THE FALLS OF BALLYSHANNON. 281 



Recollect, it is for the good of the public 

 that the fish are made private property, — 

 that the laws intended to make them so, 

 and did make them so, to the best of the 

 information of the framers. A company 

 now contrives to evade these laws, and to 

 take fish which they have had no hand in 

 rearing, but which have been reared under 

 an expensive system of preserving, and a 

 numerous array of water- keepers. Well, 

 we will suppose the interlopers successful : 

 they catch half the fish, and for that year 

 the markets are as well supplied as before, 

 and nobody cares. But the fishery now no 

 longer supports its staff of water-bailiffs : 

 the head- waters are neglected ; the spawn- 

 ing fish are destroyed by otters, or speared 

 by the peasantry ; and the next year there 

 are no fish to be caught by either proprietor 

 or interloper ; the fish-markets of Liver- 

 pool fail, and the jolly rich Papist of Lan- 

 cashire is reduced to fast on red herrings 

 like his vulgar neighbours. The operation 

 is not quite so quick as this, because a man 

 takes a good deal of ruining, and will go on 

 hoping ; but that is the result, you may 

 depend upon it/' 



