fhould it fucceed, there is no doubt but that Britain might again recover that pre-eminence in the woollen manufacture the once poffeffled. For as there is no other kingdom in Europe, except Spain, that could produce fuch fine wool as might be reared in Scotland, the manufacturers of other nations would be under the neceffity of reforting to Spain, or more diftant countries, for that neceffary article, which we could have within our own ifland; which would give us fuch an advantage over them in this refpect as would enfure the profperity of this branch of our manufacture.-In this view, therefore, it is greatly the intereft of the flate to promote the plan for improving our wool above recommended.'

Having thus proved that there are no natural impediments to prevent the establishment of manufactures in Scotland, he takes a retrofpective view of thofe political inftitutions that have tended to retard their progrefs in that country. Among other particulars he animadverts with great warmth upon the pernicious tendency of entails, and traces the influence of that mode of tranfmitting heritage upon the national character of the people: he likewife complains that the mode of trials for civil caufes in Scotland is lefs friendly to liberty and a fpirit of independence, the only fure foundation of national induftry, than in England; and he clofes the volume with remarks on the nature of the fisheries of Scotland.

I have purpofely, fays he, avoided, till this time, faying any thing about the fisheries on the coaft of Scotland, about which you are lo anxious to be informed; because I forefee, that till fome plan is adopted to mitigate thofe evils that deprefs the lower ranks of people in Scotland, and to beflow upon them riches and activity, all attempts to reap benefits from thence must be poor and inconfiderable, and becaufe I am fenfible, that if ever thefe beneficent purpofes fhall be effected, the fishings, without almost any effort of thofe in power, will become a great and aftonishing object of national wealth and industry. As this, therefore, muft naturail rather follow than lead the way in the improvement of Scotland, I have hitherto kept it out of fight.'

Then follow fome obfervations on the falmon and cod fisheries, which we pafs over as of lefs moment, to come to the herring fifhery, which he thinks has never yet been attempted in

a proper manner.

The great point wanted to give ftability to the British herringfishery, is to diminish the expence incurred by thofe who engage in it. For till that fhall be accomplished fo far as to bring the British herrings cheaper to a foreign market than thofe of Holland can be afforded, the business must be carried on in a languid manner, that can be attended with little benefit to the nation. But this expence can only be diminished by the frugality and industry of the perfons actually engaged in the fishery; which can be accomplished in no other way, than by giving to thofe individuals engaged in it the certainty of reaping for themfelves, and not earning for another, the whole profits that shall be derived from that indultry and frugality.

No

No labour that is carried on by flaves, can ever be done at fo little expence as by freemen.-Nothing that is performed by hirelings, can ever be performed jo cheap as by men who are working immediately for their own beboof.

This fundamental axiom in politics, the juftnefs of which is confirmed by the experience of all nations, ancient and modern, feems to have been entirely overlooked by our legiflators in their attempts to establish the herring fishery; in confequence of which their efforts, alter thirty years experience, have been found to have produced hardly any beneficial effect.-And by adhering to this political axiom with invarible steadiness, the Dutch, who have many natural impediments to furmount that we have not, do ftill continue to carry on a fuccefsful fishery upon our very coaft, and underfell us in foreign markets by the fish caught fometimes by our own people, even in our own harbours.

The laws that have been at different times enacted in Great Britain with regard to this grand fishery, feem to have been framed directly in oppofition to this axiom. And I have no hesitation in faying, that a Dutchman who should read thefe laws, would be perfectly fatisfied, that if they were intitled, acts for difcouraging, inftead of encouraging, the herring fishery, the title would correfpond much more perfectly with the laws themfelves than it does in its prefent form.-He would fay, that to encourage the herring-fishery effectually, the British legiflature ought to have aimed at diminishing the expence of that fishing to the feveral undertakers as much as was in their power:-inflead of which they have endeavoured all they could to encrease it, by loading the feveral undertakers with an unneceffary apparatus of nets and inftruments, that they can hardly ever have occafion to employ. He would fay,-that if they had really aimed at diminishing this expence, instead of confining the premium to thofe only who were rich, and capable of forming great equipments; by which circumftance the poor, who muft of neceffity be the operators in that great work, are effectually deprived of any immediate benefit from thence; they would have devifed fome method of beflowing a premium that should have extended its influence to the meanest individual, in proportion to his industry. He would fay, that if the fuccefs of the fishery had been the principal object aimed at, rather than the enriching fome powerful undertakers, the premium ought not to have been fo confiderable as to indemnify thefe for almost their whole adventure, without any industry on their part, and to extend equally to the idle as the industrious; but should have been in itself more moderate, and fo contrived as to encrease with the industry and fkill of the refpective undertakers. In short, he would fay, that if the English had been jealous left the Scots might at fome time or other engage in the herring-fishing themselves, and from their natural advantages be enabled to outrival the Dutch in this branch of commerce, which they wished to prevent; and had they been afraid to avow this defign openly, but refolved to effect it by an underhand round about way, they could not have fallen upon a plan more effectually to have done this than that which they have adopted; becaufe it effectually excludes the natives from reaping any benefit direaly from the premium, who were the only perfons

