In 1881 the Queensland government took cognizance of the rapidly developing industry, and enacted a license system and other regulations. For every boat under two tons an annual license fee of £1 (in 1886 this was reduced to ten shillings) was enacted, and for every vessel of ten tons or under, the sum of £3, with an additional amount for vessels in excess of that measurement; but not exceeding £20 in any case.[252] In 1886 it was required by the Queensland government that every person employed “as a diver, and using a diving apparatus,” must be licensed annually, for which a fee of £1 is exacted.[253] And in 1891 it was required that “every diving dress and air-pump and all air-tubes and gear used in the fishery in connection with diving must be submitted to an inspector for examination once at least in every period of six months.”[254] The license system was adopted in Western Australia in 1886, a fee of £1 per annum being exacted for each vessel engaged in the fishery.[255] In 1891, South Australia adopted the license system, requiring that every boat of two tons or under should pay ten shillings, and that each boat over that measurement should pay twenty shillings. With a view to protecting the reefs, the government of Queensland in 1891 enacted a law forbidding the sale or removal—except for cultivation purposes—of any pearl shell “of the kind scientifically known as _Meleagrina margaritifera_, and of either of the varieties commonly known as ‘golden-edged’ and ‘silver lip,’ of which the nacre or mother-of-pearl measures less than six inches from the butt or hinge to the opposite edge or lip, but this does not apply to the variety commonly called ‘dwarf-shell.’”[256] Owing to the difficulty in enforcing this regulation, the size restriction was reduced in 1897 to five inches from the hinge to the opposite lip, or six and one half inches exteriorly, shells of this size weighing approximately one pound. It is claimed that many oysters less than five inches in length are raised, opened for pearls, and then cast back into the water.[257] In 1899 the governor of South Australia interdicted the capture in the waters of that territory of any shell of “_Meleagrina margaritifera_ measuring less than four inches from the butt or hinge to the opposite edge or lip.” Competent evidence exists that a good-sized pearl has been found in an oyster measuring one inch in diameter. [Illustration: Pearling boats at Hiqueru, Tuamotu Archipelago ] [Illustration: Australian pearl-diver (armored) coming up from the depths ] The fishermen of Western Australia rendezvous at Broome, about one thousand miles by water north of Perth, the nearest railway station. With only a thousand or so inhabitants, under normal conditions, this is a scene of great activity, and bears a reputation of being no Sunday-school when the fishermen are in, with tons of shell and many a pickle bottle more or less full of pearls. Cossack and Onslow are also important stations.