ISLE of MAN. 
ftitute for gold. Mr. Scott, the colleftor of the cuftoms, 
being a partner in the Greenock bank, has, in molt of 
the notes, the initials of his name in water-mark, and 
gives them every currency in his power. The merchants 
and manufactures are very defirous of preventing any in¬ 
convenience that might arife from the fcarcity of iilver, 
by ifluing as many as they can of their own {hilling, half- 
a-crown, three-lltilling, five-fhilling, and feven-fhilling, 
tickets or cards, Thefe are ufually accompanied with the 
unfortunate motto, <l pro bono publico and the form of 
the engagement generally runs thus: “I promife*to pay 
the bearer on demand, -{hillings, on his bringing the 
change of a one-pound, note."" Tickets with only one figna- 
ture are not much liked, fince, in cafe of the death of the 
party, the executors are not obliged to pay his debts till 
the expiration of three years. 
Till the aft of re-veftment in 1765, and the fubfequent 
regulations, the chief bufinefs of the place was fmuggling. 
The annual returns of this trade exceeded 350,0001. and 
by fome were eftimated fo high as half a million, while 
the value of leizures was not more than io,oool. fo that 
the profits to thofe engaged in it were probably enormous. 
The duke of Athol, having a fmall duty upon imports, ra¬ 
ther encouraged than fet his face againft it. The place 
formed completely the harbour and the ftore-houfes of 
fmugglers, whence they (hipped their goods, as occafion 
offered, to England, Ireland, or Scotland, to the great de¬ 
triment of the Britifli revenue. Many perfons, being by 
its failure thrown out of employment, emigrated to Ame¬ 
rica; fome wenttofea; fome engaged themfelves in the 
(iftieries; and others turned their attention to the cultiva¬ 
tion of the ground. To exchange an irregular and idle 
life for one of conftant activity and indultry, is no eafy 
achievement; the wafte lands and fliort crops evince how 
much remains to be done. 
The following account of the fmuggling trade about 
the year 1753, is extracted from Poftleth waite’s Dictionary: 
“ The Englifh government perhaps do not know to what 
a height it is come. The captain of a cruifer did venture 
to do his duty by following a valuable Dutch dogger into 
port and feizing her. But the man found himfelf mif- 
taken. ACts of parliament and Englifh commiffions could 
not proteCt him in that petty principality. Five of his men, 
who had taken poffeffion of the dogger, were thrown into 
a gaol, where they will probably lie till their death. The 
captain himfelf with two men and a boy narrowly efcaped 
to Whitehaven. Quere, whether the officers of the Ifle 
of Man are not guilty of an aft of rebellion in feizing the 
king’s boats and arms ? The lofs to the revenue, upon 
the molt moderate calculation, is at leait 2oo,oool. a-year. 
In fiiort this ifland may be looked upon as a fortrefs in 
the hands of our enemies; and the whole queltion is, 
whether we ought to difpoffefs them or not; a queftion 
that admits of no difpute.” Since the year 1765, the con¬ 
traband trade has been nearly annihilated. The little 
that is now done is fuppofed to be by means of coafting- 
veffels,. or of (hips, which, on account of bad wind and 
weather, anchor for a (hort time in fome of the harbours 
of the ifland. 
The'herring-fifhery, therefore, is now the mod benefi¬ 
cial employment of thefe iflanders. The methods of 
catching the fifli and of curing them are different in dif¬ 
ferent countries. Thofe of the Dutch have been fully 
detailed under the article Clupea, vol. iv. p. 688. It re¬ 
mains to fay a few words as to the cuftoms of the Ifle of 
Man. Between four and five hundred filhing-boats, of 
ufually about fixteen tons burden each, and not decked, 
compofe the Manks fleet. The feafon commences in July, 
and ends with September. In the evening the veffels leave 
the harbours, and return with the fruits of the voyage on 
the enfuing morning. The prayer, or the affeClation of it, 
on leaving the harbour, is falling into difufe. Another 
cuftom (till prevails, that of not leaving fliore on Saturday 
or Sunday evening. Many years or centuries ago, the hif- 
tory of which we know only by tradition, Saturday only 
419 
was excepted, and the veffels ufed to leave the harbour 
with the fetting fun on the following day. A tremendous 
gale, accompanied by thunder and lightning, the fignal 
of divine vengeance, difperfed the veffels on a Sunday- 
night. The greater part were buried in the \yaves; the 
remainder took (heller in the receis of an impending cliff, 
and before morning were cruftied to pieces by its fall. 
