HISTORY OF THE 



The patience and abilities of the adventurers being 

 now completely exhaufted, and the old bounty flill 

 unpaid, the fcene of diftrefs which operated amongft 

 all orders of perfons exceeded that of any former 

 period. 



Every man was eager to transfer his property, 

 upon any terms, to avoid the horrors of a jail; 

 many veffels were attached and fold at half their va- 

 lue y and happy was he who could aflign over his 

 bounty certificates at a difcount fo low as 30 per 

 cent. Many of the adventurers thus ruined and 

 undone, found it necefiary to contemplate new 

 objects whereby themfelves and their families might 

 be fupported. In this manner, the Britifh fifhery 

 begun in 1750, under the vigorous fupport of go* 

 vcrnment, was at the expiration of 20 years, almoft 

 annihilated, with the lofs of 4 or 500,000!. to the 

 fubjecls of the two kingdoms, while foreigners 

 were gaining that fum annually by the fifheries of 

 the Scottifh feas, with which they fupplied Europe 

 and the Weil Indies. 



During this melancholy flate of the bufinefs, cer- 

 tain perfons thought of an expedient which foon after 

 took place, and again revived the hopelefs > deje&ed 

 mind. Experience had convinced the filhers that 

 a fmall bounty well paid, was preferable in its ope- 

 ration, to a nominal large bounty, withheld for a feries 

 of years, and at length producing only 70 per cent. 

 They accordingly made a propofal to accept 30 {hil- 

 lings per ton inftead of 50; which being agreed to 

 by government, the 50 Shillings bounty was declared 

 to ceafe, and in lieu thereof, a bounty of 30 {hil- 

 lings was to commence in 1771, and to be punctually 

 paid from the Scottifh revenue at large, upon pro- 

 ducipg authenticated certificates that the refpeftive 

 claim'ants had in all cafes faithfully conformed to the 

 regulations fpecified in the ftatute. 



The effects of regular payments may be feen in 

 the annexed table, wherein it appears that between 

 1770, and 1776, the number of bufies on the Scot- 



i tiih 





