12546: Secretary of State visits Keose

Extract from The Scotsman, 4 August 1933

Sir Godfrey Collins meet Stornoway Council

Sir Godfrey Collins, Secretary of State for Scotland, left Stornoway yesterday afternoon on board the Fishery cruiser Minna. During the morning Sir Godfrey continued his tour of the rural districts, when he visited Keose, where a land settlement scheme is now in progress. The old glebe was recently cut up into small holdings, and the newly settled crofters are at present erecting their dwelling houses.

On his visit to Keose the Secretary of State was accompanied by Sir Robert Greig, of the Department of Agriculture for Scotland, and Mr Stewart, Land Commissioner. Sir Godfrey in the afternoon before leaving visited the Lewis Hospital, accompanied by Provost Maclennan, and on Wednesday night at a meeting with the Town Council he discussed the illegal trawling question.

In recent weeks trawlers have been seen working in prohibited water at Ness, Shawbost, and Tolsta Chaolais, and the line fishing has been adversely affected in all three districts. The Councillors urged strongly an increase in the fines imposed on trawlers caught operating within the limit.

Provost Maclennan suggested that a fine of 1000 with suspension of the master’s certificate should be imposed. Such a penalty, he said, would act as a deterrent even if the present state of the nation’s finances it was found impossible to replace the present Fishery cruisers by the faster and more up-to-date vessels which are urgently required to give adequate protection to line fishermen.