1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 195 



from licenses of general application. It would seem, therefore, that a 

 sine qua non for privilege in the matter of game licenses should be per- 

 manent residence on a holding in a wild region, together with cultiva- 

 tion of the soil or the effecting of considerable improvements. 



Another point in this regard that has to be considered is the ques- 

 tion of the location of the holding. There are many instances in the Pro- 

 vince of truly wild regions within close .proximity to thriving towns or 

 villages, and Avhere in general, if the settler's lot is a hard one, it is more 

 due to himself than to circumstances connected with his surroundings. 

 One, if not the only, object in granting exemption is to allow of the set- 

 tler and his family obtaining the food necessary for existence, which 

 could be obtained practically in no other way owing to the location of 

 the holding, or else, which the settler could not afford to purchase owing 

 to his straightened circumstances. In the case of settlers in wild regions 

 living in the vicinity of towms and villages, food supplies can often be 

 obtained with comparative ease, and the wherewithal to purchase them 

 should usually be forthcoming if the settler exploits his land to advan- 

 tage and avails himself of local facilities to work and earn money like 

 the average individual. There can be no advantage in allowing the 

 privilege in any sense to degenerate into an incentive to laziness, and it 

 would seem, therefore, that in instances of this nature these matters 

 should be taken into consideration in determining whether or no the set- 

 tlers in the locality should be granted the privilege. 



Beyond the general principles as above enunciated there would seem 

 to be no means of devising any cast-iron rule for general application by 

 which it could be determined to what areas the privilege should apply. 

 In fact, arbitrary delimitation has, as already noted, proved highly un- 

 satisfactory. Consequently, the case of each district should receive in- 

 dividual attention, and decision in the matter must plainly rest with the 

 Department concerned. It is to be observed, however, that various De- 

 partments maintain officers at different points throughout the Province 

 in addition to that of Fish and Game, and under a proper system of inter- 

 departmental co-operation no difficulty should be encountered by the 

 Department of Fish and Game in securing fairly accurate information 

 as to the conditions prevailing in any particular district by this means, 

 and further, there are in almost every case to be found responsible citi- 

 zens living in the general district both able and willing to furnish reli- 

 able information as to the conditions existing in the remoter and wilder 

 sections of the locality. 



In regard to the question as to what compensation miglit justly be 

 expected from the settler in return for the privileges granted him in the 

 matter of game, it is to be noted that under the present system nothing 

 at all is required of him. It cannot be claimed, however, that the system 

 has worked well or that the settler has been educated to esteem the 

 privilege at its true worth. One of the chief difficulties in the perpetua- 

 tion of big game over a wide extent of territory is to form an accurate 



