PROTECTION OF DEEP SEA FISHERIES. 439 



dustry is concerned this is practically useless, as fishermen 

 will never be satisfied with an allowance scale. They live 

 as a rule considerably better than ship sailors. Next comes 

 the agreement itself, which, if one-sided, will always be a 

 source of trouble. In the first clause, the interests of the 

 crew are entirely ignored in the sentence, " that the time 

 for finishing the said expedition shall be solely at the 

 discretion of the owner." It is neither justice nor equity for 

 one man to have power to bind another man for, say three 

 months, and then after the man so bound has made his 

 arrangements accordingly, for the other, for some reason of 

 his own, to break the agreement in a week, without even 

 being liable to give any reason for so doing. A definite 

 time should be stated, subject to alteration only by an 

 equitable arrangement between all concerned. Clause 2 is 

 the one under which the crew agree to do their duty, and 

 keep the nets and outfit, except standing rigging, in repair, 

 supplying all chafing gear where required. The meaning 

 of these two sentences is a complete puzzle when looked at 

 as applying to trawlers, codders, drifters, and all classes of 

 fishing vessels. The framer of this agreement must have 

 had a very poor idea of the important and varied interests 

 he was dealing with. It might perhaps apply in the case 

 of a few solitary trawling vessels, but in their case the rule 

 would be for the owner to keep at least the sails and spars 

 in repair (and these are undoubtedly included here, as the 

 only exception made is standing rigging), and to supply 

 all chafing gear required for the vessel. At some ports where 

 owners find the trawl gear as well, they find the rubbers for 

 the net, and all material, the crew simply finding the labour. 

 In drifters sometimes the owner finds all gear, and takes the 

 responsibility of all damage and losses. In other cases of 

 drifters, the crew bear their share of losses at the rate of 