that,

that, from local fituation, and other circumftances, could carry on that fishing cheaper than any others;-and because it puts it out of the power of enterprifing individuals from diminishing their expence of tackle and equipments, and from fupplying that deficiency by ingenuity and induitry, feeing they must have thefe, whether they use

them or not.

The confequence of thefe laws has been nearly in fact what might have been expected from the foregoing reafoning. In hopes of obtaining the bounty, many veffels are annually fitted out by rich individuals in England or elsewhere, which meet at the general rendezvous at the proper feafon, and make a great figure annually in a news paper. Thefe are commanded by men in general, who have no other intereft in the adventure, than to draw their pay for the time; and are navigated by perfons who know no more about fishing, than I do about directing the manœuvres of an army; and who are ufually engaged at as low a rate as poffible, being wanted merely to make a fhow at the general rendezvous.-The prefervation of the nets, and other expensive articles of equipment, in order that they may make their appearance at the next annual rendezvous, is the principal care of the matter, who accomplishes his end most effectually, by locki g them up, and hardly fuffering them to be wetted and while they remain on the flation, which they are obliged to do for a certain time to intitle them to the premium, inftead of applying themselves with affiduity to catching of fish, like skilful fhermen, the parade about like wanton idlers,-break and difperfe the fhoals of fish where-ever they meet them; and, not content with this in the open fea, even enter into the creeks and bays, where fmall boats only could fifh with propriety, and in which the natives, even without any aid from the bounty, would, if uninterrupted, make a reasonable profit to themfelves. Thus thefe premium veffels produce as much mischief as they can where-ever they go, to the great annoyance of the induftrious fifhermen, who are from this caufe obliged in fome meafure to defert an employment that they would naturally follow with profit, if freed from this intolerable nuifance.'

:

To remedy thefe defects he propofes that a reasonable bounty fhould be allowed on every barrel of herrings properly cured; an that the bounty upon buffes per tun fhould be lowered, and thele veffels be prohib ted from fishing within a limited distance of the co ft. This would allow the natives to fish in their creeks with freedom; it would likewife allure merchants to come and purchase the fifh when frefh caught, and cure them for themfelves.

By this means, he obferves, the fifhermen would be neceffarily freed of all the expence that would be required in providing cafks and falt, nor would they be obliged to learn the nicer operation of curing them: from which circumftances they would be at liberty to exert themselves to the utmost of their power in their own calling, without taking any concern about other matters, which do not fo naturally belong to their bufinefs-Thus each party would move in his own sphere

with pleasure and profit, and mutually contribute to the good of

the whole.'

Other means of encouraging this great national fishery are pointed out, among which we are not furprized to find premium propofed for the difcovery of a new and better manner of curing herrings than any yet known; but we were forry to find Mr. A. fo far forget himself as to give this a dash of ridicule which might well have been fpared, as it must tend to counteract the intention he aimed at. As this is a matter of real moment, every thing that has the smallest appearance of levity ought to have been avoided.

But the greateft improvement which he propofes, is to make the Herring and Greenland whale-fisheries go hand in hand, and mutually affift one another. The whale-fifhery, he obferves, has been greatly retarded by the large fize of the veffels which have been usually employed in it, and the mifmanagement that always attends public companies in matters of trade. To prevent this, in fome degree, for the future, he proposes, that the bounty fhould be granted to veffels of a fmaller fize, and that all reftrictions with regard to the number of hands, provifions, tackle, &c. fhould be entirely abolifhed, in lieu of which the veffels

In all the laws hitherto enacted in Britain for granting a bounty on veffels employed in any kinds of filings, the legislature feems to have been extremely folicitous to prevent any perfon from claiming the bounty, unless they were provided with every thing that could be thought neceffary for carrying on these fisheries in every poffible fituation of things, and hence they have been at great pains to prefcribe the number of nets, In s, falt, cafks, men, provifions, &c. to be on board of every fuch viffel before it could be entitled to the bounty; and alfo to regulate the ports from which they are to fail, and many other particulars, which feem quite unneceffary, as they only operate like fo many clogs to retard the bufinefs they feem evidently intended to encourage, and to enhance the price of the articles that they ought to diminish.

