192 THE RELATIONS OF THE STATE WITH 



An evil example set, apparently, by a few Ostend fishermen, 

 of making raids on the nets of fellow-craftsmen belonging 

 to other countries, either for the sake of the fish they con- 

 tain, or in order to disentangle their own gear when fouled 

 by that of their neighbours, or even to clear a passage for 

 their trawls when drift-nets set before them have barred 

 their way, has been followed by fishermen from other 

 countries, till the fishing in the North Sea, instead of being 

 a peaceful occupation for orderly men, impelled, by a sense 

 of mutual danger from the ordinary perils of the sea, to 

 respect each other's calling and property, has come in some 

 cases to resemble rather a conflict of hostile fleets. The 

 marauders, armed with a destructive instrument, called a 



The "Belgian devil," with which they could, unseen, cut through a corn- 

 Devil." 



petitor's net, have inflicted serious injury on the property 



of English fishermen, whose complaints of the outrages, 

 and of the expenses they were put to in order to recover 

 their nets in foreign ports, and of the absence of a legal 

 remedy, at last caused an official enquiry to be held, which 

 resulted in substantiating the alleged grievances, and in 

 proving the necessity for an International police in the 

 North Sea. 

 Numbering The case for the establishment of such an organization is 



of boats. 



made all the stronger by the fact that the example set by 

 the English Government of requiring their fishing-boats to 

 be plainly marked with a distinguishing number has not 

 been always followed, or has been followed only imperfectly, 

 by the neighbouring States. French boats are marked in a 

 similar manner to the English, both on the hull of the boat 

 itself, and on the mainsail. Belgian boats are marked with 

 only a small figure or letter on the bows ; and Dutch boats 

 are not numbered at all. If outrages such as those described 

 are to be suppressed, it is essential, first, that there should 



