94 



NORTHERN WHALE FISHERY. 



we must entirely omit even tlie short abridgement 

 we had prepared, concerning the early and past 

 history of the trade, as prosecuted by the Basques, 

 the British, Dutch, and other nations, first on the 

 coast of France and northern Europe; then with 

 amazing energy and success at Spitzbergen ; then in 

 the Greenland seas ; and finally, in Davies Straits 

 and the northern shores of America. All we can 

 now attempt is a few very brief statements regard- 

 ing the present condition of the trade. 



The following summary is given by Mr. Scorseby 

 as the average quantity of shipping fitted out in 

 different ports for nine years, ending 1818 ; and the 

 comparison of it with the number sent out in 1830, 

 taken from the Edinburgh Cabinet Library, will 

 show the state of the trade at that date. The table 

 likewise shows the share of the trade which is taken 

 by England and Scotland; that it has very much 

 been diminishing in the former country and some- 

 what increasing in the latter. 



Average of r^ iooa 

 1810-18. -"^ ^^^^- 



91 5-9tlis 



41 



