1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 283 



to the conclusion that the staff of rangers for the efficient wardenship of 

 the park is totally inadequate. 



At the present time there are but fifteen rangers, and in a broken 

 and woody country of this description it is vain to expect such a small 

 staff to provide proper and sufficient protection. Mr. Shier, a lumber- 

 man of twenty-five years' experience in the woods of Northern Ontario, 

 in giving evidence to your Commissioner on this point, remarked : 



" In my opinion, you ought to have two men to one township." 



Although a staff of such a size as indicated by this gentleman would 

 be beyond the funds at present available, nevertheless some addition to 

 the permanent staff of the park is most urgently needed. The Superin- 

 tendent of the park is in the anomalous position of being responsible for 

 the efficient discharge of their duties by the wardens, while, at the same 

 time, being required to be practically continuously at his headquarters, 

 in order to deal immediately with any malefactors the rajigers may 

 bring before him. That some supervision of the rangers is necessary 

 would seem to be obvious, as likewise that to supervise their work 

 effectively would entail an inspector being almost continuously in the 

 woods the year through ; but, on the other hand, it is equally plain that 

 someone is required at headquarters to discharge the magisterial func- 

 tions of superintendent and to attend to administrative details. It 

 would appear, therefore, that a chief ranger is a necessity, to work 

 directly under the Park Superintendent; and, though an experiment in 

 this direction proved unsuccessful, the falling of one into evil way does 

 not imply that another would, of necessity, do likewise. In fact, your 

 Commissioner believes that in the Province of Ontario many a suitable 

 man, both able and willing to discharge the duties of such a post, is to 

 be found, if only they be sought amongst the ranks of those whose life 

 records and experiences prove their suitability. 



One of the main difficulties wliich seem to attend the efficient war- 

 denship of the park is that, at the present time, the rangers cannot 

 arrest or pursue further than one mile outside the park boundaries. 

 Such a state of affairs is subversive of good results, and weakens the 

 authority of the wardens, for to chase an offender out of the park and 

 then be obliged to let him escape, is but to encourage the offender in the 

 belief that he can return to his malefactions with impunity, and to 

 discourage the wardens in attempting to arrest. The laws and regula- 

 tions have been designed to check these classes of offences. Placing 

 obstacles in the way of the enforcement of the law is the surest way of 

 encouraging the commission of these offences. 



Another difficulty encountered in the wardenship of the Algonquin 

 National Park is that the boundaries of the park admit of entrance 

 being gained thereto by numerous waterways from outside. Many a 

 man, therefore, can easily slip into the park unobserved, making use of 

 these waterways, and starting from the lakes outside. In fact, the pres- 

 ence of a chain of lakes immediately outside the boundaries of the park 



23 F.G. 



