§ LORD EDWARD CAVENDISH (Derbyshire, W.)asked the President of the Board of Trade, Whether his attention has been called to the diminution in the supply of cockles from Morecambe Bay and the Estuary of the Duddon; and, considering their importance as an article of food, and the number of people employed in taking them, whether he will cause an inquiry to be held for the purpose of ascertaining what steps should be taken to protect and regulate this industry, so as to restore the supply of cockles to the markets in the adjacent populous districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire?
THE SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. C. T. D. ACLAND)(who replied) (Cornwall, Launceston)said: It is open to the parties interested to apply to the Board of Trade, under the Sea Fisheries Acts, 1868 and 1884, for an Order for the improvement, maintenance, and regulation of a cockle fishery; and it is a portion of the procedure under such an application for the Board of Trade to appoint an Inspector to make an inquiry concerning the subject-matter of the proposed Order. No inquiry, however, can be initiated by the Board of Trade until such an application has been made.