The defign of a bounty in all cafes of this fort ought to be to encourage inexperienced adventurers to engage in a particular branch of business with which they are una quainted; but which it is fuppofed might be carried on without the bounty, with profit, as foon as it came to be fully understood, and the bufinefs conducted with ac nomy.

1 that bounty, therefore, is not fo high as to be alone fufficient to defray the expence of the equipment, and thus to tempt a man to fit cut a veflel merely with a view to obtain the bounty, without attending at all to the bufinefs, there feems to be no reason to fear that any perfon would fend a veflel a voyage of this fort, without an apparatus proper for the purpofe; as they must otherwife inevitably be lofers by the business, and therefore quickly give it over; fo that in this cafe there would be no neceffity for prefcribing particular rules for their conduct.

And if an adventurer finds that he cannot be fully indemnified by the bounty, and therefore muft exert himfelt when in the proper ftation for fishing, he will find, that his profits will be fo much diminished, if he wants a proper apparatus, as to be obliged of his own accord either to provide a proper apparatus, or give over the bufinefs.

But if he is at liberty to chufe for himself, he will always make choice of that apparatus that will effect the purpofe required at the smallest poffible expence.-Ingenuity will be exerted to discover new methods of faving money, as every fuch contrivance will augment his profits; by which means the undertakers will in time he

able

veffels should be only obliged to pursue the fishing for a certain limited time (if not fooner loaded) without following any other employment. This, he thinks, would induce private adventurers to fit out fmail veffels for this fishery in times when trade was dead, rather as a bye jobb than as a capital object: and as the commanders in these cafes might probably be part owners, and diligent in bufinefs as well as fparing of expences, they would often find a reafonable profit where fhips belonging to larger companies would be confiderable lofers. This with fome other obvious regulations which he enumerates, would not fail, he thinks, to enable the British whale fifhers to carry on the bufinefs as fuccefsfully as the Dutch or the New-Englanders.

As thefe fmall veffels would be equally proper for the herring fishery as for that in the Greenland feas, and as the number of hands required for both fisheries is nearly equal, it would be eafy for thefe adventurers, on their return from Greenland, to put afhore their loading, with the fifhing apparatus, as foon as they returned, and taking on board the tackle, &c. necessary for the herring fifhery, proceed immediately to the proper feas in fearch of that kind of fifh. But to prevent all unneceffary wafte of time, which he obferves must be attended with a very heavy expence to the undertakers in these fisheries, where fo many hands are neceffarily employed, he propofes that instead of fixing the rendezvous for the herring fishery precisely to the 22d of June and ift of October, as at prefent, fhips might be entitled to receive the bounty if they began fifhing on any day between the two periods above-mentioned; the fhips being obliged to continue three months from the time of their entry, or to the end of the fifhing feafon following, if they have not fooner completed their lading.

This, he fays, would have the good effect to allow fuch veffels as were intended to be employed in the herring-fishery during the proper feafon, to purfue any other profitable employment at other imes without refraint; and not lofe any time, after having completed any other voyage, before they proceeded directly to the fithery, if at the proper feafon. In this manner the profits of the feveral owners of veffels, adventurers in this trade, would be greatly encreafed; and by confequence, they could afford to fell their fish

able to catch the fish at as small an expence as any other nation, and by confequence will afford them as cheap at foreign markets as any others can do. This furely is, or ought to be, the aim of every bounty whatever.

For these reafons, it appears to me a felf-evident truth, that it is altogether fuperfluous in the legislature to exprefs fuch anxiety, left their bounty fhould be beftowed on undeferving perfons; as all the conditions invented to prevent this, only tend to retard the improvement of the fishery, which might be more perfectly effe&ted by moderating the bounty, where it is too high, a small degree.

The only circumftances that seem to be reasonably eligible are, that the veffels be British built, and that they remain a proper time upon the ftation: all other particulars might perhaps, with fafety, be left to the choice of the perfons concerned." much