THE INSHORE FISHERIES 191 



(3) Assistance to owners of sail boats to enable them to instal 

 auxiliary internal-combustion engines ia them. 



The Committee decided in all cases against these proposals, and 

 while we agree with their findings in the first two cases, we regret 

 we cannot fully accept their reasons for rejecting the applications 

 under the last heading. As a matter of fact, a Minority Report, 

 signed by two of the members of the Committee, gives strong 

 reasons for supporting the third application, and while we have 

 the greatest respect for both Mr. Angus Sutherland, Chairman of 

 the Scottish Fishery Board, and Dr. Wemj^s Fulton, their Scientific 

 Superintendent, neither of whom signed the Minority Report, we 

 feel that there is sufficient force in the contentions put forth in 

 this Minority Report to justify a recapitulation of a few of the main 

 arguments. 



The Minority Report states, " While we agree with our colleagues 

 that no case has been established for State intervention in order 

 to make it easier for fishermen to obtain an interest in a steam 

 drifter ... we do not think that ... it is possible to overlook 

 the case of the inshore fishermen using smaller first-class boats 

 or second-class boats, either for the line fishing or, as is done on the 

 West Coast, for the loch herring fishery." 



As regards the large sail boat used in the great herring fishery, 

 very few are now being built. The fish curer and merchant who 

 helped the fishermen to get sail boats are no longer doing so. In 

 districts such as Lewis and the Shetlands, where there is little out- 

 side help to be looked for, except from such directions, this is a 

 serious matter, because in such centres there are few steam 

 drifters. 



If the process of decline goes on unchecked — ^as will likely be 

 the case if it is nobody's business to take steps to hinder it — it 

 will bring about a great change in the conditions under which the 

 Scottish herring fishery is conducted. It is doubtful whether the 

 country can afford to regard so great a change with equanimity. 

 It means that the fishiag community as a whole will be divided into 

 " employers " and " employed." One result of this is a liability 

 to trade disputes which tend to drive men out of the industry 

 altogether. Fishing is an industry like agriculture which can be 

 carried on — so far as the actual production is concerned — through 

 a great number of relatively distinct undertakings on a small scale. 

 Current opinion is undoubtedly in favour of keeping the population 

 of the country, at least as well distributed as it is at present, and in 

 conformity with this sentiment, harbour grants have been made to 

 various localities to assist them in the struggle for existence. There 

 are strong reasons for believing that the large sailing boat, equipped 



