THE SCOTTISH FISHERIES.[14]

The Fisheries of Scotland constitute her most valuable and important

interests, and form, in some of their features, the only really

_national_ undertaking in which our people are engaged. Of the benefits

arising from agriculture and manufactures, we have, of course, our

share; although our colder climate, and less affluent natural resources,

make our merit all the greater in reaping in both of those departments

such redundant harvests. But what is often wanting on the surface of our

sterile land, is compensated by the products of the exhaustless deep. A

hardy and athletic race is thus maintained in useful independence—a race

for whom, but for this so frequent occupation in the great waters,

nothing would now remain save expatriation or the poor’s-roll.

When mention is made of the vast importance of our fisheries, and of

their increasing prosperity, it must, however, be in no spirit of

boastfulness, nor with any very buoyant feelings of continuous and

assured success. The fisherman’s vocation is at the best one not only of

perpetual toil, but of frequent peril; and truly, while engaged in it,

no man knows what even an hour may bring forth. The brightest day, with

its calmly glittering sea, and sky as clear in its cerulean depth as

ever fondly brooded over the “cloudless Parthenope,” may be followed by

the thick darkness of a night of storm and terror; and instead of

another gladsome sunrise, with hopeful mothers and happy children

scattered in expectant groups along some sheltered semicircular shore,

the wild waves are coursing tumultuously over the lifeless forms of many

whose places will henceforward know them no more for ever. Let any

kindly and considerate person pass even an hour or two in one of our

fishing-villages, and converse with the inhabitants, whether old or

young. Strong stalwart men of iron mould, enduring and unbending as the

gnarled oak, and in no way given to that sickly sentimentalism which we

sometimes meet with elsewhere, become softened and subdued when the dark

remembrance of some great bereavement comes back in bitterness upon

them,—in earlier life the loss of fathers and elder brothers,—in later

years that of sons and helpmates, fellow-workmen in the world of waters.

How many hearths are cold or cheerless, how many homes desolate, or the

forlorn dwellings of the widow and the fatherless! Women may be seen

seemingly intent upon the preparation of hooks and lines; but there is

not one among them that cannot tell some heart-rending tale of sudden

and unlooked-for death; and as they cast their melancholy eyes over the

then gently heaving sea, they never cease to feel, because they too

sadly know, how wrathful and ruthless is the power of that dread

destroyer.

A seafaring people are proverbially subject to calamities of the most

fatal and almost irremediable kind, such as no exercise of skill or

caution on their own part can possibly provide against, and which befall

no class of artisans or agricultural labourers. The sea, like the land,

has also its barren and unproductive places; and even its richer fields

are not seldom those of death and desolation. Therefore, whatever tends

to ameliorate the condition of such of our people as are engaged in the

fisheries should be carefully encouraged, and any sudden, especially if

doubtful, changes in their relationship to the rest of the world,

considered with the greater caution, even although certain existing

conditions should not altogether conform to those general principles of

political economy which it might otherwise be prudent to apply.

“The weary ploughman plods his homeward way,”

but seldom fails to find it. The

“Swinked hedger at his supper sits,”

and soft is the mossy bank beneath him, and sweet the air around,

redolent with the balmy breath of flowers, and filled with the melody of

birds singing their evening hymn. How rarely does the extinction of life

from other than natural causes overtake these dwellers on the land,

compared with the frequent fate of those who do business in the great

waters! How astounded would be the natives of our inland vales, and the

shepherds on a thousand hills, if ever and anon their hitherto steadfast

and enduring boundaries were rent by earthquakes, and, literally “adding

field to field,” one fine piece of pasture was lifted up and laid upon

another, entombing for ever alike the corn and its cultivators, the

shepherds and their sheep. No very pleasant greetings in the

market-place would ensue among the grain-merchants, wool-growers, and

cattle-dealers, when the morning’s news might chance to be—that the

Lammermoors had subsided 1500 feet, and were entirely under water; that

“Eildon’s triple height” had been turned over, peaks downmost; that the

debris of Penicuik was scattered over the vestiges of Peebles; and that

the good town of Dalkeith was lying (its fine body of militiamen fast

fossilising) at the bottom of a coal-pit. Yet equally disastrous, though

not quite similar, calamities not unfrequently befall those whose

precarious lot it is to cultivate the sea.

