THE FISHERIES. 11 



cabinet or the field. It was the spirit of men 

 trained to such daring pursuits, accustomed to 

 perilous undertakings, which, in the course of 

 eight years, obtained from Great Britain a recog- 

 nition " as a right " of that which had been with- 

 held, at the commencement of that period, as a 

 privilege, to be dispensed at the pleasure of par- 

 liament. 



The restoration of peace revived the fisheries of 

 this country. The state of Massachusetts, alive 

 to its true interests, and desirous of strengthening 

 this essential branch of national industry, made a 

 representation to Congress in 1790, asking some 

 encouragement in the form of bounty, on export- 

 ed fish. This was granted, and a few years after- 

 wards a bounty was allowed to vessels employed 

 in the business for a given length of time. This 

 gave a stimulus to the trade, and up to the period 

 when restrictions were placed upon our commerce, 

 it gradually increased in value and extent. In 

 1807, 71,000 tons of vessels were employed in 

 the cod fishery alone, and the average value of 

 exports from this country, of the productions of 

 the sea for that and the four preceding years, was 

 estimated at $3,000,000. From that time, until 

 the close of the last war, all our fisheries dimin- 

 ished. With the return of peace, they revived, 

 and the very next year 68,000 tons of vessels 3 



