BRITAINS BEYOND THE SEAS 255 



certainly not been what it used to be in years gone 

 by, though it belongs to an American Syndicate of 

 excellent sportsmen, who fish the river carefully, 

 have it carefully watched, have bought up small 

 riparian properties, and have bought off the nets at 

 the mouth. I can only conclude that for some 

 reason we do not know there has been a bad run of 

 fish for some years. The rivers on the Labrador 

 coast have been, I believe, good of late years. I am 

 writing in great haste, as I leave for India to-morrow. 

 . . . Believe me, Yours faithfully, 



MlNTO." 



The state of affairs being not yet completely set 

 forth, I ventured to ask the help of Sir Wilfrid 

 Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada, who, with great 

 courtesy, caused an inquiry to be made throughout 

 the whole Dominion. The results are disclosed in 

 the documents that follow : 



" DEPARTMENT OF MARINE AND FISHERIES, 

 DEPUTY MINISTER'S OFFICE, 

 OTTAWA, CANADA, 

 12th January 1906. 



" Dear Sir Wilfrid, A short time ago Mr. W. 

 Earl Hodgson wrote you requesting certain infor- 

 mation touching the comparative conditions of sport 

 in Canadian rivers. 



" The information desired was of such a character 

 as could not be supplied at the moment from the 

 information in the Department, as the disposal of the 

 salmon angling privileges has long since passed from 

 the Federal to the Local Governments, and it was 



