.

but the greatest abundance appeared to be near the islands of the Saltees, and off Helvock-Head, south from Dungarvon. Being completely satisfied of the abundance of fish on this part of the coast, for establishing a well-boat Fishery; and having obtained the most incontrovertible proofs of still greater abundance more to the westward, your Reporter stated to Mr. Secretary Marsden, in the beginning of August, that it was unnecessary to continue the fishing vessels any longer. But as his Excellency the Lord-lieutenant, and the Chiefsecretary, intended to be in that part of the country in a short time, he was ordered to continue the fishing until they had an opportunity of enquiring regarding it. Accordingly, he ordered the wherries to proceed in the fishing, and to salt and dry the fish on shore in their usual way for the Dublin market.

In the month of September, your Reporter waited on his Excellency the Lord-lieutenant at Curraghmore, the seat of the Marquis of Waterford, with the captain of the Rutland cruizer, and stated the result of the investigation he had made, with which his Excellency expressed himself perfectly satisfied, but regretted that the proposal of employing the well-boats in the first instance was not agreed to, as, from his Excellency's acquaintance with that mode of fishing, when residing at Scheveling in Holland, he considered it of great importance that it should be introduced extensively on the coast of Ireland, and recommended that your Reporter should still endeavour to have well-boats employed in order to carry the fish from the coast of Ireland to the London market, as the best means of exciting the public attention to the advantages of carrying on a Fishery on the Irish coast, and to state this as his Excellency's opinion to the Chief-secretary, who intended to be at Waterford in a few days.

On Mr. Wickham's arrival there, after a full examination of the journals of the fishing vessels, and of the fishermen themselves, he was pleased to express himself so well satified with the trials that had been made, that he offered, on the part of Government, a very liberal allowance of public money towards the formation of a Company at Waterford, for carrying on this Fishery by well-boats, and proposed offering similar encouragement at Cork for the formation of another Company, to be extended also to such other places as might be inclined to engage in such an undertaking.

A Company was accordingly formed at Waterford, by subscription, consisting of 128 shares, at £50 each share; Mr. Wickham taking two shares as a partner of the Company, and agreeing, on the part of Government, to give a premium of 10 per cent. on the capital subscribed, and a bounty of 30 shillings per ton on the vessels to be

1

employed, without being subject to the common restrictions respecting the quantities of salt, casks, &c. required to be taken aboard.

A general meeting of the subscribers was held on the 29th of November 1802, and a committee chosen to direct the operations of the Company.

In this manner, manner, 66 years after the discovery of the Nymph Bank, and the proposal to form a Fishery thereon by William Doyle, and the second year only after the union of Ireland with Great Britain, was this important object, so long neglected, taken up by Government, and, by the aid of public money, a Company formed for carrying on the Nymph Bank Fishery.

SECTION III.

Proceedings of the Waterford Nymph Bank Company-Mismanagement of the same, and the endeavours of Mr. Lee, M. P. for the county, to prevent its dissolution, and have a fair trial made of the practicability of supplying the London market-The Reporter takes the command of the well-boats--Makes a most invaluable discovery of a bank containing the proper bait for the Fishery-Carries a voyage of Live Fish to the London market.

THE Company was hardly formed, when that zeal which seemed to mark its beginnings, appeared rapidly on the decline. Government, with the same spirit of liberality in which they had set out, caused the whole of the public'money promised in aid of the undertaking to be immediately paid to the treasurer of the Company. Instead, however, of this example being followed up by paying in the whole of the money subscribed, and thereby purchasing or chartering a sufficient number of well-vessels to make a spirited trial of the Fishery for the London, Bristol, and other markets in England, as proposed by Government, that spirit of party for which the city of Waterford is remarkable, soon displayed itself among the subscribers, and the object of the institution appeared wholly to degenerate into a struggle for the power of management. Apprehensive that these unhappy divisions

C

would frustrate the undertaking, it was strenuously urged by those who had the success of the Fishery at heart, that the directors of the Company should be authorised, in the first instance, to apply to Messrs. Cresswell and Selby, or to others engaged in the Well-boat Fishery, to charter three or more vessels to fish on the coast, fully equipped for the various branches of the Fishery, and to proceed in the Fishery in the manner usually practised in the northern seas, where a number of vessels continue fishing together, in order to make a voyage for one or two to run with the fish to market, while the rest continue on the fishing-ground.

It was, however, determined, that two well-vessels should be purchased in the river; and a person was sent for this purpose to London, who in a very short time purchased two well-vessels for carrying on the Fishery.

It happened, however, from this person not being acquainted with the mode of carrying on the Fishery by well-boats, that sufficient care was not taken that the well-vessels should be equipped in the same manner as those employed in the northern Fisheries. They were wholly unprovided with the proper fishing-gear for taking turbot, soles, plaice, john-a-doree, and other ground fish, of which there is vast abundance on the Nymph Bank, and other adjacent parts of the Irish coasts.

