§ THE DUKE OF SOMERSETsaid, he wished to ask the noble Duke the President of the Council a Question on a subject of great importance to the interests of the fishermen on the coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall. A Report from the Home Office which had been distributed to Members of that House, stated that a practice was growing up 2 of destroying fish by means of dynamite. Moreover, the Report said the result of this practice would be that the pilchard, the mackerel, and the herring would leave the coasts of this country. To the West of England this was a most important question:—indeed, the Inspectors of Fisheries had deemed it so important, that they recommended that a short Bill should be immediately passed to prevent the employment of this most powerful substance for the destruction of fish. At this time of the Session he supposed it would hardly be possible to pass such an Act—particularly when he noticed the state of Business in the other House of Parliament; but he hoped that during the Recess this question would be carefully considered, and that next year some measure would be introduced by the Government for protecting the fisheries of the coasts of this country. He believed the shoals of fish were beyond the three-mile boundary, and therefore there would be some difficulty in bringing legislation to bear 3 on the subject; but still the matter was so important that he hoped it would he carefully considered. He would therefore ask the noble Duke what course, if any, the Government intended to take?
THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON, in reply, would acknowledge that the matter to which the noble Duke had called attention was one of great importance. The Report which had been laid upon the Table of the House disclosed a state of things which seemed to require that some notice should be taken of it. But the proposals, or rather the suggestions, contained in the Report showed that it would be impracticable at the present moment to take any active steps for legislating on the subject. The Fishery Commissioners were of opinion that it would be perfectly useless to attempt to deal with the question unless the use of dynamite was made illegal. It had, they added, been suggested to them that legislation on the subject, in order to be effective, must be very severe. Their Report went on to say that the destruction which dynamite caused was so great and the operation of the shock so quick, that nothing, it was argued, except imprisonment, would be likely to prevent the offence; and therefore it was suggested that the offence should be made a misdemeanour, punishable with fine and imprisonment, with or without hard labour. It was obvious that legislation of such a penal character ought not to be undertaken hastily or without due consideration. He could, however, give the noble Duke the assurance which he asked for, that the subject would receive the attention of the Government. He would communicate with the right hon. Gentleman the Home Secretary with regard to it.