232 ME. CLEGHORN'S VIEWS. [CHAP. vr. 



by the commissioners, I shall have occasion to refer to in 

 another part of the present chapter ; the labours. of Cleghorn, 

 Mitchell, and others, claiming priority of notice, as the ideas 

 promulgated by these gentlemen, although often hotly opposed 

 and combated, have gone a great way to guide public opinion 

 on the subject, and have evidently helped to influence recent 

 investigators. 



In his paper communicated to the British Association at 

 Liverpool, Mr. Cleghorn stated that, living at Wick, the chief 

 seat of the fishery " the Amsterdam of Scotland " in fact his 

 attention had been directed to the herring-fishery by the 

 fluctuations in the annual take. That season (i.e. 1854) there 

 were 920 boats engaged in the fishing, and the produce was 

 95,680 barrels. On comparing the fishing of 1854 with 

 that of 1825, it was found to be 14,000 barrels short; and 

 as compared with 1830, 57,000 barrels less. It was found to 

 be the smallest fishing since 1840, and 61,000 barrels short of 

 the previous year. Various surmises were hazarded as to the 

 cause of the deficiency, but the generally-received opinion was, 

 that the falling off was attributable to the two rough nights 

 on which the boats did not put to sea, while great shoals 

 of herrings were on the coast. That this is an erroneous and 

 very partial view of the matter Mr. Cleghorn infers, be- 

 cause at all the stations between Noss Head and Cape Wrath 

 the fishing was a complete failure ; and the same may be said 

 of Orkney and Shetland ; while for the whole of Scotland the 

 shortcoming, perhaps, was one-third of the previous year. 



Mr. Cleghorn of whom it is proper to state that while in 

 business in Wick he suffered much local persecution for his 

 views of the herring question says that he believes the fluc- 

 tuations in the capture to be caused by " overfishing," as in the 

 case of the salmon, the haddock, and other fish. The points 

 brought forward by Mr. Cleghorn in order to prove his case were 

 as follow: 1. That the herring is a native of waters in which 



