Chapter VIII: Part 8

There can be no doubt that the formation of a capacious, easily accessible, and well-sheltered low-water harbour, in a central portion of the great fishing district of the north-east of Scotland would be of infinite advantage; but it is equally certain (and Captain Washington, as we have already shown, is likewise of that opinion) that the improvement and increase of the smaller, even the creek harbours, and the precarious piers of such as have any such erections, would be of incalculable service. It is a well-known fact, and one worthy of being held in remembrance, that during the lamentable gale of the 19th of August 1848, thirty boats ran for Keiss Bay, where there is a harbourage built or enlarged by the Board of Fisheries, and were saved. We may here add, what is well known, that where there are no harbours, the boats must be drawn up and beached in creeks and bays. Their size, therefore, in these cases, corresponds not to the wilderness of waves which they have to encounter, but to the nature of the situation on which they can be drawn up and placed in safety. We thus frequently find a great contrast between the size of boats where harbours or other sheltering fabrics have been built, and those frequenting places where there are none. It is also well known that the boats engaged in the cod and ling fisheries, &c., now require to proceed farther out to sea than formerly; and as they are necessarily constructed of a larger size, and so draw more water, they also need deeper harbourage than of old.

We may now briefly notice the commercial value of our fisheries. The capital embarked in the trade is not less than _two millions seven hundred and thirty thousand pounds_. It is chiefly distributed among a people inhabiting wild and barren districts of the country, where the climate is cold and moist, employment precarious, labour poorly paid, and all creature-comforts few and far between. Their real resources lie in the sea, the products of which, unlike the _cereals_, are fortunately not very materially affected by a somewhat cloudy and uncomfortable climate. Many years ago, views of this kind were propounded by a Scotchman, Mr David Loch, the father, we believe, of the late lamented M.P. for the Wick burghs. He writes rather critically regarding the natives of the _Western_ Highlands:—

“I am sorry to observe that the fishing is greatly neglected at this
and the harvest seasons, as most of the people are farmers as well as
fishermen; so that their time being divided between the two branches,
the great object, fishing, has not that time and attention paid to it
which is absolutely necessary. It is true that the country is not
unfavourable to the breeding of sheep, not only on account of the
pasture in general, but also as the snow never remains long on the
ground; and as the farmers, very judiciously, use no tar, they sell
their wool at 14s. the stone. The fisheries, however, should be their
first care; and I declare, from my own knowledge, that a few boats’
crews of our east-country fishers would make rich here, and realise
more money than half the farmers in this quarter. What a pity it is
the inhabitants should be so blind to their own interest, and neglect
to avail themselves of the advantages which their local situation
offers to them! A boat’s crew of six men would make more money in one
month than any farmer here can off the produce of a hundred acres of
his best arable land, after deducting the value of the seed and the
expenses attending its culture; and the former could, from the
proceeds of their fish, furnish themselves with meal, flour, malt,
barley, and vivers of every kind, on easier and much better terms than
the latter can possibly raise and supply themselves with from their
own farms. _Fish_ is the natural produce of their seas, with which
they abound, and to which they are contiguous; and _grass_, for
pasturing sheep and black cattle, the natural produce of their lands.
Nature, in denying them the means (of grain culture), has given them
the fisheries, which is their natural staple, and is more than an
equivalent for the deprivation of the other.”[18]

A higher and more recent authority, Sir John M‘Neill, G.C.B., Chief Commissioner of the Poor Law Board for Scotland, has borne corresponding testimony to the value of our fisheries, and their great advance during our own days. In reference to the county of Caithness, he observes:—

“Nearly the whole sea-coast of the county, including the towns of
Thurso and Wick, is inhabited by persons more or less directly
dependent upon the fisheries. In the rural parts, the fishermen have
generally attached to their dwellings small farms or lots as they are
called, varying in extent from two to ten acres of arable land. These,
however, do not afford them the chief part of their subsistence. They
rely upon the fisheries, and regard the cultivation of their lots as a
secondary and comparatively unimportant part of their business.

“At the end of the last century, the value of the cured fish annually
exported from Caithness did not exceed £13,000, and it then consisted
almost exclusively of salmon. The cured herring, cod, and ling,
exported from Wick and Lybster for the last ten years, gives an
average annual value of not less than £130,000, according to the
Returns of the Board of Fisheries. The annual value of the whole land
in the county was returned in 1843 at £66,000. The population in 1841
was 36,343.

“The Caithness fisheries have thus not only become a source of
prosperity to the county, but have also become an object of national
importance; and their further extension appears to be in a great
measure dependent upon the increase of suitable harbour accommodation
for the boats engaged in them. Harbours, more or less secure, have
been formed from time to time at different creeks along the coast,
from Wick southward, and the number of boats appears to have increased
in the ratio of the accommodation provided for them. There is no
reason to believe that the limit has yet been reached, or that, if the
harbour accommodation were increased, the fisheries, more especially
of herring, would not receive a corresponding development. But even
now the population of the county is not nearly sufficient to supply
the demand for hands during the fishing season, and some thousands of
men from the west coast, find in Caithness, during that season,
employment and wages, without which they could not subsist. The
increase of harbour accommodation in Caithness, besides increasing the
general amount of production, would thus afford additional employment
to the inhabitants of the West Coast and Islands of Inverness, Ross,
and Sutherland, who frequent the east coast fisheries because they
cannot find sufficient employment at home.”[19]

We may add in connection with the above, that about 10,000 Highlanders pass across from west to east during the continuance of the autumnal fishery, in which they find, for the time being, their sole refuge from destitution. It is estimated that from 7000 to 10,000 Highland women of the poorest class, and otherwise most forlorn condition, are likewise beneficially employed in gutting and packing herrings.

