Family Fireside 1951

              PUBLISHED
FOR
GERALD   8.
DOYLE LTD
, BY THE FAMILY
FIRESIDE
PUBLISHERS.     35S
DUCKWORTH ST.,
ST. JOHN'S.
jramilg ftotle
ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND, OCTOBER 1951
I as second eltas mall. Feet Office Department.  Ottawa,
Government Controlled Firm
Ordered Pay $2.25 qtl. More
Current Price To Be Paid For Fish
Sold On Open Receipt
The Government-controlled Andrewj Labrador
Fisheries Limited by a recent judgment of the Supreme
Court has betjn compelled to pay the current price of $9.25
per quintal on 4306 quintals of Labrador fish brought
from Mr. William Sellars in the summer of 1949.
The Andrews Labrador Fisheries Ltd, thc majority of whose
shares are held by the Newfoundland Government, fought the claim
of Mr. Sellars in the Supreme
Court, claiming they should only
pay S7.6o/per quintal. The Court,
however, upheld Mr. Sellars claim
and ordered a payment by the
Company of $2.25 per quintal
4,306 quintals.        •
It appears from the evidence lows: "The fact0* we*ich "■"
submitted, to the Chief Justice "uencc the setting of a price
thst J9.25 per quintal was paid become Irrelevant when the-price'
bv other buyers for thc areater '-Ji »et ""d ""*»<" l0T thc greater
plrt or bulk of thc Labrador dried
fish for the season apd the agreements, or lack of them, at meet-
ints of representatives of merchants' and fishermen's organizations are equally irrelevant
The Andrews Labrador Fisheries Ltd. has nominal share capital of $100,000 consisting of 1000
shares of $100 each. As at 17th
"November,  1950, the shareholders
Mr. Sellars should be paid an
extra $2.25 per quintal on 4,306
quintals, 626 quintals of which
represented thc catch of his own
crew and the balance was codfish
of the crews to whom he had
advanced supplies on credit
against thc returns of the voyage.
Another importai
i the  Judge's  decision
year.
The Government-controlled An- I
drew* Labrador Fisheries Ltd. j
paid only $7.00 for about. 15,000 j
quintals, and Mr, Sellars' crew
and other stationers from whom
he collected fish were looking to |
him for $9.25.
In the judgment handed down
by the Chief Justice there arc
several opinions expressed which
are very important in thcir bear
follov
Chief
The   Estate   of   the   late   David
Baird—1  share.
David Baird, Jr.,— 1  share.
!     Donald M. Andrews—101 share
J.  Macklnson  Baird—1   share.
\.   James  Baird.  Ltd.—600  share;
On March 15, 1950, 353 shares
wtre    transferred    from    James
Baird Ltd. ro the Newfoundland
Government.
One share was transferred from
the Estate of the late David Baird
to .Eric Cook.
One share was transferred to
R.   Mercer   from    David    Baird,
 j   and 248 shares were transferred
I^Vis'as'de'fincTln^ Andrews from James
selling of fish.
Here is, probabl:
v .T>rt*oi.*^»*liP"">. i
Justice:
"Cnless there is agreement
between thc buyer and the seller
as to price, the price payable in
accordance with the long-established custom in the Labrador
fishery Is the current price,
ttHeslni these words sppear en
the receipt er not   The   current.
vs. Mur.*,' that is the price which
was paid for the arrester part er
balk of the Labrador cured fish
fee the season. That price became
payable in the absence of agreement to the contrary, at the close
ot the season ori return toNew-
indland and in 1949 was $9.25
BarrtTLtd.
The present shareholders as
listed on September 22, 1951, are:
Newfoundland Government, 353
shares; Donald M. Andrews, 349
shares; Eric Cook, 1 share; -Hr
Mercer, 1 share,
therefore that the
Newfoundland Government holds
the majority of shares in the Com-
The Bruce Feather
Report
Mr. Bruce Feather was appointed by the Government last'
February to enquire tntn. jthcprlce
paid or offered to fishermeen in
1950, and also to enquire into the
returns received by merchants
and exporters for the^r fish in
the  same year.'
So far that report has not been
published although it is known
to be in thc hands of the Government for some considerable |pe
past.
Dr. Pottle, /'ting Premier, on
August 24th, issued a- statement
that the Government intended to
enact legisjation that would empower it io assess and to enforce
payment of equitable prices by
each buyer of 19$0 fish, and apparently this decision is based
on Mr. Feather's report, for the
Acting Premier quotes from this
unpublished  report.
It is hardly understandable why
the Government has not published this Feather report. Is it a
fact that the only part in that
report which might look detrimental to the fish merchants was
stressed in Dr. Pottle's statement
of August  24th?
The words so far released ln
this report are as follows: "The
i majority of buyers have paid—
either throughout the season' or
I by subsequent additional payr
ments—prices to fishermen that
axe fair .and just In relation, to
expenses and returns . , . but
there are grounds' for requiring
additional payments to fishermen
by possibly as    many    as    fifty
On the'strength of this selected
quotation from the Feather report, thc Government states it
will introduce legislation to enforce retroactive payments.
