mosi suitable fish for New Zealand waters. Thi New Zealand representative takes homi •with him a - quarter of a million of lak< whitefish eggs. These are the famous Lake Erie whitefish, which have been lonj celebrated as the finest for edible purpose of the lake fish of North America. With reference to the hatching of sei fis'a in a marine hatchery, experts havi come to the conclusion that the benefit of artificial incubation are problematical There are insuperable difficulties in the wa; .of successful artificial propagation. Tlv . delicacy of the eggs, their susceptibility h changes of temperature and to chemica impurities, far surpass those of the salmon whitefish, and other species which hay been successfully hatched by artificia means. When the young fry of the coi or haddock emerge from the eggs they ar extremely sensitive and delicate, and wil not bear handling or transmission for an; great distance. It is significant, in thi connection, that Newfoundland, which wen extensively into the hatching of cod fo several --ears, has finally abandoned th

work. A Norwegian expert, Mr Neilson, was brought oveT to superintend the experiments, and he has on record that 30 per cent, of the parent fish are lost annually -either through disease or from injuries sustained in their capture. Of 78 millions of eggs of the cod secured one season, 39 millions were rejected as bad. In the propagation of the cod experience shows that the best plan to pursue is to ke«p the young fish in captivity until they are two or three years old, and plant them out i when they are sufficiently strong to look ' after themselves. Mr Ayson's experiments will be watched with sympathetic interest by the Dominion officials. A FLORAL WREATH A curious case is likely to come up before . the Ontario High Court of Justice at an early date, a writ having been issued against Sir Mackenzie, BowelT, late Premier of Canada for the sum of 1141dol, being the amount of the cost, with interest, of a floral wreath supplied at the funeral of Sir John Thompson. The wreath was valued at 900dol, and 241d0l is charged for interest. ' Sir John Thompson, it will be rel membered, while Premier of Canada, died ; at Windsor Castle on the 12th December, i 1894, the very day on which he was sworn ; a member of the Imperial Privy Council. The remains of the deceased were conveyed r to Halifax, N.S., by the Imperial warship ! Blenlieim, and were interred with all the pomp and ceremony attendant npon a State funeral. Among the tributes to the dead statesman, and which appeared in the pro cession to the grave, was a magnificent floral offering from " his devoted colleaguee, Mackenzie Bowell, John Curran, Fr«wk Smith, A. P. Caron, T. M. Daly, J. G. Haggart, A. R. Angers, and W. B. Ivei." It was supplied by W. B. Davidson, florist, of Montreal, since deceased, and the action is now taken by his widow. The accounts rendered the Government for the funeral , amounted in all to 25,000d01, but the item of 900dol for this wreath was not included, i because it was said that the members of the ; Government were to pay for it themselves. Sir Mackenzie Bowell was at the time ' Acting-Premier, and is said to have ordered the wreath through Mr Louis Coste, chief engineer of the public works, who had charge of the funeral arrangements. Some time ago the account was presented to the present Government on the ground that Sit Mackenzie Bowell and his colleagues had failed to pay for it. Payment was refused oa the report of Mr Coste, who said the article was ordered personally by Sir Mackenzie Bowell for himself and colleagues, and that they were to pay for it. Action is now taken against Sir Mackenzie alone, because it is held that he not befng Premier, but merely acting as senior member of the Cabinet, hod no right to include lids colleagues in any such order. In his defence Sir Mackenzie Bowell says that he did not authorise Mr Coste to order the floral tribute, and that any floral tribute that was furnished was under the directions of the Government ; and that W. B. Davidson knew at the time that no personal liability was incurred nor any personal services rendered for any member of the Government. ■ THE ANGLO-JQTERICAN COMMIS- ! SION. It is a long cry from Washington to Wellington, but it is not unlikely that the telegraph may have informed yoa of the conference which has been in progress between representatives of Great Britain and the United States for some weeks past with a "—View to the settlement of many subjects l which have been at issue between Canada ' and her big neighbour for some years. \ Within the next fortnight the commission ' will have concluded its labours, and Canadians are wondering just now what the result will be. The questions submitted to \ the coHferenoe were briefly as follows: — ' First. — The question in respect to the fur seals in Behring Sea and the waters of the ISc.rtS Pacific Ocean. [ ; Second. — Provisions m respect to the ' fisheries of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, L and in the waters of their common fron- , tiers. s Third. — Provisions for the delimitation , and establishment of the Alaska-Canadian . boundary by legal and scientific experts, , if _ the commi6Bion shall so decide, or other- . wise. ' Fourth. — Provisions for the transit of merchandieo in transportation to or from either ' country, across intermediate territory of the other, whether by land or water, including i natural and artificial waterways • and infcer- , mediate transit by sea. ' Fifth. — Provisions relating to the transit • of merchandise from t ono country to be de- , livered at points in 'the other beyond the frontier. 1 Sixth. — The question of the, alien labour laws, applicable to the citizens of the United States and of Canada. Seventh. — Mining of the citizens or sub1 jects of each country within the territory ) of the other. i Eighth. — Such readjustments and concessions as may be deemed mutually advanj tageous of customs duties applicable in each s country to the products of the soil or in- ~ o *dustry of the other, upon the basis of reciprocal equivalents.. 