Great improvement and increased activity have been manifested in the fisheries of late years, and the facilities afforded by steam-navigation and the formation of railways have no doubt given a decided impulse to that department, as to so many other branches of commercial occupation. The value of our _materials_ alone, in the way of boats, netting, and lines, now amounts to upwards of £580,000, minutely portioned out as the property, we need scarcely say in many cases the sole property, of a very poor though industrious part of the population.[20] There are nearly 11,000 boats employed in the Scotch fisheries (including a few hundred from the Isle of Man), giving permanent employment to about 40,000 fishermen, besides occupying, as coopers, gutters, and labourers, towards 30,000 other persons. Of the higher class of merchants or fish-curers, there are considerably above 1100 engaged in the trade.[21]

In estimating the money-value of the products of the Scotch fisheries, each barrel of cured herrings may be regarded as equivalent to £1, 1s. The price is sometimes higher, as in 1854, when it often reached to £1, 4s.; but it is also occasionally lower, when there is a large stock in hand, and the foreign markets are sluggish. The fishing trade is more than most others liable to fluctuations,—the supply itself varying from glut to scarcity. Thus the average profits are probably very moderate to all concerned. But taking the sum first mentioned as a fair price, it has been ascertained, that, upon the most moderate computation, the herring fishery of 1855 will produce—

Of cured herrings, £700,000
Of fresh herrings, 150,000
————————
£850,000

The price, however, of cured fish being actually up, and as the returns of fresh fish are always much below the mark, we are informed, on the best authority, that the real value of the preceding season’s capture will exceed _one million_ sterling. This is a great thing for so poor a country, and especially for the poorer classes of that country. That our wealthier neighbours over the Border are made large partakers in our scaly spoils, is obvious from what appears to us to be a remarkable though distinctly ascertained fact, that in the course of a few weeks of last season, _5053 tons of fresh herrings_ were transmitted, chiefly southwards, from the Dunbar district, by the North British Railway alone. The _take_ of herrings in 1849, for Scotland and the Isle of Man, was 942,617 barrels. The season of 1853 was also very productive, yielding, exclusive of the English stations, 908,800 barrels.

Of the cured fish a very considerable portion is exported to Ireland and the Continental kingdoms. Thus during the immediately preceding season (fishing of 1855), it is estimated that out of a total cure of 705,109 barrels, 100,000 barrels were sent to Ireland, and 338,360 barrels to the Continent. To Stettin alone we have this year exported close upon 155,000 barrels, almost all guaranteed as in prime condition, and skilfully cured, by means of the Fishery crown brand impressed by burning on the staves. This process of branding is regarded as of great importance by the foreign merchants, more especially by such as have afterwards occasion to consign their stock to others for inland transportation. The crown brand is our Government official mark, and testifies that the contents have been carefully examined and approved of by the appointed Fishery officer of the district where the fish were caught and cured; and so great is the confidence now placed in the skill and integrity of these experienced and faithful functionaries, that barrels so marked pass from hand to hand, without examination, into the very heart of Europe, and onwards to the shores of the Black Sea. We need scarcely say how deteriorated the contents would be if the barrels were opened and the fish inspected, as they passed from country to country, or from one purchaser to another. By the present practice this loss is avoided, and great advantage gained.

A single sentence may suffice for cod and ling. Stornoway in Lewis, and the Orkney and Shetland Islands, are the chief stations for these fine fish. In 1854 the amount cured at these and the other places in the north was 115,850 _hundredweight_. Besides these, there were caught and disposed of _fresh_, 58,042 hundredweight. The quantity of individual fish of the cod and ling kind, killed in the north of Scotland during the season of 1854, was _three million five hundred and twenty-three thousand two hundred and sixty-nine_. Of these, 1,385,699 were caught off the Shetland Islands. What a boon to a people who can scarcely grow grain, and cannot live on grass!

The preceding facts seem, on the whole, to indicate a rather pleasant and prosperous condition of affairs, for which we ought to be unfeignedly thankful, and with which it might not be deemed advisable to intermeddle, at least in the way of sudden and unsought-for change.

