288 Salmon- Fishing. 



maintain the connection with the fish, and bring 

 them safely to bank. 



The importance of the salmon as a food-fish was 

 early recognised by the Legislature of this country. 

 Even before Magna Charta, the common law of 

 England prohibited the monopoly of salmon-fish- 

 eries by the Crown or its grantees, and ordered the 

 suppression of all weirs or other devices interfering 

 with the passage of the fish. Scotland, pre-emi- 

 nently the land of salmon as well as " the land o' 

 cakes," was not much behind in salmon law-making. 

 From the time of Eobert the Bruce until the union 

 of the Parliaments, "Acts anent the Preservation 

 of Salmonde " again and again found a place, and 

 no mean place, in the statute-book. The Act of 

 the first Parliament of James I. (1424) shows the 

 spirit of the legislation and the " rigour of the law" : 

 " Quha sa ever be convict of slauchter of salmonde 

 in time forbidden be the law, he sail pay fourtie 

 shillings for the unlaw; and at the third time, gif 

 he be convict of sik trespasse, he sail tyne his life, 

 or then bye it." 1 Under such rigorous measures the 

 poachers must have had a hard time of it. After 

 the union of the Parliaments, however, the love 

 for salmon among legislators grew cold, and their 

 vigilance for its preservation relaxed. Till quite 

 recent times, indeed, there was little attempt to 



1 The Salmon, by A. Russel, p. 136 et scq. 



