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that a variety of little grievances and hardships, 

 which must be expected even under the best pos- 

 sible public arrangements that could be suggested,, 

 are constantly occurring to the fishermen, through 

 ignorance, inadvertence, and accident, which fre- 

 quently demand the attention of the Committee. 

 They are too minute to particularize, and sepa- 

 rately may not be considered of any general 

 moment. They are often, however, of serious 

 consequence to the poor fishermen they concern, 

 and render it quite necessary that such an institu- 

 tion as the Association should exist, to obtain for 

 them the proper remedy. 



2. The duties on salt are constantly producing 

 the most serious impediments to the progress of the 

 fisheries. The present bearings of this evil may 

 thus be stated : The duties on salt amount to 

 more than twenty-nine times the price of it ; or, 

 in other words, when salt is purchased, more than 

 twenty-nine equal parts of the sum are paid for 

 duty, and less than one such part for its in- 

 trinsic value. The salt, with the duty on it, thus 

 becomes so expensive as to be placed quite beyond 

 the procurement of the fishermen. No fish could 

 therefore be salted by them, but for certain allow- 

 ances of salt, duty free, afforded under the super- 

 intendance of the Excise. The large amount of 

 these duties offers the most powerful induce- 

 ments to the commission of frauds on the revenue ; 

 and consequently, were it not for vigilant attention. 



