HISTORY OP SEA-FISHERIES. 191 



four barrels of ' ' sea sticks " (herrings cured at 

 sea), each of which, in bounties alone, cost the 

 Government .113 15s., and each barrel of mer- 

 chantable herrings cost 159 7s. 6d. ! The ex- 

 planation of this fact is, that the bounty being 

 given to the vessels and not to the fish, ships were 

 equipped to catch the bounty and not the herrings. 

 By the 25th George III (17856) the tonnage 

 bounty was reduced to 20s., and a bounty of 4s. 

 per barrel was given on the fish, limiting the 

 whole payment to 30s. per ton, except when more 

 than three barrels per ton were taken, in which 

 case Is. per barrel was given on the excess. On 

 an average of ten years 54,394 barrels were taken 

 annually at a cost to the Government of about 

 7s. Gd. per barrel (equal to 20,397 15s.). 



In 1786, " The British Society for extending 

 the Fisheries and improving the Sea Coast of 

 the Kingdom/' was incorporated, and a joint 

 stock was subscribed for purchasing land and 

 building thereon free towns, villages, and fishing 

 stations in the highlands and islands of Scotland. 

 This joint stock was raised by the subscriptions 

 of a few spirited individuals who did not look for 

 any profitable return. The members of the society 



