§ MR. H. J. TENNANT (Berwickshire)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is able to state the steps which Her Majesty's Government propose to take in view of the general discontent arising out of the Tweed Fishery Acts, to place the Laws regulating the salmon fisheries of the valley of the Tweed and of the district adjacent to what is known to the Law as the mouth of the Tweed on a more satisfactory footing?
§ MR. R. A. ALLISON (Cumberland, Eskdale)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now prepared to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the laws affecting the salmon fisheries in the Solway Firth, and the inequalities which exist between the English and Scotch sides of the estuary; and if he can say when the Commission will be appointed?
§ MR. BRYCEHer Majesty's Government are aware of the difficulties which have arisen in connection with the salmon fisheries of the Tweed and the Solway, and of the consequent need for fresh legislative provisions on the subject. I have consulted with my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Scotland, and it is now proposed to advise Her Majesty to issue a Royal Commission to deal with the subject. The reference to the Commission will be as follows:—To inquire into the fisheries of the Solway Firth and the salmon and freshwater fisheries of the river and estuary of the Tweed, including all the portion of sea comprised in the operation of the present Solway and Tweed Acts, with the rights affecting the same, the methods of fishing there used, the nature of the said industry, together with the laws applying to the said fisheries; and to report thereon and make such recommendations relating thereto as they may think fit.
§ MR. F. NAPIER (Roxburgh)asked whether the terms of reference would include the rivers Ettrick and Tevior.
§ SIR D. MACFARLANE (Argyll)asked whether the right hon. Gentleman would extend the scope of the inquiry to those other parts of Scotland where similar grievances existed.
§ MR. BRYCEsaid the grievances in connection with the Solway Firth and the Tweed were somewhat different to those in other places, and, as they referred to a separate and distinct area, would have to be inquired into without raising other questions. He understood, however, that the inquiry would practically cover all the salmon and freshwater fisheries.
§ DR. MACGREGOR (Inverness-shire)gave notice that he should move to include the rivers of Inverness.