1 • • • 



JXX111 



statements for the districts of Vizagapatam, Godaveri, Nellur, Cud- 

 dapab, Karnal, Canara, and Malabar, and in several districts the 

 whole subject is inadequately attended to. The Board think, that with 

 care, a large prospective income may be relied on from this source, while 

 the taxes and licenses may be kept so low as to be anything but 

 oppressive. 



147. With regard to the districts from which no fishery rents are 



«• i n t c t, received, it will be necessary to refer, as a 



Circular Orders of Revenue / .. rt . 7 „ , J „ ., ' , „ 



Board in 1848, as to what reason, to the Circular Uraers oj the Board of 



fisheries were to be let, and what Revenue. On November 27th, 1848, Collect- 

 free * ors were requested " to take measures 1o 



introduce, in future, the system of disposing of village, tank, and channel 

 fisheries on rent, should such a course not have been hitherto adopted/' 

 But to the ' Collector of North Arcot, on receiving his letters of Decem- 

 ber 8th and January 29th, 18-19, the Board observed, they "will not 

 press the extension of the renting system in respect to the tank fisheries 

 of North Arcot, but will leave it to the discretion of the Acting Collector 

 to continue the management of that branch of revenue in the manner 

 which appears to him best suited to the circumstances of his district." 

 In reply to a letter from the Collector of Guntur, dated January 29th, 

 1849, the Board did " not consider it advisable to revise the practice of 

 renting the tank and channel fisheries in Guntur." The Agent in 

 Kurnal was directed " not to take any measures for renting the fisheries 

 of his district," whilst the Collector of Bellary was " not to make any 

 demand on this head upon fisheries that have not heretofore been subject 

 to tax." Again, in 1862, the following was circulated to all Collectors : — 

 " The Board are decidedly opposed to any extension of the fishery rents, 

 and more especially so where involving in any form the re-imposition of 

 the burden from which the abolition of the moturpha tax relieved the 

 poorer classes." fThe Collector of Madras, June 14th, 1869, observed, 

 " it appears that some years ago it was ruled by the Secretary of State, 

 that the right of fishing was not to be rented out, except where the 

 practice had been previously in vogue. I have not the Secretary of 

 State's despatch to refer to, but I suspect that it was really intended to 

 apply only to inland fisheries, such as village tanks, jungle streams, and 

 channels, and was done probably in recognition of the prescriptive rights 

 of the inhabitants to enjoy the fish within their limits without any tax."] 



148. As already observed, the Board objected to a 4-inch mesh 



being introduced ; so they were allowed 

 Instructions from Revenue to moa if y t he order, and they considered a 



Jioam to Collectors respecting o • i i i n> • ji n • • 



the fresh-water fisheries. o-inched mesh suthciently small as a mini- 



mum, and on December 18th the following 

 instructions were issued to Collectors with reference to fresh-water 

 fisheries : — "Notice should be given that, from the 1st July 1870, the 

 right of fishing in all Government tanks, rivers, and streams having a 

 perennial supply of water will be let by public auction for a period of 

 three years. Renters will be called to enter into agreements to abide by 

 the general rules for the regulation of fisheries that may be passed by 

 the Board, and to any orders issued by Collectors in reference to special 

 localities. The use of all nets bavins- meshes less than three inches in 

 circumference (casting nets and prawn nets excepted) should be prohi- 



