§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will explain why the following salmon fishings in Scotland have been sold instead of being leased, namely: salmon fishings in Caithness, sold on the 15th May to Frederic Granville Sinclair, for £50; salmon fishings in Inverness, sold on 23rd May 1898 to Mrs. Christian Helen Jane Cameron, or Head, for £50; and salmon fishings in Argyll, sold on 18th November 1898 to James Arthur Campbell, for £100; and will he consider the expediency of arranging for Crown salmon fishing rights in Scotland not to be sold outright hereafter?
§ MR. ANSTRUTHER (St. Andrew Burghs) (for Mr. RITCHIE)The sales it question were made under exceptional circumstances, the Crown title being in each case disputed, and litigation being avoided by the sale. Where no exceptional circumstances exist rendering a sale desirable, it is not the practice to sell Crown salmon fishings in Scotland.