112 THE FISHERIES. 



reasonably be expected. Large Government grants 

 and facilities for bank accommodation, give the ne- 

 cessary impetus to the fisheries in Scotland : private 

 capital, to a large amount, is also made available to 

 the Cornish fishermen : the result is, the men em- 

 ployed in these fishing boats, which, with their equip- 

 ments, are worth about £200 each, soon become 

 owners. We think this svstem, or a somewhat simi- 

 lar one, might be carried out in this country, on a 

 large scale. But employment at fixed wages, will 

 not be found to answer with fishermen : there must 

 be a venture to stimulate the incessant hardships 

 which fishermen are forced to undergo. If the ne- 

 cessary equipments be obtained — say, for instance, 

 by means of a loan-fund, the fishing should then be 

 prosecuted on shares, upon a system, well known and 

 recognized, in this country, as well as in England, 

 and found to answer : — the capture, or produce, if 

 represented by seven, is divided thus : the boat gets 

 one-seventh ; and the other six -sevenths are divided 

 equally : three-sevenths go to the train of nets and 

 fishing-gear, and three-sevenths to the crew. This 

 adjustment is found to remunerate the men amply, 

 and if it be a fair and equitable one (which we be- 

 lieve to be the case), it follows, that the account for 

 boat, nets, and equipments balances itself — practi- 

 cally, and in effect, the result is so : and the capital 

 being supplied, and the boat and equipments pur- 

 chased, and leased out as it were, in this way ; two 

 or three averao-e seasons suffice to make the crew 



