INTRODUCTOllY. 9 



reason is that fishermen as a class are accustomed to a 

 more independent life than other workers of the same 

 rank. Fishermen are bred up to their business from 

 infancy ; their earliest recollections are of boats, nets, 

 and fish, and by the time they are old enough for the 

 Navy, or to choose their profession, they have begun to 

 understand something of the attraction of a fisherman's 

 life ; there is the daily speculation as to what may be 

 caught ; the share or part share of the capture is of 

 increasing interest ; and the prospect rises before them 

 of one day becoming master or even owner of a boat. 

 These are considerations which are not easily lost sight 

 of by the rising generation of fishermen. Older men 

 are even less likely to give up their independent life ; 

 and, as we have frequently had opportunities of seeing, 

 master and men when at sea work together with a 

 heartiness and goodwill which show the common 

 interest they feel in their occupation. It can hardly 

 be a matter of surprise that men accustomed to such a 

 life should decline to submit themselves to the necessary 

 discipline of the Navy, although the present and pro- 

 spective advantages of that service should in various 

 shapes be pointed out to them. 



Were England engaged in a naval war, and the seas 

 around her threatened by the enemy so that the coast- 

 ing trade was impeded and deep-sea fishing became a 

 dangerous pursuit, then undoubtedly many fishermen 

 would be eager to take part in defending their own ; 

 but those are times when patriotism and possible prize- 

 money call upon everyone, and in such a contingency 

 there would be no failing in the supply of men who are 

 accustomed to the sea, either from merchant ships or 

 fishing boats. Something more than this, however, is 

 wanted for our modern navy, and considerable training 



