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only persons to be listened to were the Royal Commissioners, 

 who had proposed to do away with all limits and regula- 

 tions. Still he felt sure he would allow him and others 

 who had been working at fisheries for years to hold 

 their own opinions. Having heard what fishermen had 

 to say all round the coast, he thought, with very few 

 exceptions, they ran perfectly contrary to those enunciated 

 by Mr. Fryer. He would like to ask one or two questions. 

 In the first place he had informed them that the question 

 of the herring fishery was quite worked out, and everything 

 with regard to it was known. Now, one of the most important 

 questions was this, they must all admit that the herrings 

 on the east coast of Scotland were going farther out to 

 sea, and were depositing their spawn in 40 or 50 fathoms 

 or more of water, and he did not know whether the Fishery 

 Department had instituted any experiments to ascertain 

 the effect of this, but if they had, he should like to know 

 first, if the spawn of the herrings sank to such a depth 

 in the sea whether it would hatch or not ; and secondly, sup- 

 posing it did hatch, what would be the result of the super- 

 incumbent weight of water on the young herrings : would 

 they rise to the surface or remain at the bottom ? Again, 

 supposing the young fry were hatched and came to the 

 surface, would they be as safe out at sea as if they were 

 hatched nearer in shore ? With regard to killing the vermin, 

 such as dog-fish, and so on, if everything were going on 

 in such a satisfactory manner, and the balance of nature 

 remained, why was there so much necessity for killing the 

 vermin ? surely they were only part of the fisheries. Then 

 there was a little practical remark which to him was quite 

 new. They were told that star-fishes were not sufficiently 

 killed by the fishermen, and the proposition was that 

 each vessel should have a bucket of hot water for 



