yt 
briefly considered the position of our friends and neigh- 
bours as regards the subject of my address I will pass on 
to notice our home line-fishing. 
I have already referred to the fact that line-fishing is 
carried on more or less all round our coast. There is 
scarcely a village or a hamlet on the east coast of England 
and Scotland without its fishermen. The beach boat, yawl, 
coble and other open boats that venture out from along 
the English and Scotch coasts when weather and other 
circumstances permit, to work their lines, may be counted 
by hundreds. But, as His Royal Highness the Duke of 
Edinburgh has remarked in his admirable paper, “the 
term fisherman is a somewhat elastic one,” and the occupa- 
tions of persons who style themselves fishermen are of such 
varied character that we must leave these in order to deal 
with that class whose sole occupation is fishing and who 
make this calling the business of their life. 
Before the railway system had grown to anything like 
its present proportion the small town of Barking in Essex 
was the great fishing centre of England. Being near to 
London and on the Thames its situation was a most con- 
venient one for the fishermen who made it their business to 
supply the Metropolis with fish. Nearly fifty years ago a 
fleet of about 200 decked vessels sailed from this place, and 
the trade was considerably developed as regards the size 
and construction of their vessels and the efficiency of the 
men themselves. Still their smacks were small compared 
with those of the present day ; most of them were under forty 
tons register. These vessels were adapted both for lining 
and trawling, and were alternately occupied in each trade. 
The remainder of the lining fleet was made up from Green- 
wich, Harwich, Gravesend, Aldborough, Blackwall and 
Deptford. They used to go to the Dogger Bank during 
the winter months, and worked with long-lines ; during the 
