§ MR. WEIRI beg to ask the Lord Advocate, having regard to the fact that during the year 1898 the Fishery Board cruisers observed four Dutch, ten German, four French, nine Belgian, and five Danish trawlers in the Moray Firth, will he state in the aggregate the number of days, for each nationality, on which these trawlers were observed; and will he state whether there is any reason to suppose that any of these vessels belonged to British capitalists flying a foreign flag?
MR. GRAHAM MURRAYI am informed by the Fishery Board that the number of days for each nationality on which foreign trawlers were observed by cruisers in 1898 is as follows: German 16, Belgian 16, Danish 10, Dutch 6, and French 6. The Fishery Board are not in possession of information which would lead them to suppose that the foreign vessels fly any flag other than that of the country in which they were registered and owned.