62 SALMON-FISHERY OF SCOTLAND. 



so taken. Men navigated rivers before they attempted to cross 

 the ocean ; and they caught salmon in the streams ages before 

 they ever dreamt that they could be taken in the sea. It is 

 remarked, in one of the stake-net pamphlets, " The modes of 

 fishing formerly in use were efficient in rivers ; but from their 

 nature it is obvious they were not applicable to the open sea, 

 or to bays and estuaries. Accordingly there has been very 

 little fishing until of late years except in the rivers ; so little, 

 in truth, that the salmon is vulgarly regarded as a river fish." 

 A clamour has been raised, as we before observed, by the 

 coast heritors, against the owners of the rivers, as possessing a 

 monopoly of the fishery. This is much about as just as if a 

 clamour were raised against the proprietors of coal mines as 

 possessing a monopoly of coals, or against the owners of landed 

 property as possessing a monopoly of corn. All possess the 

 produce of their respective properties, and it is the interest of 

 all to render those properties as productive as possible. In 

 this respect, the interest of all owners of property, the salmon- 

 rivers included, and of the public, must always be the same. 

 To call the possession of property, of any description, which is 

 publicly bought and sold at market, and which may be pur- 

 chased by any, a monopoly, is assuredly a great absurdity. 

 We believe what the coast heritors mean is, that a portion of 

 the property of the river heritors should be taken from them, 

 by some agrarian measure, or by the use of machinery, which 

 would have the effect of such a measure, and transferred to 

 themselves. To this we suppose the river heritors would have 

 no objection, if, on the same principle, a share of the lands of 

 the coast heritors were given to them, since it is very certain 

 that the coast heritors possess a much greater monopoly of 

 land than the river heritors do of salmon-fishings. But the 

 coast heritors are not content with the peaceful possession of 

 their monopoly of land, but must covet the fishing properties 

 of their neighbours, as if there were any natural connection 

 between their lands and salmon in a different element or as 

 if salmon-fishings were not considered as distinct a property 

 from land in law, as they are by nature, until conjoined to 

 land by a Crown grant. 



