of steam, that monopoly could not have been disturbed. The trawlers can only work on a smooth bottom, and on most places on the east coast of England the bottom is alternately 'hard' and 'smooth'; or, in less technical language, patches of rock crop up in the midst of sand or mud. A sailing smack, dependent on her sails, and forced to tack, has hardly room to work on the small patches of mud and sand without fouling her trawl on the rocks. A steamer, able to turn more quickly, can avoid the rocks, and work on the smaller patches of smooth."
Since these words were written, steam-trawling has developed to a great extent on our north-east coasts. It is not only tugs out of work that are now used; but steamers are built solely for the trade, fitted with steam - winches, ice-holds, and other modern appliances. In 1884 there were about 140 steam-trawlers at work between the Moray Firth and Flamborough Head. Whatever the direction of the wind, these vessels can make as many continuous hauls as they please, going up with one tide and down with the next. Also, from their practice of working near the land, they come in contact with the slighter and less adequately buoyed haddock-lines, which are, of all gear, the most liable to damage.
This new development has, it may be gathered from the above description, added fresh fuel to the flames of the dispute between the fishermen and the trawlers. If, for all the reasons we have enumerated, a modus vivendi between fishing-boats and sailing trawlers was difficult, that difficulty is tenfold greater in the case of the steamer. But besides the more obvious causes of collision, there are others of a less evident character. A good many of the steam-trawlers coasting off the Scotch coast belong to English ports. The difference of habits and religion shown by these strangers, in such a way, for instance, as occasional trawling on Sunday, are displeasing to the Scotch. Also, in event of actual collision, there is naturally less desire for mutual accommodation, where the disputants belong to the two countries. The steam-trawlers are usually fitted out by a company or a well-to-do fish-merchant, while the boats are the property of the fishermen themselves. Hence the catch-words "rich and poor," "capital and labour," are mixed up in the controversy, affording welcome opportunities to the professional agitator. Finally, as much seamanship is not required on board a steam-trawler, the crews are often filled in with "soldiers," longshore loafers, and others, who are looked upon by the regular fishermen with contempt.
Apart from these sentimental grievances, the position of the fishermen is one deserving of great sympathy. They are face to face with a new industry in direct rivalry with their own, which, as a more efficient method of catching certain classes of fish, is gradually driving them from a large portion of the market. This must in itself be sufficiently galling to men, in whose families the fishing trade has often been hereditary for long periods, and who are absolutely dependent on it for making a living. Moreover, the present law of public property in the fishing-grounds is greatly to the advantage of the trawlers. Resident fishermen, who have been accustomed to fish on grounds that their ancestors have worked, naturally feel jealous at the appearance of strange boats. But when, after a period of successful fishing, they see these strangers put off to fresh grounds, leaving
