THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF 1893 69 



sanction might be obtained to such arrangements. 

 All these powers were sought by the Fishery 

 Board, and, no doubt, have proved, or will prove, 

 eminently useful. The remainder of the Act 

 conferred powers upon the Board (which they 

 do not appear ever to have asked for) to form 

 district fisheries committees in Scotland on 

 the model of the English bodies, but with the 

 addition of the " directly representative element " 

 on which the Select Committee laid such stress. 

 They were empowered to form such authorities 

 on application, and after due inquiry, by a county 

 or borough council or the commissioners of a 

 police burgh. The " directly representative 

 element " was to be obtained in the following 

 way. The county and burgh assessors were 

 instructed to form a register of persons entitled 

 to return the element, by prefixing a " distinctive 

 mark " to the names of such persons on the register 

 of county council or burgh voters as were entitled 

 to possess the qualification included in the expres- 

 sion "fishing interests." Each of these fishing 

 voters was to be entitled to vote for a certain 

 number of representatives on the district fisheries 

 committee. The elections were to take place 

 on the same days, in the same manner, and 

 at the same place, as the elections for county 

 councillors. 



It is a striking commentary on the utility of all 

 this complex machinery, and on the familiarity 



