190 THE RELATIONS OF THE STATE WITH 



prosecution of the fisheries is of course a modern practice ; 

 but it has been found of immense advantage in enabling 

 intelligence of the presence of a shoal of fish off the shore 

 to be conveyed rapidly from one point to another. In 

 Norway the extension of the telegraph system has been 

 partly influenced by the consideration of affording facilities 

 of this kind to the fishing centres ; and the absence of such 

 a means of communication has been keenly felt in many 

 outlying districts in North Britain. The Government, 

 having control of the telegraph system, ought to take into 

 consideration the value of an extension of the telegraph 

 system into districts where its introduction could be proved 

 to be a boon to the fishing industry. The benefits it 

 would confer could not be estimated by counting the 

 possible number of shilling messages that would be sent, 

 but by the value which such messages would represent to 

 the fishing population. 



State action of this kind, however, borders as nearly upon 

 the question of "regulation and administration" as upon 

 that of direct " encouragement " of the Fisheries. It is a 

 question, if not of reconciling fishery and other interests, at 

 least of not overlooking the fisheries in dealing with other 

 matters. 

 "Regulative" Legislation belonging to that class which has been 



legislation. . - . 



defined as regulative or " administrative " has naturally 

 been called for most imperatively as the fishing industry 

 has grown in importance, and the numbers of persons 

 engaged in it have increased. Where the interests of 

 different branches of the industry conflict with each other 

 or with other interests ; where sanitary or moral considera- 

 tions call for interference ; or where national jealousies are 

 likely to lead to disturbance, the State is required to 

 interfere. 



