The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-23 00:00:00

SALMON FISHERIES.

TUESDAY.

The Select Committtee upon the Salmon Fisheries re-
slimed its sittings to-day--IMr. Dodds in the chair.
The evidence of Mr. Walpole, the inspector of the
fisheriei, was again proceeded with, and occupied the
whole of the day. He stated that since the last meeting
he had prepared a 'scheme for the constitution of
boards of conservators for the salmon fisheries.
He recommended that steps should be taken
to make such boards strictly representative, and
with that view he would have one-third of the board
elected by 'the riparian owners, another by the occupiers
Df.the various salmon fisheries, and the remaining third
by the public fishermen. He would admit of accumula-
tive voting to a certain extent, but he would not allow
any voters to possess'- more than four votes. The voting
should take place by means of voting papers. With regard
to the rates he did not consider it would be fair to rate
private proprietors for the benefit of public fishermen. He
believed that the various laws which had existed with re-
spect to the conservation of the salmon fisheries
in England might be very easily assimilated
but he doubted whether the Irish laws could very well be
incorporated with them. He would recommend that
the salmon fisheries should be under the control
of a Parliamentary minister, having officers under
him. He denied that the bill of last session
would have proved useless if it had been passed, because
he considered that the 120th clause, especially, would have
had a very beneficial effect. He thought that power
Wright to be taken to prevent fishing within a certain dis-
tance ; and powers of compulsory purchase should be
fiven ; but beyond that he did not think that any
urther legislation would be required. He was of opinion
that the water-bailiff should have great powers for
the purpose of repressing poaching, and thinks they
should even have the power of searching the pockets of
persons seen near rivers, and who were suspected of
poaching. He would put the water bailiff in the same
position as the police constable, and under the larceny Act
the police, in certain cases, may arrest a person, and search
him on suspicion. .
Mr. C. Denison asked the witness whether he did not
think such a provision would be liacle to abuse.
Mr. Walpole thought it would not be liable to abuse,
=Amore than the power of searching a basket. Of course
there must be reasonable ground for suspecting, and he
put the case where a person who was trout fishing caught
a smoult, And instead of returning it to the water put it
into his pocket, the trout being put into his basket. At
present the water bailiff had no power to search the
person, though he had to search the basket of the fishep.
-
man.

ARE YOU A PROTESTANT ?—The plaintiff in a
breach of promise case, heard at Huntingdon, was ex-
amined as to her religious belief. She caused a roar of
laughter by saying, in reply to the question, " Are you a
Protestant ?" "No, I belong to the Church'of England."
The faithless swain was a policeman, and the girl had
quarrelled with him on one occasion because he had been
placed on duty to prevent a disturbance at a meeting at
'which the well-known Murphy was present.
' REmAnKABLE MATRIMONIAL OASE.—A. very re-
markable case was recently decided in the Civil Court at
Luckuow. The plaintiff—a Mahomedan—filed a suit
for the restoration of the person of his wife. He
was met by the plea that his wife was an apos-
tate from her religion, and that, in consequence,
the marriage under Mahomedan law was cancelled, and
his claim under the marriage must necessarily fall to the
ground. The case caused considerable sensation among
all classes, but especially among the Mahomedan commu-
nity. The Judge, in an elaborate judgment, after bring-
ing under review all the laws bearing on the po int,
decided the suit in favour of the plaintiff. The most re-
markable feature in the case was the demeanour of the wife
while under examination in court. Not satisfied by an
open recantation of the Mahomedan religion in the pre-
sence of a large gathering of the Mahomedan community,
she deliberately declared her conviction of the truth of the
Christian religion, and her faith in our Saviour's mission.
The wife, her sister, and mother Wer7l7tised the
me
ea*
dam. fatikft 11.9IYUge 01lta.0th DICKIa;