FISHERMEN AND FISHERIES. 



209 



only tentative and experimental. At the present moment 

 a very interesting experiment is going on upon the coast of 

 Norfolk, where the fishermen have applied for, and have 

 obtained, a local order establishing certain stringent regula- 

 tions for the protection of the lobster and crab fisheries, in 

 addition to the very moderate provisions of the law appli- Experimental 

 cable to the whole country. If these regulations fulfil their 

 object, they will afford primd facie proof of the advantage 

 of extending them to the rest of the country. If they fall 

 short of their intention, or cause any unforeseen incon- 

 venience, little or no permanent harm will have been done, 

 since, under the special provisions of the law which 

 sanctions them, they can be abrogated without the necessity 

 for going to Parliament for a repealing Act. 



This consideration is a strong argument in favour of 

 leaving the application of any protective law as far as 

 possible, and as far as consistent with general principles, to 

 the discretion of a local body, subject to the approval 

 of a central authority. The advantage of this system has 

 been proved in the case of the salmon fisheries, and to 

 a lesser extent in the case just referred to. Its extension 

 would not only prevent a considerable delay and expense, 

 but would enable the law to keep pace with the develop- 

 ments of the fishing industry, and its varying requirements. 



The second point brought into prominence in this review Necessity for 

 the necessity for providing itself with the fullest possible nation on aQ 

 data before the State proceeds to make any legislative relating to 

 enactments in regard to the fisheries is illustrated by the 

 foregoing remarks. It is a remarkable fact that the period 

 of the greatest abundance of laws relating to the fisheries 

 was the period of least activity in investigation ; while the 

 commencement of the era of practical enquiry and scien- 

 tific research was the doom of a cumbrous array of con- 



VOL. ix. E. 6. p 



