APPENDIX 



SMALL HOLDINGS ON THE SEA 



It seems to have escaped general notice that a state of 

 things has arisen round the coast almost exactly parallel 

 to hat which the Small Holdings Acts 'are designed to 

 remedy on ]and. The small fisherman, owning his own 

 boars and gear, corresponds very nearly with the small 

 holder or peasant proprietor. And in view of the supreme 

 importance to any maritime nation, let alone England, 

 of possessing a numerous and hardy seafaring population 

 — an importance attested over and over again by naval 

 history — the need of encouraging and fostering the small 

 fisheries is no less urgent than the much-debated land 

 problem. 



For some time, except where local conditions are 

 specially favourable or private help has been forthcoming, 

 the small fisherman has been subjected to a process of 

 crushing out, and it is difficult to see how that process 

 can be stayed. The raising of the standards of comfort 

 and schooling has, of itself, made young men dis- 

 inclined to enter so laborious a profession. At the same 

 time, it must be remembered that fishermen are a breed 

 to themselves, and breeds of men, once they die out, 



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