144 THE SALMON. 



or rather of movino; and ancient ao;ainst fixed and novel 

 machinery, which the recent legislation has in Eng- 

 land and Ireland put in the way of being settled, and 

 has in Scotland specifically left over for future and 

 separate handling, either by legislation or otherwise (of 

 which anon and apart). But it must not be understood 

 that, though even the oldest of the various recent acts 

 of legislation, doing justice to the interests of the upper 

 proprietors (which are ultimately and substantially the 

 interests of all), date no further back than 1857, the 

 battle begun only then or shortly before. Little indeed 

 had been said, much less done, in England ; and as to 

 Ireland, though there was a good deal of talk, the at- 

 tempt at reform scarcely took shape till 1842, the Act 

 passed in which year was beneficial as to close-time and 

 general management, but injurious in some other respects. 

 Looking chiefly to Scotland, it might be said that, at 

 least from about 1828, the lower proprietors are to be 

 regarded as having been the parties in possession, and 

 almost all the Bills, never becoming Acts, which were 

 before Parliament between 1828 and 185 7, were Bills 

 more or less in favour of the upper proprietors, and 

 their rejection formed victories, though very injurious 

 victories, for the lower. The Act of 1828, known as 

 Mr. Home Drummond's Act, the first Scotch Act for 

 two centuries before, and which remained the governing 

 Act for thirty years afterwards, altered the commence- 

 ment of close-time in all Scotch rivers north of Tweed 

 and Solway, from the 26 th August to the 15th Septem- 

 ber. From about that time — excepting the Tweed, altered 

 in 1857, and the Tay, altered in 1858 — the following 



