206 



STATUTE LAWS RE] 



[NG TO 



out of the natural stream, where they ought to be 

 only taken by fair and legal nets, and might pro- 

 tect themselves, into artificial cuts, where they are 

 unfairly ensnared and taken in Jish-locks ; and in 

 the Dart, Plym, and Teign, by taking the unsea- 

 sonable, old, stinking fish, which the parliament 

 has made sweet and good. These are the evils 

 to be remedied ; they are substantial, and not ima- 

 ginary. If the legislature be seriously desirous of 

 restoring the salmon fisheries to their former pros- 

 perity and productiveness, they must set about the 

 work, not by throwing sand into the eyes of the 

 public, or lime into the rivers, which may answer 

 the end of a monopoliser, but they must do it by 

 an independent, public spirited, and energetic dash 

 at the spearer, the unlawful obstructions, the traps, 

 the unwise limitation of the close-time, and the 

 other evils before mentioned ; then, and not till 

 then, will or ever can the salmon fisheries prosper, 

 so as to be of any service to the public. 



The fourth section is little else than a repetition 

 of the 33 Geo. II., only extending the penalty 

 from I/, to 51. How strange it must appear to the 

 public at large, that all unseasonable fish shall be 

 seized and destroyed, excepting such unseasonable 

 fish as are taken upon Dart, Teign, and Plym, 

 where they may be caught, and sold if a pur- 

 chaser can be obtained ; and eaten if any one has 

 the stomach to swallow them. 



Here, then, is an act of parliament professedly 

 passed for the preservation of the brood and fry of 



