206 FISH CULTUEE. 



men, whose living depends upon the fishery. As 

 regards the Board, I should by no means wish to see 

 it done away with, as some of its functions are of 

 a most useful and valuable nature. For example, 

 before a cask of herrings is finally closed, an officer 

 is appointed to examine it, to see that no unfit fish 

 are packed away in it. Having ascertained this, he 

 sees the cask headed, and affixes the Government 

 brand to it ; and so excellent has been the effect of 

 this system, and so great is the reliance placed in 

 that Government brand, that barrels of English 

 herrings, thus marked, are taken without question or 

 hesitation by merchants, even in the uttermost parts 

 of Siberia, as readUy as though they were hard cash. 

 It is needless to say that the doing away with the 

 brand, and abolition of this supervision, which has 

 existed for so long a series of years beneficially, 

 would not only open the way to frauds of all kinds, 

 but the very change of system would shake the faith 

 of these distant merchants, and would create sus- 

 picion, and would in a short time destroy both our 

 position and our trade. I mention these points here, 

 as it has been proposed to abolish the brand. 



During the last session but one of Parliament, the 

 Board obtained the power from the Government to 

 suspend any of the clauses in the Act at its own 



