fishery, a good number were despatched, as much certainly in the view of catching the bounty as of catching whales. Deceived by the prosperous appearance of the fishery, parliament imagined that it was firmly established; and in 1777 the bounty was reduced to 30s. The effects of this reduction showed the factitious nature of the trade, the vessels engaged in it having fallen off in the course of the next 5 years from 105 to 39! To arrest this alarming decline, the bounty was raised to its old level in 1781; and of course the trade was soon restored to its previous state of apparent prosperity. The hostilities occasioned by the American war reduced the Dutch fishery to less than half its previous amount, and gave a proportional extension to that of England. The bounty which had, in consequence, become very heavy, was reduced in 1787 to 30s. a ton; in 1792 it was further reduced to 25s.; and, in 1795, it was reduced to 20s.; at which sum it continued till 1824, when it ceased.

Altogether there have been about 2,500,000l. expended in bounties for the encouragement of the whale fishery; and it is doubtful whether even this enormous outlay, had it been unaccompanied by extrinsic and accidental circumstances, would have established it on the very moderate scale at which it now stands. But the late war totally destroyed the Dutch fishery; and, in addition to this, many of those engaged in the business emigrated to England, bringing with them their capital, industry, and skill. In consequence of this encouragement, the fishery carried on from England became more extensive and valuable than at any former period; so much so, that in 1815 we employed 134 ships of the burthen of 43,320 tons. But since then the fishery has gradually declined; partly, no doubt, in consequence of the competition of the Americans, who have peculiar advantages for carrying it on, but more in consequence of the increasing scarcity of fish, and of the greater difficulty and danger of the voyage. At present it may be questioned whether it does more than pay its expenses. At an average of the last 3 or 4 years, the entire produce of the northern whale fishery may be estimated at about 300,000l. a year, a miserable return for the sacrifices made in forcing and bolstering up the trade!

A remarkable change has taken place in the localities of the fishery. When it began, the whales were found in vast numbers in the seas round Spitzbergen; but being gradually exterminated, and driven from thence, the whale ships followed them to the icy barrier that bounds the Greenland sea on the north. In 1719 the Dutch commenced fishing in Davis's Straits; but they were not resorted to till a comparatively late period by English ships. Even in 1820 by far the larger portion of our ships went to the Greenland seas. These are now, however, comparatively deserted. In 1834 only 7 ships went to Greenland.

The same thing is happening in Davis's Straits that formerly happened in the seas round Spitzbergen. The whales have become much less numerous in the lower part of the Straits; and it is now necessary to pursue them into Baffin's Bay, Lancaster's Sound, and the recently discovered inlets to the west of the Straits, where the risk of loss is said to be considerably greater. At all events, those engaged

in the business have recently experienced some very severe losses. In fact, the fishery has for several years past partaken more of the character of a gambling adventure than of a regular industrious pursuit. Sometimes the ships come home with only half a cargo, sometimes they arrive clean, or without any fish, and sometimes they are wholly lost. In 1830, of 91 ships that sailed for Davis's Straits, 19 were totally lost, 24 returned clean, or without a single fish; and of the remainder not one had a full cargo, only one or two being half fished. The year 1835 was also very unfavourable, several of the ships having been detained, locked in the ice.

There has been a singular change in the ports from which, as well as the places at which, the northern fishery is carried on. London had, for a lengthened period, by far the greater number of ships in the business; but within the last dozen years she has almost entirely withdrawn from it, having, in 1834, only sent out 3 ships. Hull is now the principal seat of the fishery in England, and Dundee and Peterhead in Scotland.

ACCOUNT of the Northern Whale Fishery in 1834, specifying the Number of Ships sent out by the different Ports, their Tonnage, with the Number of Fish captured, and their Produce in Oil and Whalebone.

with 1834.

Total
Ships.

ABSTRACT ACCOUNT of the Northern Whale Fishery for the Twenty Years ending

Number of Ships to Greenland and Davis's Straits.

8. Southern Whale Fishery.-This department of the whale fishery began to be prosecuted about the beginning of the American War; and has, for these many years past, been carried on to a considerable extent. The ships engaged in it principally apply themselves to the catch of the Physeter Macrocephalus, or spermaceti whale; but large quantities of oil are also obtained from the common whale of the southern seas, and from the sea elephant, a species of marine animal, intermediate between the walruss of the northern seas and the seal. At an average of the three years ending with 1834, the total produce of the southern whale fishery amounted to 477,000l. a year. The vessels engaged in it are generally absent from 2 to 3 years. They belong exclusively to London.

ACCOUNT of the Vessels, with their Tonnage and Crews, employed in the South Sea Fishery since 1817.

