The New York Herald

The Irish Deep Sea Fisheries—Industrial Decay in the Island.
At a moment when the government of Great Britain is about to reopen—perhaps reaffirm—its troublesome and belligerent policy towards the people of the United States with respect to the British-American fisheries rights line, it is well to recall the fact that England has at her very door, on the coast of Ireland all round, an abundant, inexhaustible source of wealth in deep sea fisheries which she will not deign to look at—which she neglects even to exhaustion. Here, again, her statesmen show themselves governed by a dog-in-the-manger system of policy; for not only will they not afford encouragement to British capitalists to develop the Irish fisheries, but they persistently prevent the Irish from attempting to do it themselves. The imperial government obtained a sole control over the fisheries of Ireland by the Act of Union. Since the Act came into operation—in the year 1800—the Irish fisheries interests have gone down gradually to pauperization. This fact is made apparent on British official authority. The government Inspectors of Irish Fisheries—Messrs. J. A. Blake, Thomas F. Black and Major Hayes—have just made their report on the subject for the year 1869. The document shows that the Irish fisheries are languishing to destruction, the able-bodied fishers—the "dark men of Connemara" and Baltard and Arran—have either emigrated to America or given up the work; the boats and tackle are of the most frail and wretched description, and the total decrease of the property and in hands within the last ten years amounts to 2,697 boats and 10,776 men and boys. They consider that 'no great improvement can be looked for in the Irish Sea fisheries unless loans are advanced to fishermen for the purchase and repair of their boats and gear.' Their inquiries into the subject of trawling led them to the conclusion that the prohibition against trawling, "while inflicting great injury on fishing enterprise, did not benefit the interests intended to be served." Not being authorized to expend money in the collection of statistics, the inspectors "found it very difficult to procure trustworthy information regarding the capture of fish; but they ascertained that the take of herrings on the east coast alone in 1869 was over £150,000 worth." The quantity of oysters taken during the year was about an average not exceeding £50,000 worth. The salmon fisheries were most prosperous, and there is a marked increase in the breeding stock in the rivers. The quantity of salmon captured in 1869 was "far greater than in the preceding year. The amount exported to Liverpool was 11,086 boxes, and to London 8,880 boxes, the former being greater than in any year for the last ten years."
Now, here is a splendid field for the exercise of English governmental care and also for British enterprise. Let the English government turn its eyes from the Bay of Fundy to the Bay of Galway and then endeavor to do something for the fishermen of Ireland, leaving the fishers of America to take care of themselves.