403 F I S H 
riier feafon, or by curing them wet in tubs or barrels in 
the winter. 
“ From a people fo depreffed by poverty, it is worfe 
than abfurd to think of drawing taxes. Before they be¬ 
come fubjedt to fifcal imports, they fliould be made capa¬ 
ble of fuftaining them. When men are brought by the 
foftering care of government to a ftate of competency and 
comfort, they may fairly be required to contribute by 
taxes to its fupport: but to endeavour to extend taxation 
to them before they are in circumftances to anfwer its de¬ 
mands, is in effect to oblige them to remain under the 
preflure of poverty, and to continue ufelefs to the com¬ 
munity. To the I fie of Man it appears that in 1799 there 
were 31,854 bufhels of fait exported, and in the former 
year 37,982 bufhels. This fait is made ufe of by the in¬ 
habitants, not only for curing fifh to be fold, but for curing 
fifh for their domeftic ufe, and for all other purpofes, 
without any refiridtion or account. The confequence of 
which is, that every man in that ifland endeavours to ob¬ 
tain a fhare in a boat, or in the nets, or becomes himfelf 
a firtierman, and in the beginning of the herring feafon he 
cures his (hare of the fifh for his family, or if he has no 
lhare, purchafes and cures a quantity which he calculates 
will be fufficient to fupply his family for the year round. 
Having then his herrings, and trufting to his potatoe gar¬ 
den for its produce, he comforts himfelf with the prof- 
peel: of a fufficient fubfirtence, and works cheerfully after¬ 
wards to catch fifh, which he fells to the merchants, who 
come in great numbers to purchafe herrings, to carry them 
to the coafts of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 
“In 1765, the Ifle of Man was annexed to the crown, and 
the whole employment of the people in that illand, confid¬ 
ing of a mod extenfive trade, was fudaenly put an end to. 
Vaft diflrefs enfued ; and although 5000 people emigrated 
from that ifland to Ireland, Scotland, and England, yet 
fuch was the diftrefs of the remainder, that many actually 
died from want of neceflaries, and government were under 
the neceffity of importing grain and flour for their fub- 
fiftence. Several acts of parliament were framed, allow¬ 
ing the inhabitants of that illand to import a variety of 
articles of confumption under very fmall duties, and fuf- 
fering their produce to be imported free of duty to Great 
.Britain. But the great meafure which produced an im¬ 
mediate and wonderful amelioration of their circumftances, 
was the privilege of importing salt duty-free from 
England, not for their fijhcries only, but for all domeftic pur¬ 
pofes. Encouraged by this indulgence, the inhabitants 
began inftantly to apply to their filheries, which had be¬ 
fore been totally neglefted. In 1769, bifhop Hildefly took 
an account of the number of inhabitants in the ifland, 
which he found to be 17,500. In 1784, I had the honour 
to be appointed by the treafury to make an enquiry into 
the ftate of the revenue and filheries of that ifland. I 
found that at that period, without bounties on their bo 3 ts, 
or the tonnage of their fi filing, fmacks, or any premiums 
other than the free ufe of fait, they carried on a moil 
extenfive fiffiery, which employed 2500 feamen. In the 
abfence of the herrings, the fiffiermen fupplied the con¬ 
sumption of the ifland, in great abundance, with white 
fifh ; the agriculture was greatly increafed, and the popu¬ 
lation confided of 30,000 fouls, having nearly doubled the 
number of its inhabitants in fifteen years. It appears alfo 
that this profperity has proceeded.uninterruptedly ; and 
for the laft eight or ten years fcarcely a beggar has been 
feen in the whole illand. By the evidence before the 
committee of the houfe of commons for the filheries in 
1798, it appears that the boats had increafed both in 
number and lize. Of thefe there were upwards of 350, 
carrying feven or eight men in each, befides from forty 
to fifty filhing fmacks of the burthen of from twenty to 
fifty tons each. Thefe boats and fmacks employed up¬ 
wards of 3000 feamen, which is equal to the number of 
men and boys employed in the whole of the bufs fifhery 
of Scotland in the fame period, fupported at a bounty of 
upwards of 20,000!. per annum ! Yet the Ifle of Man is 
E R Y. 
