§ MR. CAVEsaid, he wished to ask the President of the Board of Trade, whether the recent Decree of the Emperor of the French, which permits sea fishing at all periods of the year, is intended to apply to the deep-sea oyster fishery; and if not, whether he can assign any cause for the exception?
§ MR. MILNER GIBSONreplied, that the Decree which had appeared in the Moniteur, to which the hon. Gentleman's question referred, did not apply to the oyster fishery. The case of the oyster fishery was provided for by a special Convention. The Decree in the Moniteur was merely to extend to French fishermen certain privileges of which they had hitherto been deprived by their own law, but did not trench on the stipulations of the Fishery Conventions between England and France. This Decree was intended to apply to French fishermen who had been prevented from fishing nearer than within six miles of the shore, but who were now to he permitted to fish within three miles' distance of the shore at any time.