They were even not supplied with the proper gear for the cod Fishery, nor with the proper bait called the whelks, as before mentioned, which the other well-boats proceeding to the northern fishing are usually provided with at Whitstable Bay, near Sheerness, and said not to be procured in abundance on any other part of the coast of England. Instead, also, of a full complement of hands bred to the Well-boat Fishery, there was only one seaman, of the name of Isaac Dunnage, who had served his time to the business at Harwich, who was thoroughly acquainted with this kind of fishing. This person, who was at the time a sailor on board one of the London and Leith passage vessels, was appointed to the command of one of the wellboats, and became a valuable acquisition. The master of the other vessel was a sailor belonging to Waterford, wholly ignorant of the fishing business; and the crews made up of persons equally ignorant of the Fishery, except two lads, who had been for some little time fishing on the coast of Lincolnshire.

From these circumstances, there was much delay before they could proceed to the fishing, and after all, they were very inadequately provided to make a fair trial of the fishing, so that it was the 13th of March before they could proceed to the fishing. By the assistance of

Mr. Thomas Owen of Cheakpoint, and Mr. Bolton of Faithlegg, some men were found out who had been at the Newfoundland fishing, and who, by the instructions of Isaac Dunnage, the skilful fisherman before noticed, soon became expert in the well-boat mode of fishing for cod. They were still unable to fish for turbot, &c. from the want of the trawl-nets and other gear. Nor would the directors consent to those implements being ordered from England or made at Waterford, because the expence would amount to about £40 or £50 for each vessel. Neither would they allow the well-vessels to remain at sea until they should complete a sufficient cargo of live fish for the London or Bristol markets, but ordered them to return to the harbour every Thursday evening with whatever fish they might take, and the masters to proceed to Waterford with the fish on Friday morning to the market, and give an account to the directors of their proceedings, so that it was Friday evening before they could return to their vessels. Saturday was taken up in procuring bait, and frequently part of Monday, so that it was generally Monday evening or Tuesday before they could go out to the fishing-ground, and being obliged to return on Thursday, they had only two days at most, and frequently only one, to try the fishing-ground. So absurd was the conduct of the Directors, that they discharged the men who had been at Newfoundland, and had soon become very expert, on the pretence that their wages at 30s. a-month were too high; but not being able to find any others for a less sum to man the vessels, they remained for several weeks idle at anchor in the river of Waterford; and afterwards, a few lads being found at a guinea a-month, who were neither sailors nor fishermen, the vessels were ordered to continue the same routine of going out and returning to the harbour, so that latterly hardly any fish were caught. In the mean time, although no regular trial was allowed to be made of the fishing-ground, great care was taken that no expence should be spared in fitting out the vessels with new sails, cordage, &c. the masters and crews with plenty of beef, bread, beer, tea, and sugar. And it being made appear that a loss had been sustained over and above the value of the fish caught, which, after all, amounted to only about £300 Irish currency, it was determined by the directors to propose at the quarterly meeting of the subscribers, on the first Monday of September 1803, that the Company should be dissolved, and the wellboats sent back to England and sold.

*

Your Reporter, who, as well as a number of his friends, had taken

Only about one half of the premium allowed and paid by Government, independent of the bounty of 30s. per ton on the vessels, so that it was the most ridiculous proposal possible.

shares in the Company, foreseeing that if the Company should be dissolved without some effort being made to carry a voyage of fish to the London, or at least to the Bristol market, would discourage capitalists in England from embarking in this Fishery, prevailed on Mr. Lee, M. P. for the county of Waterford (also a partner in the Company), to oppose its dissolution.

This gentleman accordingly attended the meeting, and after reprobating in the strongest terms the conduct of the directors, offered to the subscribers, to take upon himself the sole direction and management of one of the well-boats for three months, and let the directors, or any one of them, take the management of the other well-boat, and if in that time he did not convince them he was right in his mode of management, he would come into any measures they should propose; but that if he did prove he was right, he expected they would come into his measures. After much altercation, Mr. Lee's proposition was carried by a majority.

A protest was entered against this resolution, on pretence that many of the subscribers were absent, and another meeting summoned on the 16th of September to re-consider the resolution.

Mr. Lee, however, not chusing to wait for the result of another meeting, took upon himself the direction of the Phoenix well-boat, and ordered her immediately round to Dungarvon, in order to remove her from the influence of the party at Waterford, who seemed determined to frustrate the intention of the institution, and to examine whether that situation or any other would answer as a station for the well-boats, as well as the harbour of Waterford.

Your Reporter having, by Mr. Lee's request, met that gentleman at Dungarvon, on the 8th of September, to advise regarding the best means of endeavouring, in the state things were in, to make up a voyage of fish for the London market, they found that the crew of the Phoenix consisted only of a master, four hands, and a boy, two of which only were fishermen, and the others neither that or sailors. But desirous of trying what they could do, your Reporter, at Mr. Lee's earnest request, took upon him the command of the Phoenix, and, on the 10th of September 1803, he went on board, and after examining, by Mr. Lee's orders, the harbour of Dunabratton, well calculated for a fishing station, about 10 o'clock the same evening, they stood out to sea, with a light breeze from the north-west. Next day being Sunday, came to an anchor in 38 fathoms, the ground was small pebbles, mixed with shells and corallines, this was about five leagues from the coast, they remained at anchor during the remainder of the day, and