[BILL 83.] THIRD READING. (Hansard, 18 March 1881)

§ LORD ELCHO
said, he regretted that the right hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade was not in his place, as he would like to thank the right hon. Gentleman for having brought in the Bill. Fishermen in his county were greatly interested in the question. They were great sufferers from the action of trawlers upon their bait beds, and he had been in communication with the President of the Board of Trade with regard to that matter. The right hon. Gentleman received the proposals of the fishermen most favourably, and undertook to bring in this Bill, on the understanding that no Amendment should be moved upon it, either to make it more stringent or to extend its operation. Having assented to that, he (Lord Fiche) felt himself precluded, when the Bill was introduced, from taking any steps to enlarge the scope of the measure. He hoped that, some day or other, another Bill would be introduced, if it were found necessary; but, in the meantime, he would express his thanks to the President of the Board of Trade for the good he had done, although, perhaps, some day the right hon. Gentleman would see his way to effect something further in the same direction.

§ MR. WARTON
did not quite understand what the noble Lord the Member for Haddingtonshire (Lord Elcho) had 1473 just said; but it related, no doubt, to some understanding between the noble Lord and the President of the Board of Trade. However, he wished to say something which related neither to the noble Lord nor to that understanding. He wished to recommend to the hon. Member for Aberdeen (Dr. Webster) not to be deterred by any understanding between the noble Lord and the right hon. Gentleman from repeating the Amendment which he moved on the previous occasion. He made that suggestion in justice to the herrings, or rather to that large portion of the population that lived by the herrings. If it were in Order, he should like to see that Amendment again moved, in order to give to the herring beds the blessings of protection. The independent Members of the House appeared to be all in favour of such an extension of the Bill, and it was voted against only by the Government officials and those who voted with them because they were Government officials, and who did so without going into the merits of the case at all. He believed that those who opposed the Amendment did so without the slightest concern for the benefit of the people, but chose to vote like obedient troops for a Government measure, to which they had not given much attention. On the other hand, those who were alive to the importance of extending the food of the people knew that there was no food more nourishing than herrings, or more wholesome. They saw that exemplified in the very kitchen of that House, and they knew that whatever régime they were living under, whether it was dinners àla carte, or dinners at a fixed price, they always found on the table fresh herrings, when they were in season; and those herrings were always eaten with considerable pleasure and satisfaction. He hoped the lower classes would always have herrings to eat, not at the prices which was paid for them, but at prices in accordance with their means; and he again appealed to the hon. Member for Aberdeen to move his Amendment. He thought he saw the hon. Member opposite, with an assenting expression on his countenance.

§ MR. WILLIAMSON
observed, that the hon. and learned Member for Bridport (Mr. Warton) appealed to the hon. Member for Aberdeen (Dr. Webster), who was not now in his place.

§ MR. WARTON
explained that he had mistaken the hon. Member himself (Mr. Williamson) for the hon. Member for Aberdeen.

§ MR. WILLIAMSON
would only say that, personally, he did not intend to oppose the third reading of the Bill; but he cordially supported the suggestion of the noble Lord, in the hope and expectation that the right hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade would, in a separate Bill, next Session protect the herring beds.