1 Ninth. — A revision of the agreement of I 181? respecting naval vessels of the lakes. r Tenth. — Arrangements for the more comt plete definition and marking of any part of c the frontier line, by land or water, where c the same is now so lnsnrficiently defined or c marked as to be liable to dispute. s Eleventh. — Provisions for the conveyance for trial or punishment of persons in the " lawful custody of the officers of one country s through the territory of the other. Twelfth. — Reciprocity in wrecking and a salvage rights. c In many quarters fears are expressed that ■s Canada will suffer as a result of this InI. ternational Commission. In all previous y negotiations with the United States, except c one, the Dominion has come out the small o end of the horn. If any of your readers il will take the trouble to look at the map of i, the United States and Canada they will c see how the State of Maine runs its il shoulder, so to speak, right into Canadian d territory Lord Arfiburton and Daniel •c Webster were the commissioners who, in II 1842, had to determine the boundary bey tween the Stale of Maine and Canada, is The British envoy was no match for the it astute American, and it is an everlasting >r reproach to British statesmanship that such ie a man as Lord Ashburton should have been

sent to this continent to barter away the rights of British subjects. Canadians today are fearing a repetition of the ex- ] perience of 1842. Lord Herschell, chair- : man of the British Commission at Washing- ' ton, is a man of great ability, but he does not look at the questions at issue from a . purely Canadian standpoint. Like a good ! many public men in England he is imbued with the Anglo-American alliance idea, and fears are expressed in Canada that he will allow his views to influence hie judgment. Should a treaty of the jug-handle variety be drafted, with the handle of the jug altogether on the American side, it will go hard with the representatives of Canada when they come to face Parliament. The proposed grant to the United States of permission to build warships on the Great Lakes has raised a storm of protest from one end of Canada to the other. Of course, it will be urged in justification for this action that the same privilege will apply to Canadians, and that therefore no harm will be done. In Canada, however, there are no great shipbuilding yards such as are found at points on the American shores of Lake Erie, and if the opinions of the Canadian people could be polled, nine-tenths would say that there should bs no deviation from the agreement of 1817, which restricts each country to one gunboat for revenue purposes on the Great Lakes. Another question which has caused considerable friction between the two countries is the alien labour law, passed by the ' United States some years ago. When the measure was before Congress it was never supposed that it would apply to Canada. The promoters said all they were anxious to do was to keep Europeans out of the United States, whose labour had been contracted for before reaching the shores of America, and which was calculated to displace American labour. Canadian anticipations, however, were not realised, and the bill has been rigorously enforced against our people. Working men residing on the i Canadian side of the Detroit River, or of ■ the Niagara River, whose employment lay J on the American side, have been forcibly deported and treated with great harshness. These acts of repression have created much ill-feeling, and it was, therefore, with a great deal of satisfaction that Canadians learned there was a possibility of an agreement being reached whereby our people would be exempt from the operation of this obnoxious measure. Should an agreement not be reached, then it is rifore than likely that Canada will pay the Americans back in their own coin. It is not often that the United States Government will acknowledge itself in the wrong, but a case has just arisen in which an apology has been formally tendered to Canada for an overt act on the part of a United States customs officer. Last September Canadian national sentiment was grossly outraged by the abduction of an Ontario man named Meagher on the St. Clair .River, in Canadian territory, by a customs officer of the United States. The excuse made for Meagher's arrest was that he had been selling eggs and cherries to some persons on ihe American side of the river without paying duty. He was in his boat, a small steam launch, on the river one night, when he was accosted by the United States customs officer, who, with another man, was in a row boat. These men came off and asked Meagher to be taken in tow, a request which lie complied with. Then the customs man asked to be allowed on board the yacht to look at the engine. Meagher obligingly consented, and ■ helped the officer to the deck at' the yacht, which all the time had been making for the Canadian shore. Then the stranger, disclosing his identity, essayed to place Meagher under arrest. Meagher resisted, claiming that he was across on the Canadian _ side of the boundary. The officer's companion, however, also boarded the launch, and between them they handcuffed their man. By this time the launch was aground on the Canadian shore. Not only was Meagher arrested, but the launch was also taken off, and run over to the American side. There Meagher was treated with great indignity, being not only chained to a bedpofct, but marched like a felon through the streets,, to the disgust even of the better class of the community. Meagher, having given bonds for his appearance, was subsequently released upon the demand of the Dominion Government. The Attorney-general for Canada took the matter up, and made such a strong presentation of the case that, as a result, the , Government at Washington has made the amende honourable. A despatch has been received from Sir Julius Pauncefote, British Ambassador at Washington, conveying from the United States Secretary for State an expression of opinion on behalt of the American Government that the arrest was not made with felonious intention, but expressing their regret for what had happened. It of course cannot be learned what was the exact nature of the correspondence which led to this most satisfactory result, but when Parliament meets the papers will doubtless be moved for that the record may become public property. It is doubtful if such an outcome would have been possible a year ago, but in view of the strong support which Great Britain gave to the United States during the His-pano-American war, when it looked as if some of the great Powers of Europe were about to interfere, the feeling on the part of the United States, even towards Canada, has been much more friendly than it was two or three years ago.