It was this startling
ment which brought together 63
fish firms from till over Newfoundland on September 10th to
protest that the statement pub-
Unclaimed Family
Allowances
^According to a statement just
issued by the Family Allowance
Division over $30,000.00 could
have been had for the asking last
year by Newfoundland mothers,
but they didn't bother to as!:.
All this money. $30,500.00 worth
of Family Allowances went unclaimed during the 12 month
period ending August 31st.
Mr. R. G. Parsons, Regional
Director of Family Allowances at
St John's, stated that almost one
out of every four applications for
Family Allowances is late getting into the office. It seems that
many parents just don't bother to
send in their application until the
first month has gone hy. To some
of them, of course, lt is a bit of
a surprise to learn that they cannot get the "back money". Some
parents- apparently still believe
that payment begins with the
birth of the child, but this is not
so. Payment cannot be made at
all until an application is received, and begins with the month
after the application Is received in
the Regional Office. An exception
is made for new births; if the application is received within thirty
days of thc date of birth, payment
begins in the month following
birth. For example, if a child
were born on August 23rd, and
the application received on September 15th, payment could then
be made for September. But If the
application didn't get in until
September 24th payment would
have to begin ln October. Family
Allowances are never paid for
the month of birth.
The following is  a breakdown
on  the  delayed  registrations
the last year :
Number of  parents  losing
month's payment—1,827.
-Nthnber'trf parents losmg' two
months payment—1,523.
Number of parents losing three
months payment—383.
Number of parents losing four
months payment and over—2"
This gives a grand,   total
3,966   families   that   lost   one   or
more month's   family   allowance
during the past year.
pany. ( (
The Directors sre listed ss
Donald Andrews, Hon. Wm. J.
Keough, Eric Cook, R. D. Mercer.
Fatigue is From the Nerves
Fight Chronic Fatigue By '
Building Up Nervous Energy
fatigue
work hard and a
Bat chronic fatigue—always tired—if sn entirely
different condition. It coma* from exhaustion of tee
nerves; . When, you have chronic fatigue you aooner
et later become rettlest, nervous and irritable and
aimply<
a from overwork, either
'"""■which
Chronic fatigue m
mental or plsysica], oi
required to help restore nerrou* energy and vitamin B,
which it so helpful to the nerve* and helps to improve
digestion.
That Dr. Chase'a Nerve Food has been helpful to
many thousand* of people durinn-the nervou* strain
*, year* ia best .proven by the very marked
n tales.   Busineat executive* and Office
es. Busineat executives »nd office *Uffa,
factory superintendents and workers, housewives and
•ehool children -all classes, benefit by thi* dependable
and time proven food treatment for exhausted nerves
and chronic fatigue, -
GPNTiJNS VTTsiMlN ii AND EttEMTfel MINERALS
fished without any supporting
evidence cast a very serious reflection on every buyer of the
salt codfish trade, and was extremely damaging to the long
range policy of any firms engaged in the fish business.
They would not, they
make adjustments under duress
or threats ot legislation unheard
of in any free democratic society.
The Sslt Codfish AssoclaUon de-
msnded that no such legislation
be proceeded with.
Dr. Pottle replied that the Government would hold itself free to
take whatever course it believed
to be In the interest ot the people.
The   Association   deemed   the
reply unsatisfactory and claimed
that such legislation might  i
tall fish buying   and   result
price decline.
Since that time the Salt Codfish Association and the Government have been in communication
and held a joint meeting on September 23rd. It would be in the
best interests of everybody if
clarifying statement could be
issbed immediately so that the
normal movement of fish could
be proceeded with.
This situation at this particular time of year it mott unfortunate in the interests of all,
especially When it could be cleared up simply by the publication
of the full report at Mr. Bruce
Feather.
Fall Session
r a Proclamation of
Honour the Lieutenant-Governor
dated August 27th, 1951, the
House ot Assembly wss again prorogued until Wednesday, the
Third Day ot October. Although
it is not definitely known as to'
the itxsct date on which the
House of Assembly will.be call*d
together, It has bees reliably rU ted
that the probable data   of   re-
ney-General are still in Europe
but are expected to return to this
Country during the first week in
October when it is expected thst
an announcement will be made
ti to the calling-together of the
Members.
Mr. J. G. Higgins Stresses
Unity and Independence
In response to a number of requests from fishermen who attended the Convention, THE
FAMILY FIRESIDE publishes
hereunder the speech delivered by
Mr. John Higgins, K.C, at the
opening session ot the Newfoundland Federation of Fishermen in
May 1951.      -
Some of .the sentiments expressed by Mr. Higgins at that
date are even more timely now
in view of the controversy over
fish prices, and the statements released by the Government and
various fishery organizations.
Newfoundland was discovered In
1497 and St John's was undoubtedly inhabited in 1500. Fishermen
came from many parts of the
world. It was the fish, particularly
those on the Grand Banks, that attracted nations. By the beginning
of thc seventeenth century there
were many English vessels engaged in the fishery in this country.