The declining state of the trade is obvious from this table. This is a consequence, partly of the growing scarcity of the whales in their old haunts, and of the greater difficulty experienced in their capture, but more of the competition of the Americans, and of the colonists in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. The situation of the latter gives them peculiar advantages for the prosecution of the fishery, which they now carry on to a great extent, and with much spirit and success.

9. Value of British Fisheries. — There are no means by which to form any accurate estimate of the total annual value of the different fisheries belonging to Great Britain. It must, however, amount to a very large sum, though less, perhaps, than is commonly supposed. Sir John Barrow, in an article on the fisheries, in the new edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, estimates their total value, including foreign as well as domestic, at 8,300,000l. a year; but there can be no doubt that this is a very great exaggeration. We are convinced that those who estimate the entire value of the fisheries at 3,000,000l. or 3,500,000l. a year, will not be within, but beyond the mark.

CHAPTER IV.-MANUFACTURES.

SECT. I. Circumstances favourable to the Progress of Manufactures and Industry.

THESE are partly of a moral and political, and partly of a physica description. Of the former class, the most important seem to be the security and free disposal of property; the absence of monopolies, and he non-interference of government in industrious undertakings; the diffusion of knowledge amongst the people; the cordial reception of foreigners; and the emulation and energy inspired by inequality of fortune, and by the gradual increase of taxation: among the more prominent of the physical circumstances conducive to their progress are, supplies of the raw material used in manufactures, with the command of power, that is, of coals, waterfalls, &c. A good deal, also, of the progress of manufactures seems to depend on the advantageous situation of a country for commerce, and on the nature of its climate. We shall briefly notice some of the more prominent of these circum

stances.

Moral Circumstances contributing to the Progress of Manufactures. 1. It would be unnecessary to take up the reader's time by enlarging on the necessity of security, and of the free disposal of property to success in manufacturing industry, or, indeed, in any laborious undertaking. Without security there cannot, in fact, be either industry or invention. No man will engage in any undertaking, or exert either his bodily or mental powers, unless he be well convinced that he will be allowed to reap all the advantages accruing from the exertion of his labour, skill, or genius. Any doubt as to this is sure to paralyse all his exertions. And if, owing to the weakness or ignorance of

government, the prevalence of a revolutionary spirit, or any other cause, the security of property were materially impaired, all sorts of industrious undertakings, that did not promise an immediate return, would be forthwith abandoned, and every person possessed of property would endeavour to convey it out of the country. The want of security is, therefore, by far the greatest of all public calamities. Wherever it does not exist, we find nothing but the most abject poverty and barbarism; and, supposing other things to be equal, the wealth and civilisation of nations will be pretty nearly proportioned to the degree of security they respectively enjoy. Every other circumstance conducive to the advancement of industry may exist in a country; but without security these cannot be of any material service. A high degree of security will compensate for many deficiencies; whereas nothing can make up for its want: it is a sine qua non of national prosperity.

2. The absence of monopolies, and the non-interference of the government in industrious undertakings, undoubtedly conduce in no ordinary degree to the progress of industry. Every man is always exerting himself to find out how he may best extend his command over the necessaries and conveniences of life; and sound policy requires that he should, so long as he does not interfere with the rights and privileges of others, be allowed to pursue his own interest in his own way. Human reason is, no doubt, limited and fallible; we are often swayed by prejudices, and are apt to be deceived by appearances: still, however, it is certain that the desire to promote our own purposes contributes far more than any thing else to render us clearsighted and sagacious. "Nul sentiment dans l'homme ne tient son intelligence éveillée autant que l'intérêt personnel. Il donne de l'esprit aux plus simples." The principle that individuals are, generally speaking, the best judges of what is most beneficial for themselves, is now universally admitted to be the only one that can be safely relied on. No writer of authority has, latterly, ventured to maintain the exploded and untenable doctrine, that governments may advantageously interfere to regulate the pursuits of their subjects. It is their duty to preserve order; to prevent one from injuring another; to maintain, in short, the equal rights and privileges of all. But it is not possible for them to go one step further, without receding from the principle of non-interference, and laying themselves open to the charge of acting partially by some, and unjustly by others.

The most comprehensive experience corroborates the truth of these remarks. The natural order of things has been less interfered with in Great Britain than in most other countries. Since the passing of the famous act of James I., in 1624, for the abolition of monopolies, full scope has been given to the competition of the home producers; and, though the various resources of talent and genius have not been so fully, perhaps, or at least so early, developed as they would have been had there been no restrictions on our intercourse with foreigners, they have been stimulated in a degree unknown in most other countries. France, previously to the Revolution, was divided into provinces, having each peculiar privileges, and separate codes of revenue laws; and in consequence the intercourse between them was subjected to the