650 



SCOTLAND. 



Statistics. 



Conmerce 

 and manu- 

 factures. 



Banks. 



The following Table shows the number of vessels 

 built and registered in Scotland during the eleven last 

 years, each year ending on the 5th January. 



Statistic 



1815 

 1816 

 1817 

 1818 

 1819 

 1820 

 1821 

 1822 

 1823 

 1824 

 1825 



In the following Table will be seen the number of 

 registered vessels belonging to Scotland. 



1820 

 1821 

 1822 

 1823 



Vessels. 

 3133 

 3160 

 3071 

 2863 



Tons. 

 288,770 

 289,535 

 276,931 

 259,444 



Men. 

 20,470 

 20,855 

 29,830 

 19,111 



General 

 view of the 

 commercial 

 state of 

 Scotland. 



As connected with commerce, the banking business is 

 a subject naturally entitled to consideration. Besides a 

 number of private banks, there are three chartered ones, 

 l.TheBank of Scotland, which was established by char- 

 ter from William and Mary in 1695. Its original capital 

 was L.I, 200,000 Scotch money, or L 100,000 sterling; 

 but it has been since augmented to L.I, 500, 000 ster- 

 ling. There are sixteen branches belonging to this 

 bank, in the different towns in Scotland, under the ma- 

 nagement of agents. 2. In the year 1727, the Royal 

 Bank of Scotland was erected by charter. Its affairs are 

 conducted by a governor and deputy, with eighteen 

 ordinary and extraordinary directors, and has one 

 branch at Glasgow. And, 3. The remaining chartered 

 bank, known under the name of the British Linen Com- 

 pany, was established in 1746; but it has diverted its 

 capital from its original destination, (the linen trade) 

 to the purposes of banking. It has at present twenty- 

 seven branches in different towns of Scotland. These 

 three chartered banks conduct business on similar 

 principles. In almost every town in Scotland a bank 

 has been established, and in some two or three ; but 

 these banks are private copartnerships, for the purpose 

 of discounting bills of exchange, and selling drafts on 

 London, Edinburgh, &c. They also, like the chartered 

 banks, give cash-accounts, or loans to individuals on 

 bonds of security; and traffic in money matters to a very 

 great extent. 



There are thirty banks in Scotland, which issue notes 

 of various amount, payable to the bearer on demand. 

 Several of these banks have branches and agents in 

 many of the principal towns in Scotland ; and the total 

 number of places where notes are issued, amounts to 

 nearly three hundred. 



General View of the Commercial Stale of Scotland. 



Some idea may be formed of the value and extent of 

 the commerce of Scotland by the following statement. 



In the year 1812, there belonged to Scotland 2708 

 ships, carrying 231,273 tons, navigated by 16,300 sea- 

 men. In the same year, the number of vessels that 

 cleared outwards, and entered inwards, including their 

 repeated voyages, was 3151, carrying 278,96'8 tons 

 outwards, and 3113, carrying 269,559 tons inwards. 



The total value of imports to, and exports from, 

 Scotland, for the year 1810, amounted fur the former 



to L.3,671,1 58 sterling, and for the latter to L.4,740,239 



sterling: of which L.4,126,682 sterling was British ,r"~ v ~""' 



IP .T-L i- Commerce 



produce and manufactures. The gross revenue of anj manu 



Scotland for the year 1813, amounted to L.4,843,299, tactiires, " 

 12s. lid. of which L 639,132, 5s. 2d. was charged for 

 management, drawbacks, allowances, &c. so that the 

 net revenue was L.4,204,l67, 7. 9^1. sterling. 



For the year ending 5th Jan. 1825, the official value Fisheries. 

 of the exports from Scotland was 5,899,431, and that 

 of the imports 4,349 990, the excess of exports being 

 1,549,44 1. The gross receipt of customs for the same 

 year was 953,969, the drawbacks, &c. 328,063, and 

 the real receipt 625,896. 



Fisheries. 



Different Fisheries. The fisheries of Scotland may 

 be classed under the following heads, viz. 



1. Salmon fishery. 



2. White fishery. 



3. Herring fishery. 



4. Whale fishery, and 



5. The catching of shell-fish. 



1 . Salmon Fishery. The rivers of Scotland are fre- 

 quented by immense numbers of salmon, which are 

 caught by nets, yairs, cruives, and other contrivances. 

 The largest rivers are the most productive; and at 

 their efflux, and on their banks, the fishings are the 

 source of great revenue to the proprietors, especially 

 since the method of preserving salmon by means of ice 

 has been adopted. 



In consequence of this discovery, the price of salmon 

 in Scotland has been .raised at the places where they 

 are caught at least ten fold ; and of course the rent of 

 the fisheries has advanced in the same proportion. 



Salmon are royal fish, and the right to catch them 

 is conveyed by grant from the crown, on which infeft- 

 ment proceeds in the same manner as required in the 

 investiture of land. Various statutes have been enact- 

 ed for the protection of salmon in close, or forbidden 

 time, or during their spawning season, and while the 

 fry pass down the rivers to the ocean. The rights of 

 the respective proprietors of fishings are also protected 

 and regulated by statutes, which are frequently ex- 

 plained by decisions of the Supreme Court. 



Salmon, from their scarcity, are a delicacy, which is 

 only within the reach of the more opulent part of the 

 community. Compared with white fish, their price in 

 the markets of Scotland may be ten times higher. The 

 value of the whole salmon caught in the rivers of Scot- 

 land is estimated at 150,000 per annum. 



In all the rivers of Scotland there are considerable 

 quantities of small fish, such as trout, "els, &c. In 

 some rivers, and in many of the lakes, there are pike 

 and perch; and in a few lakes the char is found. But 

 they are seldom caught in such abundance as to form 

 an article of commerce ; with the exception of the trout 

 of Lochleven, which are annually Jet at lOO of rent. 



2. White Fishery. This is a most valuable branch 

 of the Scotch fisheries, both from its extent and its va- 

 riety. It comprehends every species of white fish, 

 with which the coasts of Scotland so plentifully abound, 

 including haddocks, cod, ling, &c. with all kinds of 

 flat fish. Tho-:e who pursue this branch are denomi- 

 nated white fishers, and they inhabit the sea-ports, or 

 reside in numerous villages along the whole coast of 

 the kingdom. Their mode of fishing is by lines and 

 nets, but principally by the former ; and they carry on 



