THE rise and progress of the herring fishery have been previously
mentioned and further discussion would be superfluous, were it not to
represent more clearly the attempts that were made by some new
adventurers, who resided at Dunbar, Caithness, and other places in
Scotland; at Liverpool, in the western part of England; and at the Isle
of Man, in the Irish Channel; in order to deprive the town of the
benefits arising from this antient fishery, and to monopolise them wholly
to themselves.
The declining state of the herring fishery at Lowestoft was apparent
about the year 1776, that the inhabitants began to entertain alarming
apprehensions concerning it. This decline may be attributed to the new
adventurers and the war with France and Spain.
The merchants at Lowestoft, in the year 1776, had formed a scheme for
sending boats to the coast of Scotland, to fish for the large fat
herrings which frequent those seas in great quantities, with the design
of bringing them to Lowestoft, to be dried and cured, in the manner
practised with herrings caught on the Lowestoft coast. By this means an
intercourse was opened between the Lowestoft and Scotch people. In
consequence whereof, inquiries were made respecting our mode of curing
herrings, and the advantages which we received from the fishery; premiums
were offered to our fishermen to entice them to repair to Scotland,
during the herring season, to instruct those people in the methods of
catching and drying the herrings; and persons were also sent from
Scotland to Lowestoft to take dimensions of our fish-houses, their manner
of construction, etc., and as they had obtained every information
necessary for their purpose, fish-houses were immediately erected in
Scotland, the fishery was established there and prosecuted with vigour,
and Lowestoft was threatened with the annihilation of its antient branch
of commerce, which had been its support for many centuries. The
adventurers at Liverpool and the Isle of Man having at the same time
formed a design of introducing the art of drying and curing herrings at
those places, the same as in Scotland, the like methods were practised by
them as were made use of by the Scotch. But all these designs of the
Scotch, however alarming they might appear at first, were of short
duration; for the heat of the weather during the fishing season, and the
fat and oily quality of their herrings, rendered the fish difficult to
cure, and unpleasant to the taste; and consequently their schemes were
frustrated. But at Liverpool, and particularly at the Isle of Man, the
case was very different. In these places the fishery continues a
considerable part of the year, the herrings are taken in prodigious
quantities at a small expense, and are not of that oily quality as those
are which frequent the coast of Dunbar and Caithness, and consequently
are capable of being better cured than those which are caught on the
eastern coast of Scotland.
Nevertheless it was generally allowed that the western herrings, though
preferable to those caught on the coast of Scotland, in that they were
more capable of being properly cured, were yet greatly inferior in
quality to those either of Lowestoft or Yarmouth. But notwithstanding
the superior quality of the Lowestoft herrings, considerable orders were
given for the western fish; and in consequence of the low price they
could be afforded at, found a more speedy sale than those from Lowestoft,
not only at all the markets in England, but at those also of the
different Italian ports in the Levant. The diminution of the price of
herrings, especially when accompanied with an increase of their size,
were recommendations which had so great an influence with the generality
of purchasers of that commodity, that they more than balanced the far
superior qualities of richness of colour and excellency of flavour, which
have always so remarkably distinguished the Lowestoft herrings above
those from any other place.
This success of the western adventurers greatly alarmed the merchants at
Lowestoft. The great quantity of fish which they caught, the proficiency
they discovered in curing them, together with the greatest success they
had met withal at market, exhibited but a melancholy prospect to the
inhabitants of Lowestoft.
It was computed that in the year 1776, six thousand barrels of herrings
were cured only at the Isle of Man; and in 1777 there were sent from the
same place four thousand barrels to the London market only, exclusive of
those that were sent to the other places. There were also sent to market
that year twenty thousand barrels from Liverpool, and a considerable
quantity from Scotland. These prodigious quantities of fish, offered
also to the public at the reduced price which those merchants could
afford them at (namely, Lowestoft herrings at £15 10s. per last, and
herrings from Liverpool at £11 per last) so extremely distressed the
Lowestoft merchants, that they were obliged to export the greater part of
their herrings at Leghorn, and other ports in the Mediterranean on a
venture. But even here also they found that ships from Liverpool, with
herrings, had arrived there before them; and in consequence thereof were
obliged to deposit their herrings in warehouses till the following year,
when they were sold at a great loss. The Lowestoft merchants were also
in the same predicament respecting the herrings that remained unsold at
the London market; and therefore a meeting of merchants was held at
Lowestoft, in order to consult about the most eligible methods of
disposing of those herrings, and it was agreed to lodge them also in
warehouses there till the succeeding year, which resolution was attended
with the same misfortune as that respecting the herrings at the Italian
ports to the great injury of the Lowestoft merchants.
