vni PREFACE 



therefore in a position to get together much 

 curious information on these subjects before 

 the war brought other duties. But as the 

 importance of the herring and its influence 

 upon the destiny of Britain do not appear to 

 be widely enough recognised, I have now ven- 

 tured to gather my notes together and place 

 them in book form for the use of those who 

 may be interested in certain matters brought 

 into prominence by the war. 



It will be seen that the subject of the herring 

 has two main aspects : its relation to the 

 food supply, and its influence upon English, 

 and later, British, navigation policy and the 

 early stages of the building-up of our mercan- 

 tile marine. The relation of the herring to the 

 navigation policy of this country, in other words 

 to our naval supremacy and commercial expan- 

 sion, has a peculiar interest at this moment 

 because we are once again confronted with a 

 bald demand from Central European Powers 

 expressed by the phrase " Freedom of the 

 Seas " as employed by Germany and Austria 

 and supported by the Papal Note. It is diffi- 

 cult to get at a real definition of our enemies' 

 demand or what lurks behind it. By implica- 

 tion, of course, Britain is charged with violating 

 the principle of the free use of the high seas by 

 all nations in times of peace. What is the 

 meaning of a charge so grotesque ? Must not 

 the phrase therefore relate to war rather than 

 to peace conditions ? 



