SALMON LEGISLATION. . 165 



all those rivers which have shortened their season gained 

 in the amount of produce, but that the expense of work- 

 ing them has been largely decreased ; in other words, 

 more fish are caught within a shorter time and at a 

 smaller expense. 



In 1860, a year after the passing of the second 

 Tweed Act, two private Bills were introduced, one for 

 the Ness and Beauly, the other for the river Thurso, 

 directed chiefly to sweeping away the fixed nets from 

 the mouths and neighbourhoods of those rivers, though 

 also closing the fishing season on the 26th of August, 

 and allowing some time thereafter for rod-fishing. Here 

 the proposal was substantially, and the principle in- 

 volved identically, the same as in the Tweed Bill of 

 1857 the putting down of fixed engines by the in- 

 strumentality of private Bills; the only differences in 

 point of fact between the cases being that in this case 

 the fixed engines were more numerous and destructive, 

 besides being of modern date and disputed legality. 

 After taking evidence, the Commons' Committee passed 

 both the Bills ; but when they reached the Lords, it 

 was successfully urged on the Government that the 

 whole subject of fixtures should be dealt with by a 

 general measure, preceded by a general inquiry. A 

 Committee of the House of Lords was then appointed, 

 which, after hearing a great deal of evidence, made a 

 report, of which the chief recommendations were : That 

 all fixtures ought to be abolished, though adding that if 

 that were found impossible, they ought to be restricted 

 and regulated ; that there should be no fishing with nets 

 later than the 20th of August ; and that the Govern- 



