§ Mr. CATHCART WASON (Orkney and Shetland)I beg to ask the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that the entire failure of the herring fishing on the west coast of Shetland has followed on the whaling operations there, that the whaling stations were placed there without any authority from any public body after the operations had been stopped by the Norwegian Government on account of the ruin caused to the herring fishing, and that there is a practically unanimous opinion in Shetland that continued whaling operations will bring further disaster on the great herring fishing, he will pass the Bill enabling the Fishery Board of Scotland to fix a close time for whaling during the summer herring fishing.
§ Mr. SINCLAIRI am unable to accept the facts and inferences drawn by my hon. friend. The introduction at the present time of a Bill to amend the Whale Fisheries Act is in my opinion undesirable in view of the fact that there 889 has been no opportunity of seeing whether the Act, and the Bye-law passed by the Fishery Board fixing a close time for whaling for a period of five weeks during the summer herring fishing season, prove insufficient to meet the requirements of the case.
§ Mr. CATHCART WASONreminded the right hon. Gentleman that in Ireland an application for leave to establish a whaling station on the coast of Donegal had been refused.