The dread of a fimilar fate is fufficiently (trong among 
the feamen to prevent a repetition of the practice. The 
nets are buoyed up by inflated bags of dogs-fkin, and the 
fifh are caught chiefly by the gills. To be able to bring 
to fliore from ten to twenty thoufand herrings isconfider- 
ed a good night’s work for each boat. After a fuccefsful 
voyage, the fifhermcn get fo intoxicated, that the enfuing 
night, however favourable, is ufually loft. The produce 
is divided into three more (hares than the number of fi(h- 
ermen. Every filherman is entitled to one (hare ; the owner 
of the boat to two (hares, and the owner of the nets to one. 
Frequently the nets belong to fome of the boatmen, and 
occafionally the boat. Two (eamen and four countrymen 
are the number ufually employed. From two to three 
thoufand of the latter annually quit their inland habita¬ 
tions for the lea-ports, for the three or four fummer or 
autumnal months. They leave their wives to turn the 
foil, to reap, to threfli and dig potatoes; and having re- 
ferved a confiderable number of herrings for the year’s 
confumption, feaft and get drunk with the produce of the 
remainder. Many of the Irilh, when the butter does not 
appear in due time upon the churning of the cream, af- 
cribe their ill-fuccefs to the machinations of fome evil- 
minded witch. The Manks fifhermen, when they return 
with a boat unladen, aferibe their’s to the fame caufe. 
To difpel the charm, they fet fire to a bundleaff dry heath, 
or furze in the middle of the boat. They light by the 
flames wifps of the fame material, and apply them to 
every part of the interior of the veffel. 
The herrings are conveyed in bafkets from the boats by 
boys and girls. The firit operation is to make an open¬ 
ing with the knife, and clear away the inteftine, if the 
fi(h be defigned for a warm climate; if not, it is frequently 
dKpenfed with. In this country the offal ferves only to 
enrich the land, or feed the gulls ; but in Sweden they 
are boiled for oil. Thofe defigned for red-herrings are 
piled up with a layer of fait between each row, and thus 
left for two or three days. They are then waffled, arc 
hung by the mouth upon fmall rods, and placed in ex- 
tenfive houfes built for the purpofe ; fometimes fo large 
as ninety feet by fixty,and from fifteen to thirty feet high. 
The length is divided into feveral apartments, and here 
the rods are arranged in rows, almoft clofe together, from 
the roof of the houfe to within eight feet of the floor. 
Underneath are kindled many fires of dry wood and roots 
of trees, which, for three, four, or five, weeks, are kept 
conftantly burning. When fufficiently dry and fmoked, 
they are with great regularity put up in barrels. For white 
herrings the procefs is much more expeditious, and is ufu¬ 
ally performed on-board of veffels lying in the harbour. 
The fifn are by the women rubbed well with fait, and left 
in heaps till the following morning. They are then with 
equal regularity packed in barrels, with a layer of fait be¬ 
tween each row. Much of the excellence of a herring is 
thought to depend upon its being falted immediately af¬ 
ter its being caught. The Dutch, and the Scotch imi¬ 
tating them, have adopted the praftice of halting their 
(iff) on-board the fifliing-veffels, and throwing overboard, 
at fun-rife, all that are remaining fre(h. The number of 
herrings annually cured in this country is fubject to con¬ 
fiderable variation. The average may probably be be¬ 
tween eight and ten millions, being fome years double 
this quantity, and fome years only half. In the years 
1787, 8, 9, and 90, twenty-nine millions were exported. 
The prefent price of frelh herrings varies from 12s. 6d. to 
20s. per maze of thirty fcore. On the 13th July, 1667, 
they were fo abundant as to be fold at 6d. per maze. 
The old arms of Man were a (hip with the fails furled, 
4 and 