only thirty-two miles in length by about ten in breadth, 
and does not pollefs the advantages of tlie coafts and 
iflands of the north-weftern parts of Scotland with regard 
to harbours and extenfive inlets of the fea ; neither docs 
the adjacent fea poftefs fills equal in variety or abundance ; 
nor can it be compared to many of thefe iflands in extent 
of land capable of cultivation, nor perhaps in general fer¬ 
tility. The great profperity of this ifland then is to be 
afcribed chiefly to the increafe of their Jfhery by the free impor¬ 
tation of fait” 
The national importance of extending our fiflieries ap¬ 
pears in itfelf fo evident, that we would argue that it 
ought to be attempted, even though it fliould for the pre. 
fent be attended with an evident lofs to the revenue: but 
Mr. Frafer proves that the lofs, which would be pro¬ 
duced by the meafures which he recommends, is too in- 
confiderable to be regarded. That part of Scotland to 
which his remarks apply, coming under the denomi¬ 
nation of the Highlands and the Weftern Ides, confifts 
of the counties of Argyle, Invernefs, Rofs, Sutherland, 
Caithnefs, Orkney, and Shetland ; and from thefe fix 
counties, which include the whole of the Weftern Ifles, 
and form an extent of territory equal to more than one- 
fixth of Great Britain, the net produce annually accru¬ 
ing from the duties on fait, on an average of ten years, 
amounted to no more than the fum of 172I. 6s. ! ! — 
“Yet, (fays Mr. Frafer,) being on a voyage through 
thefe iflands with the earl of Breadalbane, in the autumn 
of 1791, we anchored in Loch-bay, about the 23d of 
Auguft. The herrings were in fuch abundance in the 
bay, that feveral hundred veflels could have been loaded 
with them, and the few boats that were on the coaft could 
have caught any number. But they had no fait. Still the 
inhabitants went out and filled their boats with herrings; 
and coming alongfide, offered 11s any quantity we pleafed ; 
the reft, after keeping a few for their families, they threw 
overboard. Lord Breadalbane was fo much diftrefled to 
fee them in want of fait, that he ordered all the fait in 
the (hip, which amounted only to a cafk or two, to be 
given to them, fo that we really were in want of fait for 
the (hip’s ufe, and although we tried at every creek and 
bay we put into to get a very fmall quantity, we could 
find none until we got to Stornway.” 
Mr. Frafer has been no lefs ardent in his endeavours 
to intereft the public regard towards a proper and ade¬ 
quate encouragement of the Irifli filheries ; and the evi¬ 
dence of fadts which he produces in favour of fuch a 
plan, feems to deferve the moft attentive confideration. 
The Nymph Bank, (ituated at the diftance of from tea 
to fifteen leagues from the fouthern coaft of Ireland, is 
pointed out as an inexhauftible fource of national wealth 
to a maritime ftate. Mr. Frafer details the particulars of 
liis.vifit to this fifhing bank, and adduces ample certifi¬ 
cates to corroborate the truth of his relation: “ Having 
applied to captain Wilby, commander of the Rutland 
revenue cruifer, of 100 tons, he very cheerfully complied 
with my requeft, and on the 24th of June, 1802, we failed 
from Pdffage, in the harbour of Waterford, at three 
o’clock, P. M. with a light breeze from the north-eaft. 
At noon, the next day, we came to anchor on the Nymph 
Bank, and found ourfelves, by obfervation, in latitude 
51 0 37' north, the tower of Waterford-harbour bearing 
north-eaft 26 miles, the high land of Dungarvan north- 
by-eaft 10 leagues diftant, foundings 37 and 38’ fathom 
water. The ground filiceous gravel and micaceous fand- 
ftone, with much broken (hells and coralline. The fifh - 
ing-lines were now put out, and inftantly we caught botli 
cod, hake, and ling, of a large fize, and of a very fuperior 
quality, although the time of day was unfavourable, and 
alfo the tides running ftrong, (it being fprings,) did not 
eafily fnffer the lines to keep the ground. As my prin¬ 
cipal defign in this voyage, was to afeertain the depth of 
water and extent of the bank, we weighed anchor, and 
flood out to fea. We kept the line conftantly going, and 
found, uniformly, as we ftretched out, forty fathom water, 
generally 
