COMPARATIVE VIEW. — BHITAIK. 10^ 



of the fishery. The Dutch are now as much he- 

 hind us in the whale-fishery, as they were, at the 

 period referred to, our superiors. 



Every encouragement which had yet been offered 

 by the British Government to adventurers in the 

 whale-fishery, being found inadequate to effect its 

 establishment on such a scale, as to become of any 

 national advantage, trial in 1733 was made, of a 

 plan originally proposed by the South Sea Compa- 

 ny ; which was, in addition to other privileges, to 

 incite the merchants to speculate in the trade, by a 

 bounty of 20.v. per ton, on the burden or admea- 

 surement of the ships engaged in it. As the trade, 

 however, still continued very feeble, the bounty, af- 

 ter seven years, was increased to 30.9. per ton, and 

 yet only from three to six sail of ships continued to 

 be employed until the year 1749. This being the 

 case, a farther increase of 10^. per ton was made to 

 the existing bounty ; in consequence of which, the 

 English fishery began to increase and flourish, and 

 the merchants of Scotland began to participate in 

 the trade. The acts of Parliament, by which these 

 bounties were secured to adventurers, were after- 

 wards subjected to various revisions and limitations, 

 for the purpose of the more economical application 

 of the money thus expended. The trade being 

 then, to appearance, fully established, it became a 

 subject of parliamentary discussion, — the propriety 

 of retrenching the expence to which the nation had 



