188 THE HERRING. 



Sussex : " The which said mariners were put in daily 

 experience and knowledge of the coasts of the sea, as 

 well within this realm as in other parts beyond the sea, 

 by the which practice it was great strength to this 

 realm, by bringing up and increasing of mariners, when- 

 soever the King's grace had great need of them." On 

 this ground, when abstinence from flesh ceased to be 

 considered a religious duty, it was attempted to keep 

 up the consumption of fish by statutes passed at various 

 times. The Act for the abstinence from flesh (passed 

 in 1548) imposes penalties on persons eating flesh on 

 " fish-days/' of which in the year there were no less 

 than a hundred and fifty-three. 



The real object of all this intermeddling with the 

 diet of the people being "for the maintenance of the 

 navy," it is unpleasant to find Parliament hypocritically 

 preaching up abstinence from butcher-meat as "a 

 means to virtue, and to subdue men's bodies to their 

 soul and spirit" (2 and 3 Edw. VI. c. 19). We admit 

 that fish " was much behoveful and necessary to the 

 common weal of this realm" (1 H. VIII. c. 1), and that 

 it was a scandal that " the natural subjects of this realm 

 are not able to furnish the tenth part of the same with 

 salted fish of their own taking" (39 Eliz. c. 10) ; but 

 while clearly of opinion that the Crown, as the feudal 

 possessor of the shores of this kingdom, ought to de- 

 velop the inexhaustible resources of this magnificent 

 domain, we, of course, object to all needless interference 

 with the fisheries, and the modes in which fishermen 

 prosecute their calling. Notwithstanding the recent 

 agitation for putting down the system of branding the 

 prepared herrings, and thus giving a guarantee to pur- 

 chasers that they are of a certain quality, impartial 

 judges are of opinion that the system ought to be con- 

 tinued. We are disposed to go further, and to main- 

 tain that it is an important function of the Fishery Board 

 to establish a coast-guard so watchful that we shall not 

 again hear of such senseless destruction of spawning- 



