§ THE EARL OF HOWTH, in rising to direct attention to the Report of the Irish Fishery Commissioners just issued, and also to the scant supply of fresh fish available in the city of Dublin; and to move—
That no assistance given by the Government to the Irish fisheries will prove of permanent benefit unless the transport and a reduced fare of carriage for fish to the English markets is duly provided for,said, the announcement which had been made, that it was the intention of the Government to take this and other matters into consideration, had given great satisfaction to all who were interested in the welfare and prosperity of the country, and especially to those who, like himself, were warmly interested in all that concerned the fishermen and the 952 fisheries of Ireland. He had intended to have brought forward some important features connected with the Irish fisheries which he thought might be worthy of the attention of their Lordships, and which he thought were of the utmost benefit to the regular fishermen of the country, with whom he was more intimately acquainted, and who had no other means of subsistence and living except that which the sea afforded them; but having regard to the lateness of the Session, and also the controversial matter which would have been introduced, he had thought it advisable, with their Lordships' permission, to withdraw the Motion, with the object of bringing it forward again during the next Session. But, before doing this, there were one or two observations which he desired to make. He desired to call attention to the fact that the Report of the Irish Fishery Commissioners was only allowed to appear so as to be placed in the hands of Members of Parliament as late as September 11. He maintained that this was far too late; and he sincerely hoped that next year, when there would be a prospect, perhaps, of legislating for the sea fisheries, and probably for the salmon fisheries also, that this Report might be placed in the hands of Members at an earlier period of the Session. With the details of the Report he was well acquainted, and he was assured that the staffs both of Police and the Coastguard of the country was ample to collect all the statistics in a very short period of time. During the months of November and December there was very little doing in the fisheries of Ireland, and, under these circumstances, it was somewhat difficult to understand why they did not have the Report at a much earlier period of the Session.
§ Motion (by leave of the House) withdrawn.