STATE AID AND FISHfeRY RESEARCH 247 



made to the Treasury, and referred to the Government Department 

 or Departments concerned." 



At this time applications from local authorities in England and 

 Wales had ahready been at the Treasury for over twelve months. In 

 accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Treasury the 

 applications had been forwarded to the Board of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries for consideration and report, and it is here that a delay 

 of over twelve months occurred. Meanwhile, in answer to repeated 

 questions in Parliament, the Board returned replies which were 

 invariably evasive, and occasionally inaccurate. 



The fact is the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries were quite 

 unprepared with a scheme for the development of the fisheries, 

 and they deliberately delayed schemes prepared by the local 

 authorities so that they might prepare and submit their own scheme 

 first. Meanwhile, they had the opportunity of collecting ideas 

 from the schemes already submitted to them for report. ^ In one 

 instance a scheme submitted by a local authority in May, 191&, 

 was definitely replied to in March, 1912. 



Between the publication of the first and second reports of the 

 Development Commission, the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries 

 submitted their proposals for the development of the fisheries of 

 England and Wales. The details of this scheme are not available 

 for public inspection, but so far as can be gathered from an inspired 

 paragraph in the Times the Board appUed for a loan of ^^50,000 

 for the purpose of providing vessels to patrol inland waters which 

 are not at present properly protected. A grant of £8,000 per annum 

 was also asked for for the upkeep of these vessels, funds were also 

 required for what was euphemistically called " a Special Commission 

 to inquire into the grievances of the inshore fishermen." A very 

 slight acquaintance with the terms of the Development Act would 

 convince one that such a fatuous scheme was bound to be rejected, 

 since the Development Fund is not available for facilitating the 

 performance of their statutory duties by public authorities, neither 

 can it be utilised to increase the salaries of persons in the fishery 

 department at the Board. In forwarding their scheme to the 

 Development Commissioners, the Board stated that the local 

 applications were entirely covered by it, but the Commissioners 

 were fortunately in possession of sufficient information to enable 

 them to reply to the Board that the Board's application in no sense 



1 The Assistant Secretary for Fisheries at the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries 

 admitted this, " As far as regards the scheme put forward by Lancashire, I may say 

 it has been of the greatest possible assistance to the Board in the formulation of their 

 scheme, and that as regards research work it is those proposals perhaps more than 

 any others which have influenced the Board in the application which they have 

 made to the Development Commissioners." Report oj Annual Meeting oj Representa- 

 tives 0} Sea Fishery Authorities for 1911. Cd. 5870, p. 20. 



