OUK SEA FISHERIES. 217 



our oyster fisheries at Jersey for a period of nine 

 years ; and I have often heard him say, that if any 

 of our boats happened to infringe the boundary, 

 which would occur at times, the French cutters 

 used to come down upon them and fire a shot at 

 the boats, and on one or two occasions they killed 

 some of our fishermen by so doing. What the prac- 

 tice is now will be shown by the following letter, 

 extracted from The Field : — 



" FRENCH ENCROACHMENTS ON ENGLISH FISHING- 

 GROUNDS. 



" Sir, — I was glad to see the observations on this 

 subject in your impression of the 13th ult. The 

 depredations committed on our fisheries on the north- 

 east coast, by the powerful and strongly-manned 

 rubers of the French fishermen, have become so 

 systematic and extensive of late years, and have been 

 so habitually winked at by the naval authorities, 

 whose duty it is to repress them, that our own fisher- 

 men have suffered severely in consequence. 



" It is not, however, by the infliction of paltry 

 penalties of hi. each, that they are to be deterred 

 from such malpractices : one night's successful fish- 

 ing on our banks would more than amply reimburse 

 them in that amount, to say nothing of the chance — 



