HC Deb 17 June 1862 vol 167 cc670-3

Order for Committee read.

House in Committee.

Clauses 1 to 6 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 7 (Annual Close-time).

MAJOR CUMMING BRUCE

said, he would propose to add at the end of Clause 7 the following proviso:— Provided always that in tidal waters where salmon fishing by means of net and coble can only be carried on during a certain state of the tide, it shall be lawful for persons having such rights of fishing to commence to fish by net and coble only at such hour of the Monday morning as may be suitable for the same.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he should oppose the proviso, which would leave it in the discretion of proprietors of fisheries to say when they should commence fishing, and when they should leave off. By an Amendment which he had already proposed to the clause, the Commissioners would have power to vary the period at which the weekly close-time should commence in any district; and he did not think it would be advisable to go beyond that.

Proviso negatived.

Clause, as amended, agreed to.

Clauses 8 to 13 inclusive also agreed to.

Clause 14 (Penalty for causing or allowing Poisonous Substances to flow into Rivers).

MR. MURE

said, he would move, in line 20, after the word "Scotland," to insert, "after notice duly given by special advertisement, in some newspaper of general circulation in the district, not less than ten days before any such visitation, to the proprietors of salmon fishings on each of such rivers or estuaries, of their intention so to visit and report.

Words inserted.

Clause, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 15 (Election of District Boards).

MR. D. ROBERTSON

said, he would propose the insertion of words entitling the lessees of salmon fisheries, under leases of not less than three years originally, and of £50 and upwards, to be placed on the roll of the district board and entitled to vote.

MAJOR CUMMING BRUCE

opposed the Amendment.

Amendment negatived.

Clause agreed to.

Clauses 16 to 28 inclusive were also agreed to.

Clause 29 (Certain provisions of Act 24 & 25 Vict., c. 109, applied to Solway Firth).

MR. CAIRD

said, he thought that the interests of the tenants of fisheries on the Scotch shores of the Solway Firth were sacrificed by the Bill. Under these circumstances he thought it only fair that the parties should be allowed a certain time to work out of the business, and he should therefore propose to insert the words "from and after the 1st of January, 1867," the object of which was to prevent the Act coming into operation, so far as these persons were concerned, before that period.

MR. WEMYSS

supported the Amendment.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, he thought it would not be unreasonable to suspend the operation of the Act with respect to the parties for a certain period. He thought, however, that the Amendment of his hon. Friend was too wide in its terms. He (the Lord Advocate), should have no objection to insert words providing that the Act should not come into operation till the 1st of January, 1865, which would meet the case, by giving ample time to the tenants for compensation arising out of a change in the law.

MR. E. P. BOUVERIE

said, that the Bill proposed to extend the English Act to a certain portion of Scotland in a way which would act injuriously to the interests of proprietors and tenants, and therefore he could not help thinking that the Amendment of the hon. Member for Stirling was fair and reasonable.

MR. W. EWART

said, he should support the Amendment.

MR. FINLAY

said, that he approved of the proposal of the Lord Advocate to delay the operation of the Act for a period of two years.

MR. CAIRD

said, he would withdraw his Amendment, and proposed in substitution for it the following:—"from and after the 1st of January, 1866," which would give three clear years to the parties to compensate themselves for the loss which they would suffer from the passing of this measure.

Amendment proposed, In page 10, line 24, at the beginning of the Clause, to insert the words "From and after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.

Question put, "That those words be there inserted."

The Committee divided: — Ayes 20; Noes 65: Majority 45.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, that notwithstanding the result of the division, he did not object to make the Amendment he had himself proposed, and to extend the time for the Act coming into operation until January, 1865.

Clause, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 30 was likewise agreed to.

Clause 31 (Act not to apply to the River Tay, excepting as to the Weekly Close-time).

MR. WEMYSS

said, he would move an Amendment, providing that the weekly close-time should commence at six o'clock, on Saturday night, and end at six o'clock on Monday morning.

Amendment negatived.

Clause agreed to.

MAJOR CUMMING BRUCE

said, ho wished to move the insertion of a clause to follow Clause 24, to provide that fishings in the possession of any proprietor, by virtue of a Royal grant or charter, and who should have exercised the right to fish the same for the term of forty years, and situated within certain estuaries, to be defined by the Commissioners, might be fished with fixed nets or fixed engines, until purchased.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, that it was impossible for him to accede to clauses which would legalize fishing in places where it was unlawful at present.

MAJOR CUMMING BRUCE

said, he would point out that he had inserted the proviso, "not being an estuary already defined or determined by law."

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, the object of the Bill was to provide that, within the limits of estuaries to be fixed by the Commissioners, all fishing with fixed nets or fixed engines should henceforth be illegal.

Clause negatived.

MAJOR CUMMING BRUCE

said, he would then move a clause empowering district boards to grant annual rod licences. The clause, with others following, had been taken verbatim from the recommendations of the Committee of last year.

THE LORD ADVOCATE

said, that these were the very clauses upon which the Bill of the last session foundered. He hoped his hon. Friend would not renew a discussion which was very fully gone into during the last year.

MR. D. EOBEETSON

said, he should oppose the clause, as it was calculated to demoralize the people, who would not take out licences to do that which had been a custom for 100 years.

MAJOR CUMMING BRUCE

said, he would withdraw the clause.

House resumed.

Bill reported; as amended, to be considered To-morrow.