COMPARATIVE VIEW. — HOLLAND. 141 



thirty years, the Dutch fishery maintained its im- 

 portance, and was prosecuted with the most splen- 

 did success. Tlie ships that were on the fishery, be- 

 ing sometimes incapable of carrying home the ex- 

 traordinary quantity of oil and fins which they ob- 

 tained, empty vessels were occasionally sent out for 

 taking in the superabundant produce *. 



After prosperity had invariably crowned their 

 endeavours for a number of years, the whales at 

 length appearing to have become sensible of the 

 danger to which they were exposed from the fish- 

 ers, commenced their retreat from the bays, and 

 were afterwards discovered with less certainty, and 

 consequently captured in fewer nvmibers. This 

 circumstance marks the termination of the jirst 

 era. 



The system of extravagance which had been 

 adopted in times of prosperity, continued to be 

 acted upon during the second era of the Dutch 

 fishery. Heavy losses, arising from the expensive 

 nature of all their buildings, which, in the final 

 retreat of the whales from the bays, became pro- 

 gressively of less importance, the extravagant e- 

 quipment of their ships, and the increased expence 

 required for adapting the ships for the sea-fishery, 

 together witli the growing scarcity of the whales, 

 at length obliged the chartered companies to adopt 



* Elking's View, &c. p. 43. 



