IV 



fish and fishing, by parties illegally claiming 

 an exclusive privilege of doing so, in the man- 

 ner described in a subsequent page ; or by 

 publishing the present work, run the chance of 

 admitting, what is generally called, the com- 

 mon poacher, to the right of fishing with 

 nets. 



t appeared to me a certain evil, and 

 was frequently attended with numberless vex- 

 atious proceedings on the part of the persons 

 claiming an exclusive privilege against those 

 who caught a few fish merely for amusement, 

 and whose legal right to do so was equal to 

 their own ; while the supposed privileged per- 

 sons were by illegal means destroying fish by 

 cart and waggon loads for no earthly good 

 whatever ; and thus, not only doing a great 

 public injury, but depriving a large portion of 

 society of a pleasing and legal amusement. 



The other appeared merely a possible evil, 

 and at worst, only let in the poor poacher with 

 small means of destruction, against the rich one 