Our fishery affairs, we may now observe, are at present managed, so far as legal rules and regulations are concerned, by a certain number of Commissioners, who constitute the “Board of Fisheries.”[22] The functions of that Board are chiefly as follows: To obtain for Parliament accurate statistical returns of the cod and herring fisheries,—of the seafaring and other persons employed in those occupations,—of the number, computed tonnage, value, &c., of the boats and other vessels engaged, and to give clearances for the same. In the herring fishery, to see that the measures for the delivery of fresh herrings, as between purchaser and seller, are of the legal standard size; and when the fish are cured, to ascertain that the barrels in which they are packed are of the full dimensions, and not fraudulently made, and to apply the official mark, called the Crown Brand, to whatever barrels contain herrings so cured and packed, and of such superior quality as to entitle them to receive it; to enforce the fishery convention between Great Britain and foreign countries, and guard the coast of Scotland against the intrusion of foreigners during the fishing season; to act likewise as a home police among the multitudinous masses of fishermen and other natives collected for the herring fishery along the coast, or in the numerous narrow firths and sea-lochs of our country, where there is often scarcely room to hold them; and to see that the boats in all such cases take up their proper stations, so as to prevent fouling of gear, and unseemly, sometimes dangerous, brawls; finally, to erect piers and quays, and to make and maintain harbours on the coasts with aid from the proprietors and fishermen, with whom the Commissioners are in frequent communication, and to protect the boats and property in those harbours.

Of course these important and multifarious duties cannot be performed but at some expense; yet when we consider the deep interests involved, the vast capital embarked, the steady and increasing occupation of a remunerative kind afforded to so great a mass of our poorer population, and the difficulties and dangers which naturally beset this adventurous calling, we think the sum is very small compared with the advantages which its expenditure insures. The police department, especially on the western shores and islands, is chiefly maintained by the Princess Royal cutter, of about 103 tons burden, and a crew of 20 men and boys, including an experienced commander, and mate. This vessel is under the exclusive control of the Board. During the height of the fishing season, one or more small steam-vessels are placed by the Admiralty under the direction of the Board, and one of these vessels is usually continued in the Firth of Forth, for the protection of the winter fishing, so frequent there. The entire coast is divided into districts amounting, with the Orkney and Shetland Islands, to 22 in number, managed by a general Inspector, and 25 resident officers, whose sole occupation consists in the direction and encouragement of whatever may tend to the improvement and increase of the fisheries, and their products. It is imperative that these men should themselves have served for three years in the practical performance of the cooper’s art. They are selected on account of their probity, sobriety, assiduity, and intelligence, and they are not raised to be the responsible officers of a district till they have acquired the requisite knowledge, and given proof of their capability, as assistants and nominees, for the higher situations. They reside among, and habitually mingle with the people of the fishing stations, and keep up a friendly and uninterrupted intercourse with them. That they skilfully and faithfully fulfil their functions, may be inferred from the very few instances in which, during a long continuous course of years, and almost countless series of transactions, any complaint of defective cure in any barrel bearing the brand has ever been presented to the Board.

The mere bestowal of the brand is, however, by no means the sole, though it is the final act of those officials. They are on the alert wherever fish are landed from the exhaustless deep. They encourage and hasten the immediate application of the most approved modes of handling, assorting, gutting, rousing, salting, re-pickling, packing, filling up after sinking, and so on, and are thus actively engaged among all the various classes of people, whether of the sea or shore, explaining what is right, and checking what is wrong, from the first moment that the fish are landed from the boats, like glittering and gorgeous heaps of silver, till the full barrels are finally fixed down, and the brand applied. They also ascertain that the measures used as between the fishermen and the curers, and between the curers and the public, are properly constructed, and of just dimensions. To do this effectively, in a station such as that of Wick, where many hundred large boats are discharging their almost living freight nearly at the same time, it is obvious that energy, activity, and considerable sharp-sightedness, are indispensable to see that all is open and above board among such an innumerable and multifarious crew from all quarters,—counting among them, no doubt, as in all other trades, those who are not so scrupulous as to debar their being somewhat greedy of gain. We have been told, from the highest source, of how many evils that fatal though frequent passion is the root.

The expenses of the Board, as above constituted, are the following. There is a special grant of £3000 (by Act of Parliament) for the erection of piers and quays, or other harbour-work. There is a further sum granted, by the annual votes of supply, of £11,000 for the general expenses of the Board, their head office in Edinburgh, their establishment of district officers throughout the country, the general superintendence of the fisheries, and the maintenance of the cutter and her crew. The Commissioners of the Board act gratuitously. We presume that the functionaries last alluded to, although unpaid, assiduously perform the duties required of them, and to which they are pledged. The following is Mr John Shaw Lefevre’s testimony in their favour, as well as in advocation of the continuance both of the brand and Board:—

“Having arrived at the conviction of the necessity of maintaining at
present the system of branding herrings, it appears to me that this
would of itself require the continuance of the Fishery Board,
independently of the question of the general utility of that
establishment. I conceive that the superintendence of that system, and
of the officers conducting it, could not be better or more
satisfactorily executed than by that Board, which is thoroughly
conversant with the subject, as respects the Scotch fisheries, to
which the branding system is practically limited, and far more
conveniently situated than any Central Board in London.