The formation of more commodious harbours, and of substantial and

efficient piers, and whatever other accommodation may be most required,

along our rock-bound shores, may therefore surely be regarded as

emphatically a work both of necessity and mercy, without which the

bountiful gifts of nature are either useless, or obtained at such fatal

sacrifice of life and property as it would be painful to contemplate. It

has been sometimes said, that as the coast proprietors are benefited by

an increased success of the fisheries, the duty of erecting harbours or

other shore-works is chiefly incumbent upon themselves. It is true that,

when a proprietor builds a farm-steading or a porter’s lodge, he is

bound to pay for it, as he may be presumed to reap the chief advantage,

and, at all events, is entitled to debar others from any participation

of profits. But a building which abuts into the region of the sea-shore

is so far public property, is under certain Admiralty supervision and

control, and cannot be used exclusively for individual interests,

although a reasonable power of regulation, in the way of imposing

harbour-dues, may very properly be agreed upon as between proprietors

and the public. The existence or non-existence of such works is often as

the difference betwixt life and death to those who seek some shelter

from the sea. Their construction is a great and indispensable public

benefit, and therefore necessity; and a proprietor need no more be

grudged the individual advantage which undoubtedly, and we think

fortunately, accrues to him, than he can be grudged the corresponding

advantage (which he shares with the general community) of those public

roads and bridges which intersect or span the more inland portions of

his property. It is, therefore, a very narrow and unpatriotic view which

would saddle the expense of sea-works, of whatever kind, upon the

immediate local owners of the land. Let them bear their share, as they

are assuredly much benefited by the increase of fishing or other

commercial intercourse, both as direct advantages, and as almost

necessarily leading to the improvement of property and a rise of rents;

but considering the wild and unstable nature of the elements with which

we have to deal, and the almost incalculable general benefits which

result from all such works, when skilfully planned and substantially

executed, let the public also largely and ungrudgingly join in the

required expenditure.

As Captain Washington has well observed, it is not one or more great

harbours of refuge on our north-eastern shores that is now required. The

Bay of Cromarty, the _Portus Salutis_ of the ancients, one of the finest

and most secure harbours in the known world, lies not more than fifty

miles to the southward of Wick, while the safe anchorage of Long Hope,

in the Orkneys, is only twenty miles to the northward of that great

fishing capital of Caithness. These are accessible at all times to every

kind of shipping. But it is not so much shelter for the general trade,

as security for fishing-boats, and coasting vessels connected with the

fisheries, that is so imperatively needed. In proof of this we shall

here briefly record the great catastrophe which befell a portion of our

fishing population of the north-east coast of Scotland in the autumn of

1848. It is known that at this time upwards of 800 boats, manned by 3500

men, were engaged in the fishery from the Wick district alone. On the

afternoon of Friday the 18th of August of that year, the majority of

these fishing-boats (all open ones) left Pulteneytown harbour soon after

high water, and remained in the Bay of Wick. Towards evening they stood

out to sea, and when about ten miles off the land, as usual, shot their

nets. The afternoon was fine, though the evening had somewhat of a

threatening aspect, yet not such as to deter a fisherman from the

pursuit of his accustomed calling. At midnight, much wind and sea having

risen, many of the boats ran for the harbour, and got safely in about

high water, which occurred at half-past one o’clock. By three in the

morning the wind had increased to a gale from the south-east, with heavy

rain. Most of the remaining boats then bore up for the Bay, which they

reached between four and five o’clock; but by this time the tide had

fallen one-half, and therefore there was not more than five feet depth

of water at the entrance of the harbour, so that, with such a sea

running, no loaded boat could enter. Some, however, made the attempt,

and were either thrown up at the back of the north quay, or wrecked on

the south pier, or swamped upon the bar. In this disastrous way 25 men

perished, besides 12 others whose boats were swamped at sea; thus, in

the brief period of about three hours, occasioning a loss of 37 men

drowned, leaving 17 widows and 60 children utterly destitute. There was

a destruction of property in boats and nets of about £1600.

