Herrings have been seen on the shores of North America, though not in such large quantities as have appeared on the coasts of Britain; neither are they seen in America any farther south than South Carolina. But whether these herrings be part of that enormous shoal which first approach the north of Scotland, and instead of confining their progress to the British Isles, extend it to the coast of America; or whether they be part of that vast collection, who, after forming a junction on the coast of Cornwall, launch into the Atlantic ocean, is difficult to determine with certainty. It may, perhaps, be no improbable conjecture to suppose, that the herrings which appear on the American coast are only such as have deserted from the main body of the fish during their continuance in the western ocean. And as it is evident that these fish are never seen in any considerable quantity upon the coast of the more southern parts of Europe, such as Spain, or Portugal, or the southern parts of France, neither in the Mediterranean, or coast of Africa; but, after they have entered the Atlantic ocean, are seen no more till the succeeding summer, on the coast of Shetland. We may conclude, that after the herrings have appeared early in the summer on the northern coasts, and proceeded on the eastern and western sides of the British Isles, discharging their roes, and having formed a conjunction at their general rendezvous near the Land’s End, and launched into the Atlantic ocean, and continued there the remainder of the winter, that they afterwards proceed to the north; and assembling together near the coasts of Greenland, in the Spring they continued their progress from those parts to the south, and in the summer appear again on the north of Shetland and Scotland, thereby performing, in the course of a year, one entire revolution round the islands of Great Britain and Ireland; so that the herring may, without impropriety, be termed a fish of passage. The convenient situation of the eastern parts of this kingdom for the advantageous prosecution of the herring fishery, and the great benefit which the nation derives in consequence thereof, have much excited the envy of our maritime neighbours, the Dutch; and have frequently induced them to infringe on the liberties which this kingdom is indisputably entitled to, by approaching too near the British coasts, in view either to usurp the whole of this fishery to themselves, or to monopolise a considerable share of it: but the policy of these rivals has hitherto been such, that whenever they perceived that their illegal proceedings were complained of, and threatened to be opposed, they always endeavoured to pacify our resentment, either by compounding for the trespass, or by relinquishing their pretensions, and afterwards having recourse to a more legal mode of conducting their fishery. {39}