“Having had the opportunity of inspecting the correspondence and
proceedings of this Board, it would be unjust not to take this
opportunity of adverting to the important services which the
Commissioners, acting themselves gratuitously, and with a moderate
establishment, have rendered to the public in assisting for a long
period of years in the development of this branch of national
industry, and of expressing my belief, that, in the present condition
of the poorer classes in Scotland, the question of the continuance of
the Board of Fisheries is not merely to be regarded in reference to
measures of economy,—that it is impossible to doubt the social and
moral advantages which may and do result to this class of the
population, from the attention bestowed upon their welfare by a body
of eminent persons, distinguished by their rank, position, and
knowledge, and who are constantly endeavouring to obtain and
disseminate information useful to those employed in the fisheries, to
encourage their enterprise, to stimulate their industry, and to
promote their physical and moral welfare.”

We quite agree with Mr Lefevre in the opinion expressed above, and especially in his belief that a Scotch Board, necessarily conversant with the subject of the Scotch fisheries, will exercise a more effective and satisfactory superintendence, and perform its functions much more conveniently and economically, than could any board in London, so far removed from the scene of action.

The general importance of our present subject is too obvious and admitted to be argumentatively insisted on. If we have writ our annals true, it cannot be doubted that the British fisheries, as the great nursery for seamen of habitual hardihood, and fearless of “the lightning, the fierce winds, the trampling waves,” are altogether invaluable, and, in a national point of view, far transcend the mere direct pecuniary advantages, however great, which may so easily be shown to spring from them. It is long since Sir Henry Wotton maintained that there was something even in the capture of fish, viewed simply as a trade, which tended to improve the moral, if not the intellectual character of men, and to bring them up for the most part a humane as well as hardy race; and more recently, Baron Cuvier, so well acquainted with both man and beast, and every other thing that dwells on this terraqueous globe, has recorded his opinion, that all nations possessed of any sea-coast where the herring occurs, have given great encouragement to its capture, wisely regarding that occupation as the most natural nursery for the bringing up of robust men, intrepid sailors, and skilful navigators, and so of the highest importance in the establishment of maritime greatness. Lacepede goes so far as to regard the herring as “une de ces productions dont l’emploi décide de la destinée des empires.” We know that during the palmiest days of the States-General, out of a population of 2,400,000 persons, 450,000 were either fishermen, or connected with the building and equipment of ships and boats pertaining to the fisheries; and so the Pensionary De Witt was not far wrong when he stated that every fifth man in Holland earned his subsistence by the sea, and that the herring fishery might be regarded as the right hand of the republic. Indeed, the Dutch nation, so wary, considerate, and persevering, have always admitted that their wealth and strength resulted from the sea; and hence the old saying still in use among them, that the “foundation of Amsterdam was laid on herring-bones.”

Seeing, then, that we are surrounded by so great a mass of witnesses, testifying to the importance of this trade, and knowing to what height, after so many years of toil and trouble, we have now attained, ought we to put in peril our present most advantageous position, by venturing upon any fanciful alteration of that familiar machinery which has hitherto worked so well?

It is, however, rumoured that Government proposes, we presume by way of mending these matters, to abolish the Board of Fisheries, collect the statistics, and exercise the superintendence, after some other fashion, cast the brand into oblivion, withdraw the grant for the building of piers and quays, and so dispense, _in toto_, with the advice, assistance, or intervention of the old and experienced authorities. This proposal, of course, proceeds upon the assumption that the brand may now be advantageously done away with, and the principle adopted which has so long been applied to the linen and woollen manufactures, which are not now stamped officially, but depend for preference on the character and merits of each particular maker. We understand it to be alleged, that this so-called sounder system should be applied to the Scotch fisheries, with a view to assimilate them, so far, to those of Ireland. We shall now consider this proposal, which, we need scarcely say, has sorely perplexed and alarmed the people of our coasts. They almost feel as if the fate foretold by the Prophet Isaiah was now in store for them, and that the time is at hand, when “the fishers also shall mourn, ... and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.”—Isa. xix. 8.

We shall now, as briefly as we can, take up the subject under the different heads into which it naturally divides itself.

In the first place, we can bear testimony, from personal knowledge, to the fact, that great importance is attached by our fishing population to the existence of the Board. They view it as a body to whom they can have easy access, through the resident Fishery officers at the various stations. Their impression is that their interests are cared for by it, and hence their willingness, in cases of difference or dispute, to be regulated by the friendly interposition of the official superintendents. Innumerable cases might be cited of aid afforded by the captain and crew of the Princess Royal fishery cutter, as well as by the effective influence and authority of the naval superintendent, with his Queen’s ship. But the great advantage of the former vessel is, that she is under the entire control of the Board for the whole year, whereas the war-steamer is only given for a time, and is of course always under Admiralty orders. There is also additional benefit found to flow to the Highland population of our insular and other western shores, from the easy intercourse they can have with the Gaelic-speaking boats’ crew of the cutter, compared with the utter and irremediable absence of all intelligible intercourse, which not unfrequently occurs, between that population and the unalloyed Saxons of a steamship from the south.

We doubt not that the Board of Fisheries believes itself, and on good ground, to be, from the very nature of its constitution, in a more favourable position than any other body of men can be, to ascertain and judge of the local requirements of parties applying for additional accommodation in the way of piers and quays. Their accurate statistical returns enable them to know whether a given station is on the increase or otherwise, and their local officers having necessarily an intimate acquaintance with the character of the fishing population of each district, can testify to their activity and success. They can thus give information which it would be extremely difficult to obtain in any other way, but without which the propriety of erecting, or repairing and extending, any of these shore-works, could not be so satisfactorily determined.

