THE SEA-FISHERIES OF IRELAND 125 



the rest were small farmers who fished only at 

 irregular intervals and in a casual manner, and at 

 the time when fishing would probably have been 

 most successful they were mostly attending to 

 their farms.^ It was a case for some exceptional 

 kind of State encouragement. Nevertheless, the 

 Royal Commissioners of 1863, influenced, no 

 doubt, by the prevailing Free Trade doctrines 

 of their time, made no specific recommendation. 

 The industry was left to work out its own salvation, 

 and the legislation in force was allowed to per- 

 petuate a system of entirely futile and unprofitable 

 administration. 



There was, indeed, little left to administer. The 

 Commissioners of Public Works, who had charge 

 of the fisheries under the Act of 1842, had exten- 

 sive powers. They were enabled to impose any 

 restrictions or prohibitions in relation to methods 

 of fishing which they regarded as necessary. 

 They had, in fact, " an almost absolute authority 

 to make regulations with respect to the different 

 modes of fishing"^ carried on in Ireland, pre- 

 sumably with the object of the development of 

 the industry. How did they employ this power ? 

 It must be remembered that they had to deal with 

 an ignorant people, who were intolerant of innova- 

 tion, and who were not averse to indicating this 

 spirit in a lawless fashion. Methods of fishing 



1 Report, Royal Commission of 1863, Evidence, Q. 37,334- 



2 Ibid., Report, p. no (8vo edition). 



