XIX 



other far distant places. The salesmen at Birmingham are 

 unanimously in favour of a law for the protection of undersized 

 crabs and lobsters, and for the prevention of the sale of soft 

 crabs and berried crabs ; though they are also unanimously 

 of opinion that such a law ought to be enforced, not in the 

 markets, but on the coasts. Inspectors, in their judgment, ought to 

 be appointed by the Government, who would receive information 

 that undersized fish were being sent from some particular fishing 

 station, who could then go down and inspect the fishermen's 

 barrels, and prosecute the fishermen in whose barrels any illegal 

 fish were found. But the conclusive answer to this recommenda- 

 tion appears to be, that, if Inspectors were stationed round the 

 coast, their cost would be great. The game, in short, would not 

 be worth the candle. If, on the other hand, one or two Inspec- 

 tors were appointed to supervise the whole country, they would 

 be powerless. The law might possibly be enforced on the spot 

 where they happened to be ; it would be openly disregarded in 

 all other places. 



We think, therefore, that, if the law which we have recom- 

 mended is to be enforced at all, it must be enforced in the mar- 

 kets ; and we do not think that the evidence of the Birmingham 

 salesmen ought to affect the conclusion. The Birmingham sales- 

 men assert that they receive a barrel of crabs to sell on commis- 

 sion from some part of the coast; that they sell it without 

 opening it or " breaking bulk ;" that the retail dealer buys it 

 without examining it ; that neither the salesman nor the retail 

 dealer can possibly tell whether any undersized crabs or lobsters 

 are in it or not ; and that it would be impracticable for either the 

 salesmen or fishmongers to examine the contents of each barrel 

 which they sell or buy. But we do not think that much difficulty 

 would arise from the circumstance. We asked a retail fishmonger, 

 in Birmingham, what he would do if, on buying such a barrel of 

 crabs, he found certain undersized crabs or lobsters among them, 

 and his reply seems to us to settle the question. He told us 

 that he would then return the fish to the salesman. In exactly 

 the same way the salesman would return the fish to the fisher- 

 man ; and the fishermen, therefore, would find that they received 

 no money for the fish which they thus illegally consigned, and 

 consequently would cease to consign them. 



We are, however, far from saying that the law should in no 

 case be enforced against the fishermen on the coasts ; on the 

 contrary, every fisherman who transmits undersized fish to a 

 salesman offers them for sale, and ought to be liable to prosecu- 

 tion for his offence. We have no doubt that, in many cases, it 

 will be possible to prosecute him. But we mainly rely, for carry- 

 ing out the law, on the prohibition of the sale ; and we believe 

 that no other means can be suggested for enforcing it so efficiently 

 and economically. 



The only exception to this rule should be in those cases where 

 the Secretary of State may be advised, after an inquiry, to insti- 

 tute a local close season. A local law, so instituted, must neces- 