In respect to the proposal to assimilate the Scotch to the _Irish_ fisheries, we believe the fact to be, that the Irish _Herring_ Fishery has actually no existence as a national undertaking. Let any one read over the _Reports_ of the Irish Commissioners, and he will perceive at once that their functions are confined almost exclusively to the regulation and improvement of the _Inland Fisheries_; that is, those of salmon and white trout. Any mention of herrings is, in truth, of the most casual and unimportant kind. There is, no doubt, a somewhat regular herring fishery off a portion of the eastern coast of Ireland, the boats sailing, for the time being, to and from the harbour of Howth. But it is very well known to every person in any way conversant with the subject, that these boats consist of about 140 from St Ives, in Cornwall, of towards 100 from the Isle of Man, and of some 20 from Campbeltown in the west of Scotland. Scarcely any native Irish boats frequent that fishery. We believe that a few come off from Arklow,—we presume very few, as they are not enumerated by the Irish Commissioners. These Commissioners, however, state, that of all the boats above mentioned, the Scotch “are invariably the most successful,” owing to the superior nature of their nets, and no doubt more skilful mode of management. So backward, in truth, is the condition of the Irish herring fishery, and those connected with it, compared with the Scotch and its conductors, that a very few seasons ago a set of cooper’s tools for the manufacture of barrels could not be found at any curing-station in all Ireland, and there had to be sent over from Scotland, at the request of Mr Ffennel, one of the Irish Inspecting Commissioners, a few skilled artisans, with the necessary implements, to instruct the establishments of the sister isle, and aid those concerned in their pursuit of knowledge under difficulties. Now, we should certainly be very sorry to be assimilated to anything of that kind, although we can easily conceive that the assimilation of the Irish fisheries to those of Scotland would be of great advantage to the former.

We are willing to make every allowance for the difference in the character and disposition of the Scotch and Irish (although the majority of the one, so far as _fishers_ are concerned, are as _Celtic_ as the other), and for many disturbing elements in the Green Isle which do not so deeply and fatally pervade the social state of our own people; but still, where we find, on the one hand, a most important branch of commerce long established and maintained in security, and now on the increase from year to year, and on the other a desponding if not decreasing condition of affairs, carried on with little energy and no success,—there seems nothing unreasonable in the supposition, that management and methodical regulation, a long-continued course of instruction, an unceasing supervision, and encouragement both by precept and example, to work up and attain to a higher standard of excellence than heretofore, may have produced the most beneficial effect in the former case; while the absence of such ameliorating causes, and of all counteractions of apathy and ignorance, may have been injurious in the latter. The Scotch fishermen and fish-curers have experienced, and still enjoy, the advantages referred to,—the Irish have not been deprived of them, because they never had them in possession. The Scotch herring fishery is by far the greatest and most successful in the world,—the Irish is unfortunately the smallest and least prosperous on the waters of the known earth; and why should we seek to assimilate the two by adding much to nothing, rather than by endeavouring to create something out of nothing, and thus increasing the previously existing stores of national wealth? Of course, we know not with certainty what effect would follow the formation along the still unproductive Irish shores of a machinery in accordance with the system which has proved so signally successful along the wild coasts of much more barren and ungenial Scotland; but we think it would surely be a wiser and more generous policy to try the experiment of assimilation, rather by endeavouring to raise up Ireland to what it ought to be, than run the risk of bringing the two countries into somewhat similar condition, by sacrificing any of the few advantages which Scotland now enjoys.

If the accurate ascertainment of the statistics of the land is now deemed of such vital importance, surely that of the sea, to this great maritime and commercial nation, is no way less so. This brings us to the consideration of the performance of another important duty of the Board, the advantages of which we should of course lose on its abolition. Our marine and fishery statistics have been hitherto collected with great fulness and accuracy by the officers of the Board, and annually reported to Parliament. On the demolition of the Board, who are to perform the same functions in time to come? If the coast-guard is to be so employed, as it is in Ireland, let us briefly inquire into the well-doing of that system there.

In reference to the marine statistics of the sister isle, as collected and transmitted by the coast-guard, the Irish Fishery Commissioners report as follows:—

“The doubts which we have expressed in former reports of the accuracy
of the tabular returns, which are founded upon information furnished
by the coast-guard department, are, we regret to state, undiminished.
Several cases in which we have endeavoured to test their correctness,
have convinced us that _not even an approximate estimate_ can be
formed of the actual extent and state of the fishing establishment on
the coast. From any sources within our reach, unaided by anything like
a responsible staff, _we are unable to obtain the necessary
information_, or to effect that perfect organisation of the coast
which would tend to the promotion of the fisheries and the
preservation of order—an object of vital importance to the
well-working of the fisheries, as well as to the peace of the country.

