FROM AN OLD MAGAZINE 351 



and fishermen of the eighteenth century were not par- 

 ticularly enterprising, and allowed the Dutch to net round 

 their coasts under their very eyes. 



" The fisheries of England, though capable of being 

 carried on to great advantage, are sadly neglected, not- 

 withstanding their utility has been so often pointed out 

 (particularly by reducing the high price of butcher's 

 meat), and large sums have been subscribed by the 

 nobility, gentry and merchants. The whale-fishery is, 

 however, prosecuted with advantage, but not with a spirit 

 equal to that of the Dutch, who send more ships to the 

 Greenland seas than all the other nations of Europe put 

 together. In the western counties of Devon and Cornwall 

 the pilchard fishery is pursued with some spirit and 

 success ; but that for herrings, which might prove a 

 great national benefit, languishes to such a degree that it 

 can hardly be said to exist. The turbot-fishery, which 

 might also be very advantageous to the nation, is 

 wholly neglected ; so that the large quantities of that 

 fish daily seen in the markets of London during the 

 season, are caught by the Dutch on our own coasts and 

 sold to English boats sent off for that purpose, which 

 easily accounts for its dearness, whereby the lower-class 

 of people are entirely deprived of that agreeable food. 

 Some years ago, indeed, there was a pleasing prospect 

 that the herring-fishery would be carried on with a spirit 

 adequate to its importance. Large sums were subscribed, 

 a company was formed, nets were made, busses were 

 fitted out, and every method adopted for rendering the 

 attempt successful ; but by some unexpected events, yet 

 unknown, this national undertaking miscarried, though 



