ai HISTORY OF THE 



U VI 



whereas a permifllon to purchafe herrings, as well 

 as to fifh, would enable the vefTels to return earlier, 

 and with better cargoes, to the mutual benefit of all 

 parties concerned, from the poor half-ftarved High- 

 lander upon the fhores of the Hebrides, to the 

 equally wretched being who toils under the burning 

 fun of the Weft-Indies. > 



Since therefore, the mere act of fifhing, while the 

 veflel lies at anchor, is extremely difcouraging to 

 that branch in every refpect, as well as to indivi- 

 duals of all defcriptions j and, fince it is likewife 

 evident, that this reftraining method anfwers no bene- 

 ficial purpofe to government, it would be expedient 

 to allow thofe people a free difcretionary power to 

 take, to purchafe, or do both; and in every refpect to 

 act as circumflances may dictate for their own intereft. 



All the purpofes of government are effectually 

 anfwered in the voyages to and from the fijhing 

 grounds. No feas between the two extremes of 

 the earth are better adapted for training mariners ; 

 infomuch, that the Hebride fifiiery may be juftly 

 Ityled the fchool of navigation. In a voyage to Ame- 

 rica, or the Cape of Good Hope, the veflel follows 

 one courfe ; and as the winds keep moftly in one 

 direction, the fails are fet, and the men remain inac- 

 tive, or nearly fo, after leaving Ireland, till they ap- 

 proach the diftant land. But in a voyage from the 

 Clyde to the ufual reforts of the herrings on the 

 north -weft fhores of Scotland, the vefTel no fooner 

 clears one cape, than another appears ; which, to 

 weather, is moft generally attended with difficulties 

 and hazards : the helm muft be in the hands of an 

 experienced feaman -, the fails and rigging require 

 unremitting attention ; the men are conftantly in 

 motion, ftruggling and toiling without ceafing, day 

 and night : and fo hazardous and fatiguing is this 

 navigation through the winter, when the frequent 

 hurricanes threaten deftruction on every fide, that 

 the fafe return of the buries feems miraculous to 

 2 men 