“We have in our department but one clerk, whose duties are sometimes
necessarily extended to visiting distant stations for the promulgation
of by-laws, or for other purposes; and on such occasions we have
required of him to furnish us with a statement of his progress. His
reports prove how exceedingly valuable the services of qualified
persons would be, instead of the desultory and unsatisfactory
information which we are enabled to procure from irresponsible
persons, who are bound to make our business quite subordinate to their
more important duties. We subjoin a copy of the circular and queries
which we issue annually to the coast-guard department; and in most
cases we find that five out of the seven questions asked are either
not answered at all, or in a manner not calculated to afford much
information.”[23]

In a subsequent report the Inspecting Commissioners state, in relation to the Belmullet district, which extends from Duna Head to Butter Point, that the diminution in the number of boats and hands is so great as to seem quite incredible. They attribute this not so much to the actual decrease, as to the erroneous and exaggerated information formerly received. “There are no first-class boats, and only 190 second class, with 676 men and boys, instead of the former establishment, which was stated to have been 962 vessels, with 3376 men and boys. This clearly proves the great inaccuracy of former returns.”[24]

In the most recent report of the Irish Commissioners the following is the conclusion come to:—

“We cannot conclude this report on the coast fisheries of Ireland
without expressing our deep regret that we are not furnished with data
which would enable us to supply accurate statistical information as to
the physical resources which may be found upon our shores for purposes
of national defence. The encouragement of our coast fisheries used in
former times to be considered the most effectual and legitimate means
of providing for our navy.... In France we are told that the whole
commercial navy—masters, mates, sailors, and shipboys—are under the
eye and jurisdiction of the Minister of Marine;—nay, every fisherman,
waterman, ferryman, oyster-dredger, and boat-builder is registered. We
very much wish that we had been enabled to establish even a less
perfect system of organisation, but we find ourselves more deficient
in means of obtaining accurate information every succeeding year; and
we entertain little hopes that, until the present plan of registry is
much improved, we can ever attempt to present returns the accuracy of
which we could vouch for.”[25]

We do not think that the preceding extracts are encouraging, or hold out any great inducement to assimilate our established mode of marine statistical collection to that of Ireland. Far better to abide as we are, and “let well alone.” It may also be borne in mind, that so far as the north-west portions of Scotland, with their numerous and deeply-indented fishing-bays, are concerned, there is actually no coast-guard in existence.

A single paragraph may suffice in regard to the general marine superintendence, or police duties, as exercised by the Board of Fisheries. These duties are chiefly performed by boats’ crews from the Princess Royal fishery cutter. We may refer to the fact that the Chamber of Commerce of Wick apply each season to the Board for a boat’s crew to be stationed at Wick, for the purpose of preserving order in the fleet of fishing-boats assembled in that overcrowded mart; and that the results are invariably so successful and satisfactory, that no complaints of brawling or contention are ever made. On the contrary, the Chamber of Commerce seems annually to express and record its grateful acknowledgments to the Board for its efficient services in this particular matter of the preservation of the peace. The following, however, is of a somewhat different complexion, in the last Report of the Irish Commissioners, regarding the state of matters in the Green Isle:—

“The fishers and buyers complain greatly of the absence of some
regulations for the preservation of order among the multitude of boats
and people that are often assembled; and still more of the absence of
any summary jurisdiction for enforcing regulations and settling
disputes between the boatmen themselves, and between them and the
purchasers; and have agreed upon a memorial to the Lord-Lieutenant
upon the subject, which, doubtless, will come before the Board in due
time.”[26] “The inspecting commander at Donaghadee complains that the
people do not conform to the laws with regard to the size of the
meshes; and that with poke nets, used in Lough Strangford, great
quantities of fry of cod, whiting, pollock, blocken, sythes,
salmon-trout, turbot, golpens, and smelts, from two to three inches
long, are destroyed.”[27]

We may now say a few words regarding the somewhat disputed subject of the _brand_. Many of our readers are, no doubt, so innocent as not to know very precisely what this mysterious symbol indicates. The mark called the _Full crown Brand_ merely means, that the herrings contained in the barrel which bears it have been regularly selected and assorted from the first, as of full size, good quality, and fresh condition; that they have been gutted and salted immediately after capture; have gone through various intermediate curative processes not needful to be here detailed; have lain at least ten days in pickle since their first presentment in the market-place; and having been then carefully inspected by the fishery officer of the station, and found in every way excellent and in sound order, have had the heads and girdings of their barrels firmly and finally fixed down by the cooper, and so being entitled to the Government Brand, have accordingly had that distinction impressed upon them by means of a hot iron which “the likeness of a queenly crown has on.”

Now, it has been argued by some, who, like Campbell’s sable chieftain of the Indian forest,—

“Scorning to wield the hatchet for a bribe,
’Gainst Brand himself have gone in battle forth,”

that this is an interference with the freedom of trade, which should be left open to all competitors, without fear or favour. They maintain that although it may be convenient and advantageous to dealers, it practically tends to confine improvement in the mode of cure within the limits just necessary to secure the brand, and that there is thus no inducement held out to a fish-curer to surpass his fellows,—the Government brand, as it were, equalising the value of the article, although one set of barrels may be much better than another. It is also asserted that the brand creates an artificial system inconsistent with proper and prevailing principles, and that the sounder system now applied to the linen and woollen trade (from both of which the Government mark has been for some time removed), and all along to the fisheries of Ireland, should be put in force.

