XX iv 
Ninth Annual Be^Jort of the 
strong repre- 
sentations 
thereon. 
Gross actual 
Aveight of 
barrels and 
herrings to be 
given. 
Eegulation 
withdrawn by 
circular. 
Copies of 
circular dis- 
tributed. 
High rate of 
duty in Austro- 
Hungary and 
Russia, 
Despatches 
thereon from 
Vienna and St 
Petersburg. 
year's Report it was also stated that this duty had been still 
further increased by Is. 6d. a barrel, thus raising it to 8s. 6d. per 
barrel; and that although strong representations on the subject 
had been ma.le by Lord Salisbury to H.M. Ambassador at St 
Petersburg, the reply was that no representation would prove 
effectual unless it could be shown that the Eussian fishing industry 
was quite independent of protection, and that there was a direct 
loss to the Imperial Eevenue from the increase of duty on foreign 
importations. 
The Board in the same year brought under your Lordship's 
notice a regulation passed by the Russian Government requiring 
the actual gross weight of barrels and herrings for shipment to 
Russia to be inserted in the bills of lading, — a regulation which, 
it was pointed out, would entail great hardship and inconvenience 
on those engaged in the herring trade ; and it was with much 
gratification that the Board received from your Lordship, through 
the Foreign Office, copy of a despatch from H.M. Ambassador at 
St Petersburg, intimating that this regulation had been withdrawn, 
and a circular sent by the Russian Minister of Finance to the 
Custom authorities notifying the fact. During the course of last 
year the Board received from your Lordship, through the Foreign 
Office, copy of a despatch from H.M. Ambassador at St Peters 
burg, stating that, from a case recently brought under his notice, 
he is led to infer that herring merchants are not so generally 
acquainted with the above regulation as they ought to be, and 
suggesting that the Chambers of Commerce interested in the 
herring trade should be reminded of its existence, as it got rid of 
the obligatory weighing of the barrels, and was therefore considered 
at the time a great relief. The Board accordingly distributed 
copies of H.M. Ambassador's circular of 2nd June 1887 among 
those parties interested. A copy of this circular will be found in 
Appendix A, No. IX. 
In the course of last year the attention of the Board was called 
to the high rate of duty and railway charges on Scottish-cured 
herrings imported into Austro-Hungary and Russia, and to the 
fact that the reduction of these charges would greatly develop the 
herring industry of this country, and would also benefit the 
Austrians and Russians themselves, as they would be enabled to 
obtain a better quality of herrings. This matter was brought 
under your Lordship's notice, when you were so good as to forward 
copies of despatches received through the Foreign Office from 
H.M. Ambassador at Vienna and St Petersburg, the former of whom 
stated that it would be impossible to modify the duty in question 
without introducing a special law on the subject, and that he 
regretted to say such a course could not be followed with any 
prospect of success, promising, however, that when any general 
tariff revision took place, the wish of Her Majesty's Government 
would not be forgotten, while H.M. Ambassador at St Petersburg 
pointed out that it was hopeless to expect a change in the Russian 
Customs Regulations unless strong reasons against the existing 
order could be adduced, and that although the amount of duty has 
never been lost sight of by the Embassy, all that can be hoped is 
that the duty shall not be raised. 