Dunbeath lies some sixteen or eighteen miles to the south-west of Wick.

It is a favourite fishing-station, and much resorted to, having about

106 boats and 410 men. Its creek is slightly protected on the east by a

promontory, and some detached rocks, which partially throw off the sea,

and direct it into the west side of the bay; but it is much exposed to

the south-west and southerly winds, and the fishermen have twice built

up a breakwater of loose stones on the south side, near the burn-mouth.

Not only is the violence of the waves to be dreaded, but after much rain

in the interior, heavy fresh-water _spates_ descend suddenly, and cause

great destruction among such boats as have not been hauled up to a place

of safety. Thus in the storm referred to, 18 boats were drifted out of

the harbour by the river flood, and were smashed upon the beach. Still

more unfortunately, a Lybster boat, while making for the harbour, was

upset, and three men drowned.

Helmsdale, in Sutherlandshire, is fifteen miles farther to the

south-west. It has made wonderful progress within comparatively recent

years—is in a very thriving condition, and possesses some of the best

curing establishments in all Scotland. But there is great want of

accommodation both for men and boats, and the crowded state of the river

is disadvantageous. There is also a bar at its mouth, and the

harbourage, moreover, suffers much from the inland spates. During the

autumn of 1848 there were 177 boats fishing from Helmsdale. Of these,

130 put to sea on the evening of the 18th of August. In the disastrous

gale of the ensuing morning, two boats were upset while running over the

bar for the harbour, and four men were drowned. Two other boats were

either run down or foundered at sea, when 5 men perished, and another

man was washed overboard while endeavouring to haul his nets,—making a

loss of 10 lives.

On the southern side of the Moray Firth, Buckie is known as a most

important, though exposed and almost shelterless station. It puts out

about 160 boats, and its fishermen are noted as among the most daring as

well as industrious on our coasts. They pursue the deep-sea fishing, and

so labour not during the herring harvest alone, but all the year round.

In the gale of the 19th of August, 12 of its boats were wrecked off

Peterhead, 8 were sorely damaged, and their nets carried away, while 11

men were drowned. Port Gordon, Portessie, and Findochtie belong to the

same quarter. They lost among them 5 boats wrecked, and 10 men

drowned—making a total loss, for that limited district, of 17 boats and

21 men.

Peterhead occupies a commanding and well-known position on a projecting

and very exposed portion of our coast, and the stations included as in

the same district, extend southwards as far as Aberdeen. It has about 60

boats of its own, while those of the entire district amount to 262, with

920 men and boys. But while these are the numbers belonging to the

district, the actual amount at work within it, during the season of

1848, was 437 boats, employing 2185 men. Peterhead has the advantage of

both a north and south harbour, each of considerable extent. The south

harbour is dry at low water, but the outer portion of the northern has

from six to seven feet at low water of spring-tides, and eighteen feet

at high water. During the gale of the 18th and 19th of August, the boats

began to run for shelter about eleven o’clock at night, and continued to

do so until half-past three o’clock in the morning, at which time it was

high water. But while endeavouring to make the harbour, 30 boats were

totally lost, 33 were damaged and stranded, and 31 men were drowned.

Stonehaven is the principal station of the next and more southern

district, which extends for about fifty-five miles from Girdleness to

Broughty Ferry on the Tay. This district furnishes 306 boats, manned by

1160 fishermen. Of its 23 fishing stations 17 have no piers. Findon, so

celebrated for its smoked haddocks, has 14 boats, but no pier.