In reply to these objections, it may be mentioned that herrings are of a very different nature from linen or woollen fabrics, and after being packed for exportation, cannot have their character and condition ascertained by either touch or eye-sight, without injury to their future state. The brand is _not compulsory_, and can scarcely present any barrier to improvement in the cure of herrings, because if any curer, more skilful than his neighbours, can find out and put in practice any better method than that now in use, he is entirely free to do so, and may thus establish his name, and trust to it, independent of the brand. Moreover, whatever may be the philosophical value of the principle in political economy pointed out as deserving of a preference in the abstract, it must practically (and the gutting and curing of herrings are very practical operations in their way) be borne in mind, that our fisheries have grown up rapidly under the present system, which was found necessary to enable us to compete with the Dutch, whom we have thereby driven out of whatever markets are open to us without disadvantageous differential duties, and that our now prosperous practice is sunk into the very foundations of our foreign trade, affecting the wellbeing of almost countless thousands, from the forlorn fisherman to the wealthiest capitalist, or most aspiring speculator.

It is assuredly a strong fact, that the foreign merchants themselves are unanimous in favour of the continuance of the present system, as enabling them to transmit their barrels, on the faith of the brand, into far inland countries, where the names of our native curers, however familiar to many of ourselves, are necessarily quite unknown, but where the acknowledged _crown brand_, by its simplicity and certainty, suffices for every purpose of an agreed-on guarantee. Great derangement of the foreign trade, and consequent disadvantage, are naturally apprehended from any sudden departure from the existing long-established system. The trouble and expense which, in absence of the brand, necessarily follow the practice of _braken_ (that is, inspection by opening) would inevitably decrease the profits of both the fishermen and curers in our own country; because as each party through whose hands the fish pass from their first capture to their final consumption must reap some share of profit, whatever increases the difficulties of the intermediate stages, tends to lower prices in this country. The duties paid abroad, both of import and transit, and other unavoidable charges, prevent the exaction of any higher prices in the foreign market, because any considerable increase would be tantamount to prohibition, and would thus debar any sales whatever. As the price, then, must remain the same, or nearly so, to the foreign consumer, a large proportion of the loss occasioned by increased expense would unavoidably fall upon our own people. Now, it is well known that, in consequence of the perilous and uncertain nature of a fisherman’s vocation, and the peculiarities of the curing trade, the profits to those concerned can in no way stand reduction, however much they may require increase.

The opinion of the foreign merchants on this matter has been manifested many times. On the 7th of March 1844, Messrs Robinow & Sons, and Hudtwalcker & Co., of Hamburg, write as follows:—

“We believe ourselves entitled to state that we are not merely
expressing our own individual sentiments, but, at the same time, those
of the public in general interested in the herring trade of the
Continent. The official interference of the Board will prove a great
benefit to the Scotch herring trade. It will, on the one hand, prove
to the buyers on the Continent that the Board of Fisheries is desirous
to do all in its power to justify the renowned fame of its brands, and
in this way give more confidence to the trade. On the other hand, the
curers of Scotland will be influenced by such steps to pay as much
attention to the curing and packing as possible, and thus increasing
confidence on the part of consumers, and increasing vigilance, with a
view to improve the cure, on the part of the curers and officers, will
conjointly contribute to increase the consumption of Scotch herrings
on the Continent, and consequently to increase the exportation.”

Mr Wellmann, of Stettin, a very extensive foreign purchaser of the Caithness branded herrings, in a letter to Mr George Traill, M.P. for the county, wrote thus on the 8th of February 1851:—

“Scotch herrings are only sold in small quantities in this market and
the neighbourhood; they are chiefly sent great distances of from a
hundred to eight hundred miles English, into the interior of Germany
and Poland, either by orders or offers, without the assistance of
commission merchants, for the great expense of forwarding them does
not permit any commission to a third party. The great distance
prevents, likewise, dealers from inspecting the herrings on the spot
here, who therefore make their purchases solely on their trust in the
official brand, knowing that the fish must be selected well, and
properly cured,—that the barrels be of legal size,—and that they
require to be well and tightly made before the brand can be affixed.
These herrings are generally forwarded by crafts, which are often six
or eight weeks on their passage, and it frequently happens that a
great fall in the market takes place during that time; and should the
official brand be removed, dealers in the interior might easily take
advantage of such falls, for it would not be difficult to find
complaints—such, for instance, that the fish were not properly
selected or well cured—that they had too much or too little salt—or
that the barrels were of a smaller size (for no one can there say of
what size the barrels require to be); and as most herrings are sold on
credit, they would consequently be often stored at the risk and the
expense of the shipper, and perhaps in markets where the person who
purchased them was the only dealer.... The cheapness and the improved
cure have increased the importation of Scotch herrings into our port
to a great extent, for there is no port to which more Scotch herrings
are shipped than Stettin, whilst the importation of Dutch and
Norwegian fish has diminished.”

