§ MR. TULLY (Leitrim, S.)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that the Commissioners of Woods and Forests and Board of Trade are preventing the mussel fishermen of Port Glasgow, Greenock, Dumbarton, and Cardross from having the free use of the banks and mussel beds; whether the Fisheries Board have leased the mussel beds opposite Port Glasgow to an ex-official member of their own Board at a nominal rent of 20s. on a thirty-one years lease; and whether he will hold a public inquiry into all the circumstances connected with this transaction.
§ *THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. A. GRAHAM MURRAY,) ButeshireI am informed by the Fishery Board that the reason for the action stated in the first paragraph of the hon. Member's question was the long-continued complaint of the line fishermen of Scotland of the growing scarcity of mussels for bait on account of the reckless depletion of the Clyde mussel beds, which are supported by the recommendations of the Departmental Committee of 1889. Under Section 12 of the Sea Fisheries Regulation (Scotland) Act, 1895, the Fishery Board leased the mussel beds in question from the Crown at an annual charge of £1, and publicly advertised for a sub-tenant 1350 on terms that were the same to all. The lessee was never an official of the Fishery Board and was not in their employment at the time of entering on the lease, though, as an expert, he had been employed by them formerly. He was selected entirely on his merits, being one of the best authorities on the subject in Scotland. The terms of the lease were adjusted after consultation by the Fishery Board with the town councils of Greenock and Port Glasgow. The Secretary for Scotland sees no cause for any inquiry.