t 
ENGLAN®. 
‘barrels of dry fish, of which 209,995 went to 
of Europe ; and in 1799, 313,756 barrels, of 
Eu took off 238,953. The ex- 
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1799, the number of barrels of wet fish 
ed only to 3548, of which the south of Europe took 990. 
The tonnage, an g bone oon of course, fell off 
in a similar pr i In the year 1790, the tonnage 
was 31,644, the men 2608; in 1791, the former 
was 34,166, and the latter 2639 ; whereas, in 1798, the 
tonnage was only 15,838, and the men 1268 ; and in 
1799, the tonnage was 14,322, and the men 1145. It 
is however, | pt ober pipreny fishery, 
which, at present, is as as it was in 1799, 
will revive, now that we are at peace with the south of 
E é age) rag ost paar rag eee 
Fy Red nglish Channel, of which Pool is 
by far the most considerable. 
The English seem to have commenced their fishery 
for whales in the North Seas, about the year 1598, but 
the first voyage, expressly undertaken by them, for this 
' purpose, was in the year 1611. At this time the Rus. 
sian sent two ships into the Greenland seas ; 
pert Veep mg Tasmopedioge ingised 
to thi > ', however, soon reli it. 
The asks, of this, seems to have been 
eommencing, the number again fell off; and in 1762. 
there were only 28. In the year 1770, they had in- 
creased to 50, which, on an average, were about 300 
tons burden, and navigated each by 54 men, of whom 
six were ; 
From the year 1770, till the commencement of the 
American war, the Greenland whale fishery from 
land ively improved, there having been, in 
progressi 
1775, the year before hostilities began, ie con- 
rom 
again there having been, in the 
year of the war, only 38 ships, of about 20,000 
As soon as peace was restored, however, the fishery re- 
vived very rapidly ; in 1785, there were 136 vessels ; 
in 1786, 162 ; in 1787, 219; and in 1788, 216. The 
20 and 30,000 tons, and navi 
The ports from which th 
Scarborough, 
don. 
15 
The South Sea whale fishery was not followed in this Statistics 
country till about the year 1776, where there were 
equipped 15 vessels of about 170 tons each. As the go. sex, 
s had carried’ on this fishery before this period, 
four American harpooners were sent out in each vessel. 
The first voyage was not very successful, as they got 
only Sekpmcn duty and fifty tons of oil a-piece, yet the 
superior quality, and the price of it, advanced by the 
war from L.35 to L.70 per ton, were sufficient to en 
the merchants to persevere in the business. - In. 
1778, 19 vessels were sent oy gtr» Seas ; but 
from some cause, ‘not explained, in the following year, 
1779, the number was reduced to four; and it Rit, 
nued under 10 till the year 1785, when 11 vessels were 
sent out: in 1788, the number of vessels were 42, and’ 
their burden 8637 tons; till the year 1781, all the ves- 
sels to London ; after that, Liverpool, and 
some other of the out-ports, began to participate in the 
In 1798, the first year of the war, the number of 
vessels was 38 ; the war, however, seems to have af= 
fected this fishery ; for, in 1797, the number was re« 
duced to 23; and it continued nearly the same till the 
conclusion of the war. At present, the number is'again 
raised, there being usually between 35 and 40 vessels,_ 
die. ksinage af: whieh ds een 12,000 and 14,000, 
and the number of men employed between 800 and 
1000. 
From this brief sketch of the fisheries of England, 
both domestic and foreign, it is sufficiently obvious that 
they are not carried on with nearl: arp aariig ute 
enterprize and spirit which is displayed by the English 
in almost all the other branches of their trade. Yet 
frequent attempts have been made to extend and im- 
ve them: companies have been formed by indivi- 
uals, and bounties granted by government. Whence 
then does it happen, that the fisheries of this country, 
especially those on the coasts of the island, are so im- 
ly and idly pursued? Probably, because 
in other branches of trade and commerce, we have 
made such great advances, and can secure, .or at least 
render probable, such large profits, that the compara« 
tively small profits which the fisheries offer to our com~ 
mercial ambition, are not sufficient to turn the adequate 
ital aside into that channel. 
n considering the trade of any maritime country, it 
—- divides itself into three 3 the coasting 
trade, the inland trade, and the foreign trade: the last,, 
strictly and properly speaking, constitutes its commerce. 
The two first are versant either about the ly of the: 
inhabitants of the country, or they indivety consti« 
tute part of its foreign commerce. They must be con-« 
sidered in the latter light, when they merely bring 
goods to the ports of shipment ; and in'the former light, 
when they contribute towards the interchange of ar« 
bic of estic eonsum — : ‘a 
The. coasting and inlan le of England, tho 
of great i ce and value, even ‘ehen considered 
as confined to ase 8 of domestic consumption, cannot 
abe te ariew in an estimate at all approaching to the 
truth, the details being much too pve sore and scatter- 
ed, and many of them too minute. 
The coal trade comprises 
able branches of the coasting trade of this country ; 
the coal ships on the east coast alone, belonging to 
Newcastle, Shields, Blyth, Hartley, Whitby, ‘Sun er 
land, Scarborough, &c. amounting to about 1500 sail, 
of from 150 to 400 tons ; the number of men employ 
ed in these vessels cannot be fewer than 12,000. 
Coasting: 
trade, 
one of the most considers Coal trade. 