Portlethen, somewhat sheltered by a ledge of rocks, has 20 boats, but no

pier. Cowie, under a similar precarious shelter, has 18 boats, but no

pier. Auchmithie, with 37 boats, and Johnshaven with 10, have nothing

like a pier. In many of these places the shore is steep and rough, with

loose though heavy shingle. The boats, when they get in safely, must

often be hauled well up for a continuance of protection. This, with

relaunching, is most laborious and exhausting work. The women labour in

and out of water, whether deep or shallow, as well as, sometimes even

more assiduously than, the men. They carry the wet nets up the steep

banks to be spread and dried, and they are not seldom seen bearing the

wearied men out of the boats upon their backs, and landing them, high

and dry, upon the beach. But these are savage customs, and lead to or

perpetuate an uncouth and indurated, if not savage life. Yet before we

can “excavate the heathens,” and ameliorate their manners, we must

excavate their beach, and build them substantial piers of stone and

lime. On the miserable morning of the 19th of August, 6 boats belonging

to this district were totally lost, and 19 men drowned.

The following is a brief summary of the loss of life and property which

was suffered in the course of a very few hours during this disastrous

gale:—

┌────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┐

│ District. │Number of boats │ Value of boats │ Number of men │

│ │lost or damaged.│ and nets lost. │ drowned. │

├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤

│Wick, │ 41│ £1621│ 37│

│Lybster, │ │ 320│ │

│Helmsdale, │ 24│ 800│ 13│

│Peterhead, │ 51│ 3820│ 31│

│Stonehaven, │ 8│ 450│ 19│

├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤

│Total loss,[15] │ 124│ £7011│ 100│

└────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┘

A calamity so great and sudden forcibly drew the public attention to the

subject, and the Lords of the Admiralty were induced ere long to depute

Captain Washington to inquire into and report regarding it. His report

was printed by order of the House of Commons, and contains many most

valuable observations and suggestions.[16] We cannot here enter into

technical details, but may quote one of his concluding paragraphs.

“In reviewing the evidence adduced on the present inquiry, it cannot

fail to strike the most cursory reader that the want of good harbours,

accessible at all times, is the grand cause of the loss of life and

property, and the increased risk connected with our fisheries. It is

not the construction of two or more large central harbours (as has

been suggested) that is wanted, but a general deepening and

improvement of all the existing harbours and rivers along the whole

eastern coast of Scotland. Nor would the improvement of these harbours

be attended with any very considerable outlay. _It is scarcely

credible that the small sum of £2500 a-year, which Parliament has

devoted_ [through the Board of Fisheries] _to building harbours and

piers in Scotland for the last few years, should have given so great a

stimulus to important local improvements as those grants are found to

have done._ But they are quite inadequate to grapple in earnest with

the want which exists: four times their amount, or £10,000 a-year for

a few years, steadily laid out on piers and harbours, would do much to

remedy the want, and to place the fishermen of the east of Scotland on

a par with those of more favoured coasts. It would be an act of mercy

to a race of hardy, industrious, frugal men—to 10,000 fishermen of one

of the poorest and most unproductive districts of Scotland, who are

not at sea as occasional passers-by, but are constantly hovering off

the coast in pursuit of their calling for three months together,

exposed to the suddenness and violence of north-east gales—such as

that of August 1845, and again in August 1848—without the common

shelter that all mariners are entitled to look for in the hour of

need.”—_Report_, p. xvii.

Here we seem to have a distinct statement of what is most required,—an

equally distinct recognition of the great benefits which have already

resulted from small means,—and a strong recommendation of a large

increase of those means, to be administered, we may presume, through the

same medium and machinery as heretofore employed, and of which Captain

Washington so much approves.

The harbour of Lybster lies in a sheltered situation, about half-way

between Wick and Helmsdale. The best localities for the herring fishery

are only a few miles off; and it had thus risen from a creek, scarcely

navigable by small boats, to a fishing-station of very considerable

importance. More than twenty years ago, Mr Sinclair, the proprietor,

erected a pier on the west side of the harbour, at an expense of about

£7000. Above 100 herring-boats were in use to frequent it during the

season; many coasting vessels entered in; the quay-dues produced a

revenue of £130, and a large and thriving village became established.