A body of Hamburg merchants, too numerous to be here named, stated, on the 4th of October 1852, that it is by the careful observance of the regulations established and enforced by the Board of Fisheries, that the Scotch herring trade has attained to its present magnitude:—

“It is by the crown full brand,” they observe, “that we enter into
contracts, make sales and deliveries, without examination. Such
herrings pass current from hand to hand here, and into the interior,
some of them reaching the empire of Austria. The many thousand barrels
of full crown branded herrings arrived this season have given entire
satisfaction to us and our constituents; but the sale of unbranded
herrings is frequently the subject of complaint, and threats made by
customers to return the herrings. We are, therefore, compelled to make
abatements in the price.”

The partners of four merchant firms of Berlin expressed themselves thus, on the 7th of October 1852:—“We hereby represent our entire confidence in the official brand applied to the Scotch herrings by the officers of the Board of Fisheries, which is our only guarantee for the large capital we embark in this business.” And the heads of six mercantile houses of Magdeburg state, within a few days of that time, in respect to a rumour which had reached them regarding the possible abolition of the brand: “An alteration in this respect would put us to the greatest inconvenience, and compel us to adopt another plan of payment, which in the end would not be agreeable to your merchants and curers.... The opinion of a body of merchants, importing annually 50,000 to 60,000 barrels of Scotch herrings, will be worth some consideration, particularly as the object concerns the interests of both parties.”

Mr Thalberg, another Prussian merchant, has recently (in 1855) written as under:—

“In order to show how the Scotch herrings had risen in the Dantzic
market, while in 1841 only from 3000 to 4000 barrels were imported,
last year there were 35,000, and Scotch herrings were gradually more
and more taken into the interior, while Norwegian herrings have
correspondingly decreased. The same was the fact at Königsberg. This
he attributed to the brand. Some of the herrings were actually sent to
the Black Sea, being bought at Dantzic on the faith of the brand,
which was so essential to a continuance and spread of the trade, that
he did not believe purchasers from the interior would come such a
distance and examine the barrels for themselves, were the brand
abolished. Norwegian herrings were sent in small yachts, and each
parcel was examined with the greatest minuteness before being
purchased.”

These are the opinions of foreign merchants on this important point. The following may be taken as expressing the sentiments of those at home. Mr James Methuen, of Leith, a skilful curer, extensively known as of great experience, and very largely embarked in the export trade, very recently wrote as follows:—

“It is impossible to see each herring in a barrel, therefore
inspection of them at the time of curing and packing enables an
officer to brand with knowledge of the article, and gives confidence
to the purchaser.

“The official brand has proved the means of exchange by bill of lading
from hand to hand, and from dealer to dealer, in Scotland,—afloat in
the middle of the North Sea,—in the Baltic, or in the rivers of
Germany in their river craft, and up the interior of Germany for
hundreds of miles,—and been passed and paid for as a good bill of
exchange—in some cases through half-a-dozen purchasers.

“I ask those who differ, would it be wise of Parliament to peril the
industry of so many thousands of our seafaring and industrious
population, for want of the supervision that has wrought so well as to
displace the demand for Norwegian and Dutch cured herrings on the
continent of Europe, and enhanced the value of the Scotch crown
branded herrings, so that they are now bought and sold without
inspection by parties who never, and cannot, see them.”[28]

The important fact previously stated by Mr Wellmann, in regard to the increasing consumption of Scotch herrings in the Baltic, and the consequently decreased importation from other quarters, is well shown by the following table:—

In 1834, barrels of Dutch herrings received at Stettin, 4,546
„ „ of Norwegian do., „ „ 53,981
„ „ of Scotch do., „ „ 19,960
———————
In 1850, „ of Dutch do., „ „ 568
„ „ of Norwegian do., „ „ 12,507
„ „ of Scotch do., „ „ 116,538

In the year 1849, our exportation to Stettin amounted to 147,103 barrels. That season is well known to have been the most productive of herrings of any ever “recorded in history,” and so gave us the power, while Prussia afforded the opportunity, of this most beneficial exportation. It gives us sincere pleasure to add, that the immediately preceding season of 1855, although by no means the greatest in respect of capture, has exceeded all its predecessors in exportation to the Prussian markets—154,961 barrels having been transmitted to Stettin during the year now closed. Almost the whole of that vast consignment was ordered in consequence of the certain guarantee afforded by the crown brand. Now that peace is ere long, as we trust, about to be proclaimed, it is pleasant to anticipate the fresh impulse which may be given to the consumption of our native produce in many inland countries of the Continent. The disastrous, though, from the cruel necessities of war, advisable destruction of the great Russian fisheries, will no doubt, for a time, cause additional recourse to our marine resources; but the absence of the well-known and long-trusted brand from our barrels exported to the Baltic, would assuredly tend to check, or render less likely, that desirable increase.[29]

It is thought by many considerate and well-instructed people, by bankers and men of business, whether merchants or otherwise, that the power of obtaining the brand is of great advantage to young men of small means, and not yet established commercial reputation, who desire to enter into the export herring trade. By attending carefully to the cure of, it may be, only a few hundred barrels, they obtain the brand, and can ship their small stock with as good a prospect of a fair proportional profit as the most wealthy and best-known exporter. This opens a door to rising integrity and intelligence which might otherwise be closed, and it lessens the occasional evils of those engrossing monopolies which the large command of capital or credit is apt to produce, to the disadvantage of the poorer though not less trustworthy trader.