50 



110. As usual in Japan, elaborate regalations were framed for the 

 proper execution of the law : these provide that each association shall 

 bear the name of the locality, that it shall be originated upon the 

 consent of at least two-thirds of the resident fishermen at a general 

 meeting and upon the sanction of the Prefect ; that the preliminary 

 general meeting shall settle the object, area, classes of fishing, the 

 rules of the association, and so forth. The regulations further lay 

 down rules for the appointment, powers, etc., of the administrative 

 officers, and especially the proper auditing of the accounts ; for the 

 conduct of general meetings in which each member has one vote ; for 

 the appointment of a treasurer, when the income is considerable ; for 

 the collection of fees from the members and for the investment in 

 Government or Municipal banks of any reserve, which can only be 

 drawn upon in case of calaiiiity or unavoidable necessity, or for some 

 very noteworthy benefit common to the members. Every fisherman 

 of the locality has a right to join unless there be some strong reason 

 against him, and appeal lies to the Prefect against rejection or ex-l 

 pulsion. The rules provide for dissolution, as by the reduction of 

 members to below one-third of all resident fishermen, etc., and for 

 liquidation when necessary, and any funds available fifter paying all 

 debts shall be handed over to some public body or association. Asso- 

 ciations are supervised by the Minister, by the Prefect, and by the 

 Heads of counties (taluks) ; these can require reports, inspect the 

 books, cash balances, etc., issue any necessary orders, and can cancel 

 any resolution that may be considered harmful to public interest. 

 Penalties are also provided for cases of false report, failure to keep or 

 produce the proper books and accounts, or to submit the required 

 reports and so forth. The source of these rules is obvious to those 

 who have studied the laws and regulations applicable to and the 

 internal rules passed by German Societies. 



111. But legal aid does not stop here, for the Kegulations lay 

 down rules for delimiting, mapping, and registering the several 

 positions or spheres of operation of the various associations or groups 

 of fishermen or even of individual rights, a matter not only of vast 

 importance for the prevention of disputes but of great difficulty when 

 the it)imense number of fishermen, the vast length of coast and the 

 conflict of interests are considered. A further reason for this deliinita- 

 tion and mapping is that it enables the fishery license fees to be 

 readily assessed and collected. So far as ascertained, this work has 

 been thoroughly carried out and though of no great immediate interest 

 in Madras, it is mentioned as an example of thorough work and as a 

 model for imitation should it become necessary, as for instance, should 

 fixed nets be introduced. Ownng to the immense number of fisher- 

 men and of various classes of fishing work, such as fishing by fixed 

 nets or weirs, capture of bottom or surface fish, Crustacea, molluscs, 