All this time the harbour accommodation was limited and incommodious,

consisting only of the channel of the river; and its increase of trade

cannot be explained in any other way than by the safety experienced by

boats in consequence of the entrance being well protected from the worst

and most prevailing winds. Such being the case, Capt. Washington thought

it highly desirable to profit by the advantages which nature had

bestowed upon this creek; “or rather,” he observes, “it becomes an

imperative duty to do so, when we consider the number of lives

endangered, and the value of the property at stake, on the sudden

springing up of an easterly gale, such as that of August 1845, and again

in August 1848, which strewed the coast of Caithness with wrecks.” We

may add, that the Lybster district comprises also Occumster, Clyth,

Latheronwheel, Forse, &c., and that these places yielded, during the few

weeks’ continuance of the fishing of 1854, as many as 41,550 barrels of

herrings. In consequence of Captain Washington’s recommendation, and

other patriotic influences, the Treasury advised a grant of £6000 for

the improvement of the harbour of Lybster. The sum was voted by

Parliament, and has since been successfully administered under the

superintendence of the Board of Fisheries. The advantageous effects of

this well-managed grant are manifest from the following facts. The

number of boats that fished from the old harbour of Lybster in 1850 was

97, but the number that has fished from it since the basin was enlarged,

is 174 boats in 1853, and 171 boats in 1854. But the difference in mere

numbers of these two years, as compared with 1850, does not exhibit the

actual alteration and improvement; for since the disastrous gale of

1848, the boats have almost every year been of larger build—so much so,

that the fishermen consider that the old harbour would not have held

above 80 boats of the existing size, and that 180 of these boats are now

harboured in greater safety than 80 could have formerly been. The amount

of fishermen employed in 1848 was 418; during the past season (1855) it

was 920. Had this increased accommodation existed in 1848, there is no

saying what saving of life and property might have been accomplished.

During the gale so frequently referred to, of the 34 boats which fished

from Forse, 9 were totally lost, with all their nets, and 11 were

severely damaged. Some of those Forse boats did, however, run for

Lybster, and were saved; and all would have done so, but from the fear

of want of room. It was this fear, unfortunately, that induced one of

the Lybster boats, as already mentioned, to run for Dunbeath, where she

was totally wrecked, and three of her crew drowned.

Our notices have hitherto been of a very casual kind, drawn out by the

sympathy which cannot but be felt for the disastrous death of intrepid

men and the destruction of property, which inevitably leads to such

severe and long-continued suffering on the part of the survivors, haply

but little thought of during the first wild wailings of the widow and

the fatherless. But poverty sorely embitters grief; and the amount of

prolonged misery involved by destitution so often consequent on death,

can be in no way conveyed by the mere recital of the facts, however

harrowing these may be. But it is cheering to know that the occasional

disbursement of sums, which, to the greatest maritime nation that ever

existed on earth, or made its undisputed home upon the deep, are only as

a few grains of sand to the shores of the immeasurable sea, may produce

the most obvious, immediate, and permanent advantage, and actually go

far to convert a life of danger and difficulty into one of comparative

security and ease. In reference to this view of the subject Captain

Washington has well observed:—

“Besides the invaluable boon on this (the Caithness) coast of a

harbour that might be fearlessly run for at all times of tide, and

within which the fisherman might land his cargo immediately on his

arrival, and rest quietly at his home until the moment of sailing

arrives (instead of the anxious hours now often spent off a harbour’s

mouth, waiting for the rise of tide), such a harbour would probably

lead to a larger and safer class of fishing-boats (those now in use

being adapted to a shallow dry harbour), and induce the fishermen to

follow the deep-sea fishing all the year round, instead of merely the

herring fishery for the season; and thus cultivate habits of steady

industry and occupation, which could not but be beneficial to himself,

his family, and the community.”—_Report_, p. viii.

