280 



|ti 



say, " tlic bay lisliinp; must ho of p;r('at importanco, bcoansc of the prospority of 

 tiloiicrstcr." Now, tlie people of (iloucTster liavo no disposition to deny tlieir prosperity, 

 hut it is of a dillorent kind from wliat has l)eeu represented. Uioucester is a place 

 altoi;ellier ,si// (jcnviis. 1 never saw a place like it. 1 tliiiik very few of your Honours 

 failed to form an opinion that it was a place well descrvinj:: of study and consideriition. 

 Tiiere is not a rich idle man, apj)arently, in the town of tiioucesti'r. The business of 

 Gloucester cannot he carried on, as mercantile busiiu'ss often is, by men who invest 

 their capital in the business, and leave it in the liands of other peoi)lc to manaifc. It 

 cannot be carried on, as much of the mercantile liusiness ot the world is carried on, in 

 a leisurely way by tliose who liave arrived at something- like wealth, who visit their 

 conntinn-rooms at 10 o'clock in (lie mornins;- and slay a few hours, then s;o away to the 

 dnb, return to tlicir count inp-rooms for a short time, and then drive out in the enticing 

 drives in the vicinity, and their da\'s work is over. It cannot be carried on as my 

 friends in New IJedford used to carry on the whale fishery, where the i;entlcnien were 

 at their counting-rooms a few months in the y(>ar, and wlicn the oil" season canu; they 

 were at W'asliington, Saratoga, or wherever else they saw fit to go. And yet (liey were 

 prospornus. No, the Gloucester tradesmen are liard-working men, and tliey gain their 

 wealth and prosperity on (he terms of ])eing hard-working; men. Tlie Glouces{er 

 merchants, if you see fit to call (hem so — (hey are iio( pardcular alunit tlicir tide, but 

 are content (o be " flsli dealers" — arc men who go to (heir counting-rooms early 

 and stay late. If (hey go up to Hoston on busine.'ss, (hey take a very early (rain, 

 breaktas( before dayliglit, and reOn-n in season to do a day's work, though Boston is 

 twenty-five or thirty miles dis(ant; and when their vessels come in they are down upon 

 the wharves, they stand by the large liarj^es and they cull (he mackerel with their own 

 hands; tliey eotint tliem out witli their own hands ; they (urn (hem wi(h (lieir own 

 hands iiitd (lie barrels, and cooper them and scuttle the barrels, and j)ut in the brine 

 and i)ickle the fish, and roll them into the jiroper jilaces; and when they have a moment's 

 leisure, they will go to (heir counting-rooms and carry on (heir correspondence, by 

 tclegraj)h and odierwise, wi(h all par(s ol the United Sta(cs, and learn (he value of 

 these mackerel. 'J'liey are ready (o sell (hem to the buyers, who an; another class of 

 persons, or they are ready to keep and sell them in the larger marki.t- of Hoston. Hy 

 their padent industry, In (heir simple hard days' works, (hey have made Gloucester an 

 imi)ortan( place, Imt (he\ have no( added much to the mackerel fishery of the United 

 States. Gloucester has grown at the exjiense of every other fishing townin New Kngland. 

 We have laid ])ef(ire your Honours, through Mr. Low, I think it was, or through 

 Mr. Hal)st)ii, (he slalisties of the entire falling-oil" of all (he fishing (owns of New 

 England. \V]iere are I'lymoudu Marns(aple, where .Marlileliead, which was known 

 the world ov(>r as a fishing town ? 'J'Iktl are no more fishing-vessels (here. The 

 people have all gone into the business of making shoes and other domesde manu- 

 facdires. So wiili Ihverly, so \\itli .Maiiches(er, so widi Ne\\biiryp()r(, and so with (ho 

 eiidre Stale of MaiiK;. widi (he exeeplion of a very tew ves.sels on (he coast. Two or 

 three of the last witnesses gave us a most melanclioiy account of the entire falliug-oH'of 

 fishing in C'astine, HucksjKirt, and all up and down (hat I'enob.scot bay and river, so that 

 (here is hardly any lisliiiig left. \\'hen they were fishing towns, peojile eiiiploved their 

 industry in it. 'i'heir harbours were enlivened by the coming and going of lishing- 

 schooners, and now there is an occasional weekly steamer or an occasional vessel there 

 owiud.but doing all its business in Hoston or New York. iJiit the fishing business of all 

 the towns of New England, except the cod fishery of Provincetown and ot (he (owns 

 near, has cone(-n(ra(ed in (doucesler. 1( seems (o be a law (hat cer(ain kinds of 

 business, (houiih carrie(l on si)arsel\ at ]ieriods. inus( Ik; evcndiallv coneen(rated. \\ hen 

 they ar<' coneeiitraled, tliey cannot he jjiolltably carried on anywhere else. Th(! result 

 is. that the mackerel fishery ani' . fishery, widi (he exee]i(ion of the reinot(> points of 

 Cape Cod. have concentrated in Gloucester. There is (he caiii(al, (here is die skill, 

 there are (he marin(> railuass, (here is (hat fishing insurance com])any, which (hey have 

 devise(| from their own skill and experience, by which they insure themselves cliea])er 

 than any ]ieo])le in the worhl cmt <lid insure themselves against marine risks, so nmcli 

 fo (hat niercliaiils of (iloucesler have (old us dia( if (hey had (o pay the ra(es tha( are 

 j>iud in stock conijiauies, the fishing business could not be carried on by merchants who 

 own their ships ; the dill'erence would be enough to turn the scale. Now it ajipears to 

 be (he tact — 1 will not trouble your Honours by going over (he (esdmony to which 

 every (iloucester mail s\vore — it turns out to be the fact that (he prosi)eri(y ot (ilouces(er, 

 wliili' it has ai.dilioiial resources in its granite ami as a sea-bathing \>lace, has been 

 owing mostly to the j)riidence and sagaci(y, (he l'rugali(y and laboriou.sness of (he men 

 brongli( up as lislieriiien, w ho (urn (liemselves in(o (ish-dealers in middle life, and carry 



