( 111 ) 



the European and Native officials of the British Empire in 

 India and Burma 3 several of whom have evidently taken 

 considerable pains in obtaining the desired information. 

 It appears that — (1) all the people of Sind, Assam and Burma, 

 and the majority of those residing in other parts, are not 

 precluded by their religion from eating fish (para. LIII) ; (2) 

 that from the returns received (excepting Sind) more than 

 half the markets are insufficiently supplied with fresh fish 

 when away from the sea (para. LIV) ; (3) that breeding- 

 fish and their fry are indiscriminately destroyed throughout 

 the British possessions (para. LVI) ; (4t) that the supply of 

 fish in the waters (excepting Sind) is generally decreasing 

 (para. LVII) ; (5) that the fisheries are mostly Govern- 

 ment property (para. 'LVII I) ; (6) that non-regulating the 

 fisheries under British rule has had a disastrous effect (para. 

 LIX) ; (7) that the natives let out tracts of the country to 

 contractors, who alone might dispose of fish, and certain 

 conservative measures were likewise in existence (para. LX) ; 



(8) that the contractors under British rule have in many 

 places been abolished, every one being permitted to pro- 

 miscuously fish as he pleases, great innovations have crept 

 in, and fixed engines are now universally employed, whereas 

 they w 7 ere not previously generally permitted (para. LXI) ; 



(9) that the fishermen, as a rule, unless in the vicinity of 

 tidal rivers, are only thus engaged in addition to their other 

 occupations, so are not dependant for their living on fishing 

 (para. LXII) ; (10) that regular fishermen in places have 

 been compelled to give up this trade, and turn to other 

 means of gaining a livelihood (para. LXII) ; (11) that fish- 

 ing weirs and fixed engines obstructing waterways, the 

 high roads of fish, are everywhere employed, from entirely 

 spanning rivers to every outlet in each irrigated field from 

 whence water is flowing, whilst the mesh employed is so 

 minute that the smallest fry cannot escape (paras. LXV, 

 LXVI, LXVII) ; (12) that fishing nets with meshes of the 

 most minute size arc used for the purpose of letting nothing 

 escape, and this in every district where the water will permit of 

 it (paras. LXIX, LXX) ; (13) that, as a rule, more than half 

 the minimun sized mesh of the nets is less than one-fourth of an 

 inch between each knot, but even coarse cloths are employed 

 to capture fry with (para. LXXI) ; (14) that rivers and 

 streams are dammed and the water laded out for fishing pur- 

 poses (para. LXXV) ; (15) that waters are poisoned almost 

 everywhere to obtain the fish (para. LXX VI) ; (16) that 



