THE RISE OF THE HERRING FISHERIES 123 



altogether, and to adopt means of raising an equal revenue in some 

 other manner, which would leave the restriction of the fisheries at 

 freedom from all those embarrassing accounts on so perishable an 

 article as salt necessarily must be, when made use of in the most 

 careful manner. 



The renewal of the war, and the pressure of affairs, not allowing 

 this recommendation to be complied with, and even rendering it 

 necessary for the Government greatly to increase the duties on 

 salt, the improvement of the herring fisheries was deferred for a 

 period of seven years. 



In spite of the animadversions of Adam Smith (the Wealth of 

 Nations was published in 1776), the Government persisted in their 

 efforts to establish a British herring fishery, and in 1808 " an Act 

 for the further encouragement and better regulation of the British 

 White Herring Fishery " was passed. It is to be feared that students 

 of the rise of the British sea fisheries have been content merely to 

 copy the opinions and ideas of Smith ;^ but however unsound the 

 bounty system may be from the standpoint of political economy, 

 there can be no reasonable doubt that it was ef&cacious to a con- 

 siderable degree in developing the British herring fisheries. In any 

 case, the Act of 1808 deserves more than passing attention. The 

 preamble sets forth succinctly the objects of the Act. " Whereas 

 the improvement of the British white herring fishery is an object 

 of most essential importance to the wealth and commercial pros- 

 perity, as well as to the naval strength of this kingdom," and then 

 follow the enactments. 



A bounty of £3 per ton was to be paid to the owner of any whole- 

 decked buss or vessel of not less than 60 tons burthen, being British 

 built, owned in Great Britain, manned, navigated and registered 

 according to law, which shall be fitted out for, and actually employed 

 in, the deep sea British white herring fishery. The maximum 

 tonnage for which the bounty was payable on any one vessel was 

 100 tons. To obtain the bounty the manner of fishing in the deep 

 sea was prescribed ; the nets were to be attached to the vessel while 

 they were set and to be shot directly therefrom, and not with the 

 intervention of a small boat. A bounty of 2s. per barrel was to be 

 paid on white herrings taken in the British fishery, cured and packed 

 according to the provisions of the Act. A Board of seven of the 

 Trustees for Manufactures and Fisheries in Scotland were con- 

 stituted Commissioners for the Herring Fishery. These Commis- 

 sioners had to make an annual report to the Board of Trustees for 



' See Spencer Walpole, The British Fish Trade. International Fisheries Ex- 

 hibition Literature, London, 1883 ; and C.E. Fryer, The Relations of the State with 

 Fishermen and Fisheries, ibid., Vol. IX, p. 139. 



