-"

"What do you mean by the French shore?" interrupted Cabot. "I thought
you lived in Newfoundland, and that it was an English island."

"So it is," explained White; "but, for some reason or other, I don't
know why, England made a treaty with France nearly two hundred years
ago, by which the French were granted fishing privileges from Cape Bay
along the whole west coast to Cape Bauld, and from there down the east
coast as far as Cape St. John. By another treaty made some years
afterwards France was granted, for her own exclusive use, the islands
of Miquelon and St. Pierre, that lie just ahead of us now.

"In the meantime the French have been allowed to do pretty much as they
pleased with the west coast, until now they claim exclusive rights to
its fisheries, and will hardly allow us natives to catch what we want
for our own use. They send warships to enforce their demands, and
these compel us to sell bait to French fishermen at such price as they
choose to offer. Why, I have seen men forced to sell bait to the
French at thirty cents a barrel, when Canadian and American fishing
boats wore offering five times that much for it. At the same time the
French officers forbid us to sell to any but Frenchmen, declaring that
if we do they will not only prevent us from fishing, but will destroy
our nets."

"I should think you would call on English warships for protection,"
said Cabot. "There surely must be some on this station."

"Yes," replied the other, bitterly, "there are, but they always take
the part of the French, and do even more than they towards breaking up
our business."

"What?" cried Cabot. "British warships take part with the French
against their own people! That is one of the strangest things I ever
heard of, and I can't understand it. Is not this an English colony?"

"Yes, it is England's oldest colony; but, while I was born in it, and
have lived here all my life, I don't understand the situation any
better than you."

"It seems to me," continued Cabot, "that the conditions here must be
fully as bad as those that led to the American Revolution, and I should
think you Newfoundlanders would rebel, and set up a government of your
own, or join the United States, or do something of that kind."

"Perhaps we would if we could," replied White; "but our country is only
a poor little island, with a population of less than a quarter of a
million. If we should rebel, we would have to fight both England and