“Nor could such an outlay,” he afterwards adds, “be considered in any

other light than as sound economy. By the exertions of the British

Fisheries Society, and of individuals, a vast public interest has been

created on this coast within the last half-century. A fishing village

has been raised into a comparatively opulent town, wealth has been

diffused, and civilisation has followed in its wake. The example here

set has had a most beneficial influence on a large portion of the

Highlands and islands of Scotland, and habits of industry and the best

mode of fishing have been taught to the Highlander. The large amount

of 126,000 barrels of herrings, or one-fifth of the whole produce of

the Scottish fisheries, was cured at Wick during the past year, in

addition to 12,000 barrels otherwise consumed.[17] The total value of

the boats, nets, and lines employed exceeded £61,000, while the

catching and curing the fish occupied 5600 persons; and the carrying

of salt, and the export of the fish to Ireland and the European

markets, gave occupation to 16,700 tons of shipping. _These are great

public interests, which are entitled to be considered._ They are the

results of spirited enterprise that may fairly claim to be encouraged,

not by bounties and protection duties, but by placing these

industrious and hardy Caithness fishermen, as far as possible, on a

level with those of more favoured coasts, by the construction of a

low-water harbour, to which they may confidently resort in the hour of

need.”—Ibid. p. ix.

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.

In reference to the next head of our discourse—the small annual grant of

£3000 for the erection or enlargement of harbours, piers, and quays,—we

think it cannot be doubted that its administration by the Board of

Fisheries is necessarily attended by numerous and great advantages.

Correspondence and inquiry take place in each particular instance of

application for aid; one of the first practical steps being an accurate

survey by the Board’s engineers, with a report on the practicability and

probable expense of the proposed work. The cost of this preliminary

investigation is shared, half and half, between the applicant and the

Board. The Board, being by this time in possession of all particulars

necessary to be known, determines the proportion which the proprietor or

fishermen (or both, as the case may be) should be made to bear of the

ultimate outlay, while the latter parties also take into consideration

how far they are able to make the required contribution; and so the

agreement is either completed, or does not take place. Of course, the

Board may either reject or entertain an application, while a proprietor

(committed to nothing more than his share of the previous survey) may on

his part accept or refuse to pledge himself to the payment of his fixed

proportion, according to what he knows of his own ways and means. It is

not till these preliminaries have been adjusted that the actual work is

mutually agreed upon, and put in operation. We know that many of these

undertakings, which on their first proposal seemed almost hopeless of

execution, have, by the encouragement and exertion of the Board, been

brought to a successful issue, and are not only now in themselves of

unspeakable advantage to our fishing population, but, by affording a

successful example of the benefits which occur from comparatively small

sums judiciously expended, have been the means of conducing directly to

the erection of similar undertakings elsewhere, of equal benefit, but

not previously taken into contemplation. A great deal more is done by

these quiet and considerate means than can possibly be here detailed;

but it is self-evident that the constant and unconstrained communication

which now and has so long existed between the Commissioners, the great

majority of whom are resident in Edinburgh, and the proprietors as well

as people of the coast districts, where an increase of boat

accommodation is so much required, cannot be otherwise than

advantageous.[30]

Now, if the Board of Fisheries be abolished, how and by whom are these

friendly and encouraging communications to be carried on, and who are to

pay the preliminary expenses? Through what agency are matters to be put

in shape for acceptance by the Treasury, and the recommendation of a

special grant by Parliament, in favour of any particular pier, or other

work, that may be wanted? These preliminary but unavoidable expenses

would in many cases fall upon a body of poor fishermen, who, without any

warning voice on the one hand, or word of encouragement on the other,

must proceed in doubt and darkness as to the chances of ultimate success

with Government; while that Government could not proceed to action in

the proposed matter without ordering some inquiry of their own, with a

view to confirm or confute the opinion of the applicant, and thus

causing, whatever might be the result, _additional if not double

expenditure_,—while the object of the abolition of the Board is _to save

expense_! A detailed explanation to Parliament regarding the special

requirements of each particular case, though safe and salutary in the

instance of great public harbour-works, would prove inconvenient, if not

inoperative, in the administration of the numerous smaller fishing-pier

grants for Scotland, hitherto contributed and administered by the Board.

