EIGHTS OF THE CROWN. 125 



exercised by a person having a right from the Crown, 

 but that need not necessarily be a direct grant of sal- 

 mon-fishing. It is sufficient if there is a title from the 

 Crown of fishings generally, cum piscationibus or cum 

 piscariis, followed by possession for a prescriptive period, 

 which is forty years, or time immemorial. But rod- 

 fishing, or mere angling for salmon, is not sufficient to 

 make a prescriptive title in the absence of a direct 

 grant ; but it is necessary that the fishing should be 

 exercised by some mode of mechanism, like cruives and 

 yairs, as they are called, or nets ; that is to say, fishing 

 with net and coble, or fishing with cruives and yairs, 

 following on a general grant of fishings for the period 

 of prescription, will be sufficient to constitute a pre- 

 scriptive title, but not rod-fishing or spearing." 



Salmon-fishing having thus undeniably been feudal- 

 ised, Mr Gammell had manifestly no right to fish for 

 salmon, because his charter only mentioned white fish- 

 ing, and by the ordinary rule of construction excluded 

 every other. It being thus established that the Crown's 

 right to salmon-fishing in the sea extends to three miles 

 from the coast, and is not merely a trust for the public, 

 but a patrimonial right which the Crown may use and 

 make money of, the Crown had to determine what use 

 should be made of so valuable a right. Most fortunately, 

 as we think, for the public good, the decision arrived 

 at was to exercise it entirely for the benefit of the sal- 

 mon-fishings. 



" I do not think it right," observes the Lord Advo- 

 cate, " that the Crown should attempt to make a revenue 

 from the salmon-fishings, excepting in the way in which 

 it can be done most favourably for the preservation of 

 the breed of salmon. It is a very important matter to 

 the salmon-fishings that the decision was given in that 

 way, because it puts it in the power of the Crown to do 

 a very great service to these fishings. If it should 

 appear that bag-nets in the sea are really destructive 

 to salmon-fishings in the rivers, which is a very general 



