CONCLUSION. 243 



combine together in a federation, whose object is 

 the general welfare of the fisheries and fishers in 

 its district, which negotiates with railway companies 

 for facilities to anglers, keeps a watch upon fishery 

 legislation, and otherwise justifies itself. 



For the novice, the third class of society, that 

 which rents water, is of most immediate importance, 

 because he will be practically dependent on it for 

 his fishing, unless he is content with " free fishing. '* 

 Of waters in a pristine state of freedom I have no 

 opinion at all. Man is so constituted that he must 

 destroy things at once ; he will not spare to-day so 

 that he may destroy to better purpose to-morrow ; 

 his dealings with nature are based on his primitive 

 creed that " a bird in the hand is worth two in the 

 bush." As for rivers, they are simply places into 

 which he can conveniently throw his rubbish, after 

 he has extracted all the fish he can by such means 

 as are in his power. The result is that free fishing 

 is everywhere badly treated, except in a case like 

 the Thames where associations exist for the 

 purpose of enforcing the law and giving the water 

 some measure of protection. One has only to 

 consider the state of the public part of the Norfolk 

 Broads and rivers, to see what comes of free 

 fishing. By nature they are probably the most 



productive waters in England but free fishing 



R 2 



