It may also be noticed, that the question of the expe- 

 diency or inexpediency of allowing stakenets to be 

 used, did not at all enter into the consideration of the 

 Judges, in determining the question of law, whether the 



' fishing in any manner they pleased, upon any principle or pur- 

 ( pose of destroying their monopoly. They could HOT BE jus- 



* TIFIED if they had done so. It would have been AN ABOMI- 

 ' NABLE ACT to have destroyed the right of the fortunate pro- 

 ' prietorsj who had their valuable interests within reach of the 

 ' sea, in order merely to have favoured the naturally less pro- 

 ' ductive fisheries of the upper heritors. It would have been 



* just the same thing as to have prohibited a proprietor on the sea 

 ' shore from cultivating the better sorts of grain, Sfc. upon his lands, 

 f in order that the proprietors situated on the mountains might 

 ' not be outdone by him. It is so ABSURD, that there can be no 

 ( ground for it. It is AN IMPUTATION UPON THE LEGISLATURE 



* to suppose so. The only legitimate purpose they could have, 

 ' was to preserve the fry, and favour the increase of the fish- 

 ' ery generally ; and, on that footing, they were entitled to 

 f stop every engine that they thought might tend to displenish 

 ' the rivers of fish, every kind of engine which was incom- 

 ' patible with keeping the rivers in a full supply of fish. 

 ' There was no intention that the inferior heritors should be 

 ' deprived of any part of their right,' in order to give the supe- 

 ' rior heritors more valuable fishings. That purpose would 



* have been quite illegitimate.' 



Lord Gillies said, that he had no doubt that the upper herit- 

 ors ' are wrong in their proposition, that it was any part of 

 ' the object of the legislature to prevent inferior heritors from 

 ' monopolizing the Salmon. They meant to preserve the breed ; 

 ' and not only do I conceive that such was their object, but 

 . f that, neither in point of justice or expediency, could they have 



' had 



