204 CHKONOLOGICAL HISTOEY OF THE HERRING -FISHERY. 



number of industrious and otherways helpless poor ; the 

 lessening the parochial and public taxes ; and improving 

 the national wealth." 



He then points out various localities for erecting vil- 

 lages and stores for the fisheries on the Scottish coasts, 

 and gives a statement of the Custom-house duties on the 

 various materials required in building busses or fishing- ves- 

 sels, by which it appears that these duties, in the building 

 and fitting out one such vessel, amounted at that time to 

 upwards of L.150, — thus proving the wisdom of our fore- 

 fathers in granting bounties or premiums on such vessels, 

 to enable them to compete with vessels built abroad free 

 of duty ; and he recommends that the nation should pay 

 four per cent, on the capital of a joint stock company, as 

 payment or return for the customs duties on raw mate- 

 rials used, but that no premium be paid if the profits 

 exceed three per cent. ; but he suggests that, to prevent a 

 monopoly by such company, private adventurers under 

 certain regulations should be placed on a similar footing, 

 and, to effect this, that the bounty should be 40s. per ton 

 on the busses fitted out. 



He concludes by saying, '' Upon the whole, you may 

 see how necessary it is to apply proper remedies, which 

 we are the more sanguine to hope, as his Majesty, in his 

 most gracious speech at the opening of this session of 

 Parliament, so strongly recommended the maintaining of 

 our navy, and improvement of trade in all its branches." 



All those favourable to the undertaking were truly 

 without experience, and the difficulties great, in conse- 

 quence of the erroneous laws and exactions ; but a society 

 soon subscribed a capital of L.500,000, and an Act of 

 Parliament was passed in the same year (Act 23, Geo. II. 

 Cap. 24, 1750), incorporating a company for twenty- 