In 1615 Sir Richard Whitbourne
called together the Captains- of
all English vessels one morning to
Institute the first formal Court of
Law in the country and 172 Captains  appeared  to  the summons.
The Treaty of Versailles, 1783,
which ended the War of Independence) between tbe United
States and England, contained
three main terms, one of which
gave permission to New England-
era    to    fish    in    Newfoundland
We made a treaty with the
United States Government—called
the Bond-Blaine Treaty—which
gave us the right to import fish
duty-free into the United State?.
This right would have been of
Incalculable importance to us and
would have put us years ahead
but by heavy pressure from Canada, which felt its fisheries would
suffer by the Treaty, England abrogated it and Newfoundland suffered  for  generations.
Now it is only two years since
Confederation was consummated
and many are wondering if the*
salt cod fishery is finished. Make
no doubt about it—there is pessimism  in  official quarters.
We have been told thc Labrador fishery is doomed. We may
take it for granted that officially
it is finished.
It is my opinion that this is
the most important and serious
meeting to be held in this country' for many" years. Today it is
my privilege and honour as
Leader, of the Opposition to
dress you at this important meeting. To the best of my knowledge,
the fisheries of the Mainland produce less than 2% of the total
revenue of the Dominion but
Is a far different story with
iii lhat we get practically 60% of
the revenue of Newfoundland
out  of  the  fishery.
The fisheries of thc Mainland
could be a failure and the country could still go on successfully.
But if our fishery were a failure
—fishery that produces 60% of
the revenue—what would happen to the. country—to you and
Gentlemen I am addressing you
today, in my opinion the men
who row the long boat and it is
the men who do this that count
I shall give you my assurance,
in so far as my knowledge and
'ability can direct and you can
always depend on me, to do all I
can to foster and develop the
fisheries.
I said we arc tied to a country
to whom thc fisheries are of small
importance in comparison with
other industries. We leamt only
recently that the farmers of
Western Canada received from
the Federal Government the sum
ot sixty-five million dollars to
defray losses sustained in supplying wheat to England by a contract made freely by them. And
this was done because farmers
play a big part in Canadian
Polltics-
I agree, that any organization
which may be helpful to the fishermen, who are still the backbone
of this country, should be undertaken. We are not terribly concerned about a small amount of
money like $20,000 to assist in
view of the amounts which have
been paid for other and much
more doubtful undertakings. Surely if we can pay thousands of
dollars for pictures of Speakers
and Premiers to hang in
House of Assembly wc can allow
some for an organization which
may be helpful to this country.
I am wondering if I am here
as a Tory. When the Premier
moved the adjournment of
House of Assembly last Friday
he said he did so for a week so
as to allow, as he said, all Liberals
and Tories and Independents to
attend the Convention.
Well, in his mind, Tory is a
hard boiled unprogressive individual who does not like liberty and
always has the desire to keep
others down. Now imagine applying the term that way to me with
my Irish forebears who fcught
for liberty for centuries and won
it and kept it. And" here they were
ever ln the vanguard in the fight
for Representative Government
But Tory, in its ordinary pell*
tical meaning, is Conservative,
and a Conservative is one " whe
keeps to the traditions and the
fundamentals; and most people
here are conservative by natur*.
They keep to the txadltions of
their forefathers. "They go to
Church on Sundsy. They ssy their
moaning and evening prayers, they
keep the Ten Commandments *nd
the precepts of ths Sermon on th*
Mount sre practiced by/them.
And if we wish* to be nasty
about the word Liberal, we knew
that Liberalism can be a ward ef
reproach with many ot the -isms
of the present day.
We have not been told the purpose of this organization nor have
I seen or had time to consider
what the aims snd objects will
be. On the face of it, as 'things
now stand, we may worry tome
over the question how far politics may enter into the formation
of this organization. It Is easy to
deny that now. We can appreciate
the Present but we have not the
gift of prophecy and cannot ex-
plan the Future.
We have no hesitation ln saying
that it would be in the best interests of the fishermen If sn organization of thit kind had about
lt no suspicion of its being formed for political purposes, snd we
cannot avoid, at present, such a
suspicion when government funds
are the sole source of the initial
undertaking.
I am not forgetful of the F.P.U.
We cannot tell definitely how
this great organization would have
fared if it had kept its own as a.
union of fishermen. It Is possible'
that Its effect would hsve been
felt all over Newfoundland and lt
may have been a flourishing or-
zanization today. But it entered
(Continued on page 2)
To Give Them the Vim and Vitality
So Necessary in the School Term
■f
•
Maybe you think your youngsters inherited all your own rugged good
health.and strength and need no special Vitcmin foods ... But doctors ef
all nations today agree) that Vitamins A and D addtd to the daily diet of
school children will greatly increase' thair bodily and mental activity.
Doyle't Newfoundland Cod Livtir-Oll i$ rich ,in Vitamins A and D—and has
a nut-like flavour became it is pure, and free from stearin.
DOYLE'S PURE
NEWFOUNDLAND
COD  LIVER  OIL
Be ture you get the HUE bottle tdehttfying DOYIF5        *\
r