1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 229 



should be compelled to take out the corresponding license as a condition 

 of their property being passed through the Customs, irrespective of any 

 declared intention to hunt, angle or otherwise. There is but little ques- 

 tion that considerable amounts of money would be collected by this 

 means which otherwise would be lost to thie treasury, but it is to be ob- 

 served that this would be a somewhat arbitrary measure and likely, in 

 many cases, to be resented by the visitor as an imputation of dishonest 

 purpose. Further, the Customs' officials are not under Provincial con- 

 trol, and consequently the measure would thereby be somewhat compli- 

 cated, and in addition to this, the Province maintains a warden force to 

 enforce the regulations, and if that warden force is inefficient, it is the 

 Province and not the visitor which is to blame. Undoubtedly there will 

 always be some strangers anxious to escape the payment of the non- 

 resident hunting, shooting or angling license fees, and sufficiently 

 ignoble to resort to such means ais false registering to accomplish their 

 purpose, but under an efficient system of administration the chances of 

 detection should be so great as to reduce the numbers of such would-be 

 evaders of the license fees to a minimum. 



Some objection has been raised to the regulations whereby game 

 may not be kept in cold storage by firms engaged in that business longer 

 than the 16th day of January following after the close of the open sea- 

 sons. A license fee of |25 is charged for the privilege of storing game. 

 It is claimed that the fee is so high that in many cases the amount of 

 game dealt in by the firm does not cover the cost, and that a longer 

 period should be open to the firms in which to dispose of the game. 

 The nmin reason for the enactment of the regulation was plainly to 

 afford a safeguard against the illegal slaughter of game during the 

 close season, and it is not to be doubted that as a means of protection 

 the law, as it stands, is generally effective. To prolong the period in 

 wihicli indigenous game might legally be dealt in from cold storage 

 would, therefore, not appear advisable, and if an injustice is being done 

 the cold storage firms, the best means of remedying it would evidently 

 be to reduce the license charge. The cold storage firms, however, can be 

 relied on to take this matter up themselves when the majority feel the 

 necessity of so doing, and it may be observed that a high license is bene- 

 ficial in that it tends to centralize the storage of game and thus renders 

 supervision comparatively easy. In regard to game that is not in- 

 digenous, or, in other words, which is imported from outside the Pro- 

 vince, seeing that such game could l>e shipped in bond to the importer 

 and the shipment only released under authority of a government in- 

 spector, it would seem reasonable that cold storage of such game could 

 safely be permitted for longer periods than at present allowed by law. 

 The laws in relation to public carriers afford considerable protection to 

 indigenous game, so that even though in such a case as that of the Eng- 

 lish pheasant which is now to be found in certain restricted portions of 

 the Province, the imported bird could not be distinguished from the 



