CHESTER, _3rd February_, 1854.
SIR,--We are about to make application to Parliament for a
Commission of Inquiry into the state of laws respecting the
fisheries of England and Wales. And Mr. Ashworth, of Poynton, has
been so good as to refer me to you, as able and willing to furnish
us with information on the subject.
The annual meeting of the river Dee fishery association will be
held on the 20th instant, when I purpose to lay before them the
draft of a petition to Parliament for their approval.
I am anxious in the meantime to obtain all the information
possible relative to the working of the present laws, their
defects, and the alterations to be proposed in them, in order that
a condensed statement may be embodied in the petition as the
ground of our application.
I should be exceedingly obliged for any remarks your experience
may suggest, and trust you will accept the cause which dictates my
writing as a sufficient apology for troubling you on the subject.
I have had great pleasure in reading your able replies to Salmo
Salar's letters. On the appearance of the first, I was strongly
prompted to reply to it myself, but rejoiced to find him in much
better hands.
I remain, Sir,
Yours very truly,
WILLIAM AYRTON.
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CLITHEROE, _4th February_, 1854.