10. Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that in the annual report of the Commission of Government of Newfoundland the number of males engaged in the catching of codfish is given in the census for 1935 as 34,645. whereas the numbers estimated by the commission as employed in 1937 in the various branches of cod-fishing total less than 24,000; that whereas the earnings for fishermen other than those engagegd in cod-fishing are given in the census for 1935 as $136,463, the value to the fishermen of these catches as estimated by the commission for 1937 totals over $800,000; and whether he can furnish an explanation of the apparent discrepancies between these figures?
Lord StanleyI have made inquiries of the Governor in the matter, and understand, as regards the first point, that the figure of 34,645 given in the 1935 census represented the number of males who were cod-fishermen by vocation, though not necessarily engaged in the fisheries at the time, whereas the figures given in the Annual Report of the Commission for 1937 were confined to men actively engaged in the fisheries in that year. The Governor further explains that a drop in numbers occurred in 1937 owing to the shore fishery being unremunerative and to other sources of employment being available. As regards the second point, the Governor states that the figure given in the 1935 census for the earnings of fishermen other than those engaged in the cod fishery is considered to have been an under-estimate, due presumably to the difficulty of collecting reliable information.