The following is a portion of the minutes of the International Commission for Newfoundland Fisheries as reported by Henry T. I. Jenkinson ( July, 1859). Special Thanks to Dr. Selma Barkam .

  Anchor Point

Examination XXVI

Mr.William Gange

1.) What is your name?        >WilliamGange<                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

2.) How old are you?                                                                                                                                                         >66 years old.<

3.) How long have you been in Newfoundland?                                                                                                                       I came out from Somersetshire 44 years ago and known the fisheries all that time.<   

4.) How long have you lived at Anchor Point?                                                                                                                   >I've lived at Anchor Point ever since I came out.<

5.) What kind of fishery have you carried on?                                                                                                                        >All kinds. Cod, herring, and salmon.<

6.) Have you ever been interrupted in your fishery by the French?                                                                                          >No, not till last year, when they told me not to fish the following year.<       

7.) Do you think you have a right to fish if you do not interfer with the French?                                                                    >Yes, I do.<

8.) Is that the general opinion of the British Settlers on the French Shore?                                                                             >Yes, it is.<

9.) When do the herrings come in here?                                                                                                                               >The spring herring come in, in May according to the season and go off again in June I think. But I do not fish spring herring. The fall herring come in most times in August and stay about a month. I get on an average 100 barrels of fall herring a year. I got 100 barrels last year<

10.) Did you ever hear that the French have complained that they could not get enough herring for bait?                                 >I never hear of them making such a complaint.<

11.) Do the French ever fish herring for any other purpose besides getting bait?                                                                     >Not that I know of.<

12.) Do you know the River of Ponds?                                                                                                                               >Yes. I know it very well. We used to have it, till the French turned us out of it. My Uncle used to fish the River of Ponds<

13.) Where did you fish the River of Ponds? Above or below the bar?                                                                                  >Above the bar in the fresh water<

14.) How long did your uncle fish the water?                                                                                                                        >For 40 or 50 years. the Frenchmen turned him out of it, he fished it for many years after the peace<

15.) What reason did the French give for turning your uncle out?                                                                                              > They said "They had drawed" the river and River of Castors and all the rivers<

16.) Do you think that the french have a right to fish the rivers?                                                                                               >I can't say, People tell me not<

17.) Is the general opinion of the British that the French have no right to fish the rivers?                                                           >Yes, it is<

18.) What quanity of salmon used to be taken in the River of Ponds on an average?                                                              >Thirty tierces. ( That is 45 barrels, a tierce is 300 lbs ) <                                                                                 

19.) Do you consider it a valuable fishery?                                                                                                                            >Yes, it is<

20.) Would you fish it now, if your family had not been turned out?                                                                                       >Yes, certainly<

21.) Do you know anything about the River of Castors in St. John's Bay?                                                                             >Oh yes! Our family used to fish that river<

22.) Did they fish in the River of Castors in the fresh water above the bar?                                                                         >Yes, above the bar<

23.) Did the French turn your family out of  the River of Castors?                                                                                         >Yes, they turned my uncle out the same as they did at the River of  Ponds<

24.) What quantity of salmon did your uncle take in the River of Castors on an average each year?                                         > about 20 tierces (i.e. 30 barrels)<

25.) Would you fish there now if you could?                                                                                                                    >Yes<

26.) Who fishes that River now?                                                                                                                                           >An Englishman, but it belongs to the french. He (the Englishman) took it.<

27.) Does he fish it for the French?                                                                                                                                       >No,the French gave it up because it did not pay.<

28.) When the French gave it up, why did you not go back to the river?                                                                         >Because I did not know anything about it. The other man took it. The French only gave it up two years ago<

29.)How long did the French fish the River of Castors?                                                                                                   >About 20 years.<

30.) You said that it was the general opinion of the British settlers that they had the right of fishing the Rivers, is it not the general opinion of the French that they have the right of fishing the River?                                                                           >The French said they had the right. They "drawed" the Rivers, the same as they "drawed" the Rooms.<

31.) Did you not say to Captain Clove when he told you that you would not be allowed to fish this year, that you "had heard for the last ten years that you were not to fish anymore but that you have always fished just the same?"                                   >I don't recollect saying so (on Mrs. Gange's recalling to her husband's memory the circumstances of Captain Clove's visit to Anchor Point last year, witness answered) Oh, yes. I may have said "I shall fish next year, the same as last year. I have heard this the last ten years, I  had heard nothing of the sort. I said this merely by way of a joke. I had known Captain Clove for many years.<

32.) Do you fish seals here every year?                                                                                                                                 >Yes<

33.) What quantity of seals do you generaly catch?                                                                                                                >Some years 100 seals, some years 200, some years very few indeed.This year I took 80 seals<

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