106 
iiot be subjected to the payment of tonnage duty; that fisher¬ 
men should be exempt from the charge of hospital money ; and 
that the bounty under existing laws should be paid in cases of 
shipwreck.” This recommendation was adopted, and the fishing 
industry prospered for a season. The embargo proved disastrous, 
much distress prevailed; the war with England completed the 
ruin of the business ; many vessels were captured or destroyed, 
which inflicted untold hardships on the fishing communities. 
After the proclamation of peace Congress came to the rescue, 
high duties were levied on all imported fish, and healthy de¬ 
velopment followed. In 1819 Congress increased the bounty; 
vessels under thirty tons obtained three dollars and a half, 
larger vessels four dollars per ton ; no vessel received over three 
hundred and sixty dollars in one season. The subsidy thus 
provided was subject to conditions, as to men and the time de¬ 
voted to the fisheries. The premium paid stimulated commerce 
along the eastern coast; swift vessels have been launched; 
oceans and seas have been explored; islands and reefs have 
been discovered ; the monsters of the deep have been captured ; 
the sails of our fleets have whitened every bay ; the bounds of 
civilization have been extended, and the “ Star Spangled Ban¬ 
ner ” has waved in the uttermost parts of the earth. The suc¬ 
cess which has crowned the governmental bounty exceeded 
the most sanguine expectations of its early advocates. This 
wonderful prosperity excited the jealousy and animosity of the 
agricultural sections in the south and west, and a virulent 
crusade was fomented against it. On the 20th of Feb., 1852, 
the following circular from the Treasury Department was issued 
to the Collectors of Customs: 
u For the purpose of producing uniformity in the requirements 
of proof by Collectors who are charged with the allowance of 
bounty on the tonnage of vessels employed in the codfislieries, 
it has been deemed advisable to embody the existing regula¬ 
tions. , . .No fishing vessel of which the fishermen are 
compensated for their services on board by w T ages is entitled to 
bounty. . . .No fishing vessel is entitled to the bounty 
unless it is proved that the master and tliree-fourths of her 
crew are citizens of the United States. . . . From the 
original act of 1792, changing the drawback on dried fish ex¬ 
ported, to bounty on tonnage employed in the codfislieries, it 
has been held that to entitle any vessel to bounty, she must have 
