COMPARATIVE VIEW. — HOLLAND. 149 



gaily conveyed abroad : and no harpoon cr, boat- 

 steerer, or other fishing-officer, was allowed to en- 

 gage in the service of any foreign nation, in time of 

 war, under severe restrictions *. 



The great fishery of the north has not always 

 answered the expectations of the adventurers ; it is 

 admitted, on the contrary, that in many disastrous 

 years, the products were greatly inferior to the cx- 

 pences. A thousand unforeseen accidents occasion- 

 ally disappointed the vigilance of the directors of the 

 different companies and societies of whale-fishers, 

 and rendered the labours of the seamen, vvliose de- 

 partment it was to capture the whales, ineffectual. 



Some speculators have imagined, that the fishery 

 for the whale was, on an average, disadvantageous, 

 and that, on the whole, it was injurious rather than 

 beneficial to the State. Others have compared this 

 branch of commerce to a lottery, in which, while 

 some obtain large prizes, others suffer still greater 

 loss ; and, consequently, as in a lottery, there must 

 be an ultimate loss to the speculators. These opi- 

 nions seem, however, to be grounded in error, since, 

 from different careful calculations, it appears, that 

 between the years 1669 and 177S, the Dutch 

 whale-fishery was a general source of gain to the ad- 



* The greater part of these regulations ^vere in force only in 

 lime of war. 



