426 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



be removed at the commencement of the weekly close time, and above 

 all things to avoid breaking the Sabbath by attempting to fulfil the 

 requirements of the law during that day. 



The Conon District Board combated the interpretation of this 

 last point, and proceeded against a tacksman, or tackswoman rather, 

 who did not attempt the removal of leaders on Sunday at her 

 fishing station north of the Cromarty Firth. The Sheriff had 

 declined to convict, and as a somewhat similar case 1 had previously 

 been tried, which the Conon District Board desired to test afresh, 

 the matter was referred to a full bench of judges in the Justiciary 

 Court. 2 The decision was unanimous that when it was found 

 impossible to slap the nets on Saturday evening, the operation had 

 to be performed on Sunday if the weather then permitted. The 

 grounds for this finding were that Parliament in passing the Salmon 

 Acts made the observance of the weekly close time a necessity ; 

 that the plea respecting the reluctance of Scotsmen to perform 

 ordinary duties of this kind on Sunday could not be entertained in 

 view of the special requirements of the case ; and that, so far as 

 Sunday observance went, the real breach of observance consisted in 

 the Sunday fishing consequent upon the non-observance of the law. 

 This decision should make a considerable difference to the erstwhile 

 practice in Scotland. I have had occasion to ascertain, from time 

 to time, how far the weekly close time has been observed. On one 

 occasion, on a beautiful quiet Sunday, I found 94 consecutive bag 

 nets fishing. This does not now occur, however, in the district 

 referred to. 



I now propose to give a brief review of the main provisions of 

 the existing Salmon Fishery Acts, and subsequently to mention 

 some of the leading suggestions which have been made for future 

 legislation. 



The two Acts with which we have mainly to do are the Acts of 

 1862 and of 1868. The first brought into being a small body of 

 Commissioners whose duties were to fix the limits of fishery districts 

 in Scotland ; to fix a point on each river which shall divide upper 

 from lower proprietors ; to determine the dates of the annual close 

 time for each district ; and to make general regulations as to the 

 observance of the weekly close time, the construction and use of 

 cruives, the construction and alteration of mill-dams or lades or 

 water-wheels, the meshes of nets, and respecting obstructions in 

 rivers or estuaries. 



1 Middleton v. Paterson. 2 Middleton v. Tough. 



