CONCLUSION . 173 



prestige away from us. A starving Europe 

 is not going to leave the fisheries to our 

 exploitation alone. We shall have neigh- 

 bours and rivals in a field open to all, and 

 the successful competitiors will be those 

 who are best equipped with brains, energy, 

 and material. Can we in full confidence 

 say that we can rest on our oars and 

 despise this continental competition ? In 

 judging this question we must remember 

 that pre-war conditions no longer operate. 

 The future will be quite different, since 

 demand, the greatest factor in production, 

 is vastly increased. Before the war, luck 

 and our favoured position were on our 

 side, in future there must be no luck ; 

 if the ocean is to be fully exploited it will 

 be the most intelligent and energetic people 

 who will succeed ; the best man will win. 

 If our methods are not equal to the methods 

 of other European nations, as soon as 

 peace comes the industry will have its 

 supremacy menaced. The importance of 

 this question cannot be exaggerated. A 

 great deal depends on the methods employed 

 by those workers engaged in the industries 

 and the intensity of their effort ; we must 



