1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 18.> 



As before noted, it is quite beyond dispute that at the present time 

 there are innumerable illegalities continually being committed, and it is 

 equally certain that a great deal of the game of many species is unlaw- 

 fully used for commercial purposes. Most especially so would this 

 appear to be the case in regard to moose meat, venison and partridge 

 in the smaller towns and villages of certain sections of the Province. 

 In general it should not prove a very difficult undertaking to ascertain 

 that such conditions are prevalent, for the matter is usually one of com- 

 mon local knowledge and there are in almost every community to be 

 found persons law-abiding themselves and willing to supply the neces- 

 sary information provided that they shall not be required to become 

 involved in any prosecution that may ensue. Naturally in small com- 

 munities it is an unpleasant task to bear open testimony against a 

 neighbour for an infraction of some minor law, and in some sections of 

 the Province, moreover, action of this nature would be far from tacitly 

 resented by the person who committed the offence. Similarly, where 

 local overseers are paid such trifling sums for their services that they 

 are forced to busy themselves in other occupations in order to earn a 

 living and consequently have but little incentive to respect the dignity 

 of their position or to discharge their duties energetically, the temptation 

 is plainly great to overlook the shortcomings of neighbors or friends, 

 with whom, may be, they are associated in business or other occupations 

 every day of the week, in the matter of transgressions of the game laws, 

 or, again, to fear reprisals in the event of indicting the offender. No 

 excuse can be advanced for this attitude of mind on the part of those 

 who take monies to perform certain services in the interests of the public 

 which they will not or cannot discharge, but it is evident that so long as 

 the present system remains in force, so long will a percentage, at least, 

 of the overseers continue deliberately, even though, perhaps, against 

 their wills, to be inefficient. From this fact it would seem that two de- 

 ductions may safely be made; firstly, that it would be infinitely better 

 to have fewer officials engaged exclusively all the year around in the 

 discharge of their duties, paid sufficiently to raise the dignity of their 

 office at least to that of an average constable and with sufficiently wide 

 territories to remove from them the fear of reprisals in carrying out 

 their duties ; and secondly, that until, at least, such a system has been 

 established, information obtained from no matter what source should 

 be followed up and investigated. If, indeed, it once became generally 

 known that the Department was not only willing, but had some means 

 at its disposal for the investigation of complaints and reports of illegali- 

 ties, it cannot be doubted that information would pour in from all sides 

 and that this would act directly to the checking of, at least open, viola- 

 tions of the law in regard to the exposure and sale of game, for when 

 every member of a small community would be aware of it, and anyone 

 of it might decide t^ send in a report, which report it was known would 

 be investigated and not pigeon-holed, he would have, perforce, to be a 

 hardened and reckless malefactor who would care to run the risks. 

 Ifi F.C. 