Notwithstanding the great success which had hitherto attended these
competitors with Lowestoft for the herring fishery, yet it was but of
short continuance; for the large size of their herrings, and the fat and
oily quality they possessed, though perhaps in a lesser degree than those
caught on the coast of Scotland, were such great obstacles to their being
properly cured, as could not be surmounted, and evidently proved that
they were wholly unfit for exportation, and could only be sent to our
English markets, and were not saleable even there, unless they were
brought for immediate consumption; and consequently the herring fishery
established at Liverpool and the Isle of Man experienced the same ill
success as attended that at Dunbar and Caithness, that of being totally
abolished, at least so far as respected the curing or making red
herrings.
The attempts of these new adventurers have evidently demonstrated that
the herrings caught on the eastern coast are the only ones that are
capable of being properly cured for red herrings; the colour and flavour
of these herrings are superior to those from any other place, and they
retain their excellent qualities to a longer period and are preferable to
any others either for a foreign or home consumption.
The second cause, which, about the year 1777, greatly retarded the
success of the herring fishery at Lowestoft, as well as embarrassed the
merchants was the war with France and Spain. By this event the
intercourse which the English merchants had formerly maintained with the
different ports in the Mediterranean was greatly interrupted, and
particularly at the time when the siege of Gibraltar by the Spaniards was
turned into a blockade. The usual methods formerly made use of by the
merchants at Lowestoft in exporting herrings to the Italian and other
ports in the Mediterranean, when we were engaged in a war with France or
Spain, was, to convey them to those ports in foreign bottoms;
particularly in ships from Holland; but the Dutch, at this time being
suspected of carrying English property, were more narrowly watched than
formerly as they passed the Straights of Gibraltar and consequently were
in the most imminent danger of being captured. But in the year 1780 this
difficulty was in a great measure, removed by the treaty of “The Armed
Neutrality.” This treaty was entered into by most of the commercial
powers on the Continent, in order to protect any ships belonging to those
powers from the interruptions and depredations they had lately been
exposed to, under the pretence of carrying warlike stores, etc. By this
treaty foreign vessels were permitted to pass the Straights of Gibraltar
without being searched, or suffering any other interruption, but
unhappily for the Lowestoft merchants, they not being apprized of the
treaty being ratified before the usual time of selling their herrings,
and consequently were apprehensive of being liable to the same dangers
and inconveniences they had before been exposed to, they at the beginning
of the season, sold the greater part of the fish which they should catch
this year to the fishmongers in London, whereby they sustained a very
considerable loss.
The herring fishery at Lowestoft appears at this time to be established
on the most lasting and permanent foundation; such as promises not only
to be advantageous to the inhabitants, and beneficial to the public, but
also, as a nursery for seamen, very useful to Government. In fact it is
a wise policy of all great maritime powers to establish and encourage, as
much as possible, fisheries of every denomination; they being not only of
the greatest benefit to individuals, but of the utmost utility to every
naval power; for not only the English, but also the Dutch, French, and
other foreign nations, from the encouragement of their fisheries, have
given evident demonstrations of the truth of this assertion. For this
reason the British Legislature has always encouraged and protected its
fisheries as much as possible; and the herring fishery has been
particularly favoured, but in former reigns as well as the present, with
signal instances of its indulgence and protection; as is manifest, not
only from the many wise laws, interpositions and regulations of preceding
kings, but also from the Act passed in the 26th year of his Majesty King
George III., for granting a bounty on herrings, under certain
restrictions therein mentioned.