38 THE REPORT OF THE No. 31 



as it were, and the person desiring the lease the tenant — the lease to contain 

 such conditions as would ensure the property's being kept in a fertile condition, 

 by limiting the number of nets that could be fished, the quantity of fish to be 

 taken annually, the saving and planting of spawn, etc., etc. If such a plan were 

 adopted, these lakes would be made to yield a revenue in perpetuity, while if 

 the present system of issuing licenses therein were followed, they would in a 

 short time be exhausted. Depleted of their contents they would be valueless, 

 either from a revenue or food producing standpoint." 



A number of applications have since been received for the leasing of lakes 

 in different parts of the province, and upon a report of the undersigned approved 

 by the Government, recommending that lakes be leased, two leases have during 

 the year been granted and on most advantageous terms. Lake Nepigon, in the 

 District of Thunder Bay, has been leased for a period of twenty years to the 

 Canada Fish Co. The lease provides for a rental for the first year of 82,000, for 

 the second year, $5,000 ; for the third year, $8,000 ; for the fourth year, $10,000 ; 

 for the fifth year, $12,000 ; for the next and subsequent years, $15,000 per year, 

 in addition to such license fees for the different implements of capture to be used 

 as the Department may think proper to charge. Important conditions of the 

 lease are : that the company is to build a railway to the lake for freight and 

 passenger traffic — there is at present no means throughout the year by which 

 fish may be got out ; that a hatchery is to be maintained, and that 10,000,000 fry 

 each of trout, whitefish and pickerel are annually to be deposited in the lake. 

 The licensees are also limited to 500 tons of fish for each of the first three years, 

 and to 1,000 tons for each year thereafter. The interests of the public have 

 been protected, and the Government has reserved the right to grant permits to 

 settlers to net for fish for their own use, but not for barter or sale. A number 

 of applications had from time to time previously been received for this lake, 

 but only one other contained an offer of any definite sum by way of rental, 

 viz., $500 per annum. 



The other lake which has been leased is Lake Manitou on the Manitoulin 

 Island, also for twenty years, and at a rental on a sliding scale up to $5,000 for 

 the fifth and subsequent years, in addition to proper license fees. Provision is 

 likewise made for the erection of a hatchery, and the depositing of ten million 

 fry each year. The catch is limited to 200 tons a year for the first three years, 

 and 400 for each subsequent year. 



The Government should be congratulated upon the favorable terms upon 

 which the lakes have been leased, as the revenue therefrom will amount to con- 

 siderably more than half as much as has hitherto been received from the fisher- 

 ies of the whole province. 



Applications for other lakes are now under consideration. 



Uniform Laws and Regulations. 



With a view to securing the co-operation of the jurisdictions of the several 

 border States in the matter of the enactment of uniform fishery laws and regu- 

 lations governing international waters, this province inaugurated a correspond- 

 ence with these States, the following being the initial letter on the subject : 



" Toronto, 12th December, 1902. 

 " Dear Sir,— 



" By a decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of England delivered 

 "in 1898, the Fisheries ot Ontario, which had theretofore been claimed by the Dominion of 

 1 ' Canada, were declared to be the property of the province, and the province has for the past 

 " four years assumed the duties which under the judgment were determined to devolve upon it. 

 " During this period it has experienced some considerable difficulty in enforcing the provisions 

 " of ita fishery laws upon the Great Lakes, chiefly in view of the fact that United States fisherman 