In what way the local though important circumstances connected with the

expenditure of a few hundred pounds for the erection of a slip at the

far end of Lewis, at Sandseir in Shetland, or Eday in Orkney, can form

the subject of an immediate and judicious parliamentary inquiry, we

cannot well conceive. Probably few proprietors would desire to take

advantage of a grant for some small but desirable improvement in those

wild regions, were all the private and preliminary negotiations

subjected to so cumbrous and uncertain a course as a consideration by

the House of Commons. The communications now made to the Board of

Fisheries by many Highland and other proprietors, are no doubt often to

a certain extent of a confidential nature, involving the exposition of

pecuniary affairs in connection with the proportional sums which

particular proprietors may or may not have it in their power to pay. But

when the main point is proved, to the satisfaction of the Board—to wit,

that a great and general advantage will assuredly accrue to the people,

whether a closely congregated mass, or the forlorn and far-scattered

remnants of some dim and distant island of the sea,—then is the grant

agreed to, and every effort, consistent with enduring efficiency, made

to economise its administration, while every exertion has been

previously put forth to obtain the utmost possible aid from proprietors

and fishermen. It is obvious, from the annual reports made to

Parliament, how much is frequently effected by the Board in this way.

Let the following examples suffice for the exposition of this portion of

our subject. The harbours after-named have not been built by wealthy

proprietors, but by contributions to the Board by working fishermen, out

of the hard-earned savings of their precarious life of labour.

For the harbour of Cellar-dyke there was lately paid by £705 18 4

fishermen,

Do. Buckhaven, do., 3,116 19 9

Do. Coldingham, do., 571 8 0

The grant to the Board commenced in 1828, but was only £2500 per annum

for many years, and often greatly less, the practice appearing to have

long been to require from the Treasury only the sum actually wanted for

each work; and, from some absence of knowledge among both proprietors

and fishermen, and probably inexperience on the part of the

Commissioners of the Board, the grant in certain seasons was not

obtained at all. It never seems to have reached a regular annual payment

of £2500 until the year 1838, nor £3000 until the year 1850. Yet since

its institution it has, by means of the negotiations of the Board, drawn

out from private parties, for the erection of harbours, the sum of

£27,455

Of itself, the Board has paid in grants. 59,399

———————

Making a total of £86,854

expended on the improvement of our coasts. It ought, moreover, to be

borne in mind, that although, by the Act of Parliament, not less than

one-fourth must be contributed by the private promoters of these

shore-works, yet, through the influential management of the Board, this

required proportion has in a great many cases been raised to one-third,

and in some to one-half, of the estimated sum. So greatly, indeed, have

the benefits of these ameliorations attracted the attention of the poor

fishermen themselves, that they have not seldom of late come forward

with offers of contributions much beyond what could have been

anticipated from men of their class. When we consider the other

advantages necessarily flowing from the increased prudential habits

which must precede this social or domestic saving,—the diminution in the

consumption of ardent spirits, and abstinence from other sensuous

enjoyments,—it seems impossible to overrate the importance of any

existing and well-established condition of affairs, admitted to be

directly influential in the production of so beneficial, we may say so

blessed, a result.

On the most mature and deliberate consideration of the whole matter now

before us, and with large practical experience of the history and habits

of our fishermen, and other coast population, we desire to protest

against the unpatriotic rumour which has reached our ears, that the

Board of Fisheries is about to be abolished, and its beneficial

functions performed by—we know not whom.

We have now no longer any space for special observations on the two

works of which the titles are given at the foot of the first page of

this article. Like all its predecessors, the _Report_ by the

Commissioners of the Board of Fisheries, for 1854, contains a great deal

of valuable statistical and other information, which, if we seek for

elsewhere, we shall fail to find. The author of the treatise on

“Fisheries,” in the current edition of the _Encyclopædia Britannica_,

has presented us with an ample and accurate exposition of his subject,

with which he is no doubt well acquainted. He appears to us to be rather

long-winded on the history and habits of the salmon and its smolts,

whether one year old or two; but this is probably one of his hobbies,

and as it may be also a favourite topic with a numerous class of curious

and inquiring readers, and has recently assumed additional importance in

connection with the artificial breeding of the finest of our fresh-water

fishes, our ingenious author’s time and labour have probably been by no

means misbestowed in its elucidation.