1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 255 



what would happen to himself or property at the hands of certain law- 

 less persons in his district. 



Your Commissioner believes that th« number of persons capable of 

 such outrages is very small, and that the general mass of the public is 

 in no way in sympathy with them and would support the authorities 

 acting with energy and determination in enforcing the law and estab- 

 lishing security of life and property. 



The present fishery regulations provide that a licensed net fisher- 

 man who is convicted of a violation of the law shall have his license 

 cancelled, and that he cannot receive another for two years. The exten- 

 sion of this principle in cases of glaring offences against the fishery 

 regulations or game laws would seem most excellent and advisable. 



In regard to the present system, whereby wardens are paid a per- 

 centage of the angling licenses which they collect, the inducement of 

 personal gain, in certain cases, would appear to influence the officer to 

 devote most of his time to this work, to the detriment of other, at least 

 equally, important duties. At the same time, without some such induce- 

 ment, the collection of the angling tax would, in all probability, not be 

 effectively carried out. As it is, chiefly owing to the fact that the 

 license system is of comparative recent institution, and the machinery 

 of collection, therefore, not yet in thorough working order, many persons 

 escape the payment of the fee. The advantages and disadvantages of 

 the present system are so nearly equal that the only solution would 

 appear to lie in the broadening of the authority entitled to issue licenses 

 and collect the percentage. 



In his full report your Commissioner will submit a comprehensive 

 scheme, dealing with the numbers of the wardens that he will recom- 

 mend, the districts they should cover, and the duties they should per- 

 form in the summer and in the winter. 



Meanwhile he would most strongly urge upon Your Honour that: 



1. No officer of the outside service of the Department of Game and 

 Fisheries be employed on a salary less than sufficient to maintain him- 

 self upon it. 



2. No officer, employed by the Department of Game and Fisheries 

 on its outside service, be allowed to carry on other work, or engage in 

 any other commercial or business enterprise while so employed, except 

 in cases where such officer is in the employ of, and paid by, some cor- 

 poration or association, and only commissioned by the Government. 



3. The commissions of all officers of the outside service of the 

 Department of Game and Fisheries who are receiving less than 1500.00 

 per annum, or a pro rata amount for temporary services, be cancelled 

 as rapidly as it is possible to reorganize the Outside Survey, in accor- 

 dance with the principle of fewer and better paid officials. 



4. No officer be in future engaged or employed by the Department 

 of Game and Fisheries on its outside service who cannot furnish satis- 

 factory- proof of such knowledge and experience, and be of such 



