INLAND FISHERIES. 333 



Sect. 3. Whoever takes or catches any fishes within four hundred 

 yards of any fishwaj- now built or hereafter to be built on the Connec- 

 ticut River or its tributaries lying within this Commonwealth, or 

 trespasses within the limits of such fishway, shall forfeit for each 

 offence the sum of fifty dollars. 



Sect. 4. Whoever uses any gill- net of any size or description in 

 the waters of the Connecticut or Merrimack Rivers or their tributaries 

 lying within this Commonwealth, shall forfeit for each offence the sum 

 of twenty-five dollars. 



Sect. 5. Whoever takes or catches any fish in violation of the 

 provisions of this act shall in addition to the penalties herein pre- 

 scribed, forfeit any boat, net, line, rod or other apparatus used in 

 such taking or catching. 



Sect. 6. If the major and aldermen of anj^ city or the selectmen 

 of any town, bordering on either the Connecticut or Merrimack 

 Rivers, shall neglect to appoint and fix the compensation of fish- 

 wardens within their respective cities and towns as now required by 

 law, the city or town in which such neglect occurs, shall forfeit a 

 sum not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars. — 

 [April 7, 1874. 



[P. S. 91, §§ 34, 37, 38, 43; 1882, 166; 1883, 31; 1884, 317.] 



Ax Act in addition to Acts in relation to Smelt Fisheries. 



1874, 153. Be it enacted^ etc., as follows: Sect. 1. Whoever 

 within this Commonwealth ofl!ers for sale or has in his possession any 

 smelt or smelts between the fifteenth day of March and the first day 

 of June in each year, shall forfeit for each and every smelt so sold, 

 offered for sale, or had in his possession, the sum of one dollar. 



Sect. 2. Whoever takes or catches any smelt or smelts with a 

 net of any kind, or in any other manner than b}' naturally or arti- 

 ficially baited hooks and hand lines, shall forfeit for each smelt so 

 caught or taken the sum of one dollar : provided, that nothing con- 

 tained in this act shall apply to any person catching smelts in any 

 seine or net, within the limits of Bristol, Barnstable or Dukes 

 counties, during the time, and in the manner, a person may lawfully 

 fish fur perch, herring or alewives, or to any person oflTering for sale 

 or having in his possession smelts so caught, within those limits ; and 

 in all prosecutions under this act, the burden of proof shall be upon 

 the defendant to show that the smelt or smelts, the oflfering for sale, 

 possession, or catching of which is the subject of the prosecution, 

 were legally caught. 



Sect. 3. The maj'or and aldermen of an}- city, the selectmen of 

 any town, and all police oflScers and constables within this Common- 

 wealth, shall cause the provisions of this act to be enforced within 



