216 THE TWEED ACTS OF 1857 AND 1859. [CHAP. v. 



and on the larger salmon rivers of Scotland the income 

 derived by many of the " lairds" from the salmon forms a very 

 welcome addition to their land revenues. Mr. Johnstone, the 

 lessee of the Esk fisheries at Montrose, stated at a public 

 meeting held some time ago in Edinburgh to protest against 

 the removal of stake-nets, that he estimated the Duke of Suther- 

 land's fisheries at 6000 a year, and quoted his own rents as 

 4000 per annum, giving him the privilege to fish on two 

 different rivers, on one of which he had eight miles of water, 

 on the other six. The rents of the sea salmon-fisheries of 

 Scotland (stake and bag nets), which the recent bill of the 

 Lord Advocate proposed to abolish, range from 20 to 1000 

 per annum. Princely rentals have been drawn from the 

 salmon rivers of that division of the United Kingdom. 



The Tweed alone at one period gave to its proprietors an 

 annual income of 20,000 ; but although the price of fish has 

 greatly increased of late years, the rental fell at one time to 

 about a fifth part of that sum, and the take of fish sank from 

 40,000 to 4000. Persons interested in the salmon have been 

 watching very keenly during late years the effects of the 

 legislation of 1857 and 1859 upon the Tweed fisheries, the 

 rent of that river being now little more than a third of what 

 it once was. The principal changes introduced by the two 

 Tweed Acts of 1857 and 1859 may be shortly stated to be: 



1. The entire abolition of bag, stake, and other fixed nets 

 of every description in the river, and the restriction and regu- 

 lation of stake-nets on the sea-coast, and no net except the 

 common sweep-net, rowed out and immediately drawn in again, 

 has been allowed on the Tweed since 1857. 2. The entire pro- 

 hibition of leistering. 3. A slight increase of the weekly 

 close-time, and an increase of the annual close-time for nets by 

 four weeks. 4. The permission of rod-fishing for an extended 

 period, so as to interest proprietors to a greater degree in the 

 protection of the river. And last, not least, the absolute pro- 



