258 SEA FISHERIES 



credit, and district banks of the same nature. In Germany 

 and in Norway " maritime credit '' has been in operation 

 for the last twelve years, in the form of mortgages 

 advanced by the State to the fisherman, amounting to 

 half the cost of his boat. These loans are free of interest 

 for a period of five years ; repayment by annual sums 

 commences the fifth year. In Denmark there are two 

 central State caisses ; one for the issue of personal 

 maritime loans, and one for the issue of collective loans. 

 In England the State has nothing to do with this kind 

 of business. 



It was high time that France was endowed with this 

 institution, which in other countries has breathed new 

 life into the world of fishermen. The small fisherman of 

 the French coasts will assuredly profit by it ; but will he 

 be more prudent ? Will the fishermen's bank be the 

 signal of his re-awakening, or will it plunge him into 

 a yet profounder sleep ? Will it produce strong men 

 capable of growth and expansion, or petty hucksters 

 with one misery the less ? 



We have now reviewed the relation of the fishermen 

 to the shipowners and the main outlines of their co- 

 operative organisations. But nearly all French fisher- 

 men are naval inscripts, and as such the State has 

 placed them under its guardianship and under a special 

 jurisdiction. 



To begin with, the naval inscripts are amenable, in 

 professional matters, to the maritime courts. However, 

 there are associations of fishermen which are possessed 

 of certain administrative and judicial powers ; such is 

 the case with the Prud'hommes de la Mediterranee, or 

 arbitration council, whose origin goes back to the 



