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undergo ; that was a matter recorded not only in the minds 

 but the pockets of a large number of persons. The same 

 considerations applied to all forms of fish culture, and 

 unless those who undertook it were prepared to work at it 

 with that happy combination of science and practice which 

 was exemplified in the case of Sir James Maitland, dis- 

 appointment would await their efforts, as it had those of 

 many persons who had attempted the same process. For 

 himself, he did not take very rosy views of the value of 

 protection pure and simple for sea fisheries, but perhaps 

 he was all the more inclined to attach especial value to 

 thoroughly well considered and scientific fish culture. He 

 was inclined to think that it was in this direction we must 

 look, and not to measures of inefficient protection, for the 

 ultimate preservation of our fisheries. This was not the 

 time to discuss the point, but he gathered from Mr. 

 Wilmot's remarks that there was some extremely wicked 

 person who had been saying that protection was of no use 

 in Salmon fisheries ; that people should be allowed to 

 destroy anything and everything they liked ; but anybody 

 who heard the remarks he had ventured to offer at the first 

 Conference would be aware that he, at any rate, was not 

 one of those wicked persons. No one had insisted more 

 strenuously than he had done on the absolute necessity for 

 the most careful protection for those sea fisheries in which 

 protection could be shown to be efficient, and if any one 

 were prepared to show that measures of protection as 

 efficient as those which were adopted in the Salmon 

 fisheries, and which must be enforced unless the Salmon 

 fisheries were to be destroyed, would be equally efficient in 

 the case of any of the sea fisheries, by all means let them 

 be adopted, and no one would be a stronger advocate for 

 protection than he should be ; but, until it was made clear 



