23 



Tlie appointment of fi«li wardens has oiven mucli needed 

 assistance to the Comniissioners, and marks an era in the in- 

 crease of our natural food supjjly, Avorth}- of notice. 



Taken as a whole we feel that the work has shown results that 

 are, at least, encouraging to those to whom it has been in- 

 trusted, and we leave it with the people, for whose benefit we 

 have worked, to judge of its value. It should be its own recom- 

 mendation, deserving of recognition in substantial appropria- 

 tion for its further progress, if its practical results commend it 

 as worthy, to them whose duty it is to enact laws for the 

 maintenance of the various interests of the State. 



With an appropriation sufficient for all branches of the work, 

 and with some slight modification of the existing laws, the 

 future work of the Commission might be more effective in its 

 results, and more universal in its benefits than ever before. 



We would respectfully recommend that section 4 of the fish 

 laws be amended by striking out the clause "but such wardens 

 shall receive no fees except in cases where convictions are ob- 

 tained." This would enable the Commissioners to pay wardens 

 engaged in enforcing the laws for time used, aud expenses in- 

 curred. As it now stands, we can not compensate for such ser- 

 vice, and as the fines resulting from conviction seldom pay the 

 expense of obtaining the necessary evidence for such conviction, 

 to say nothing of compensation for the time given by the 

 warden to such work, it can readily be seen that it is far from 

 renumerative to these officers. Many of these are men who can 

 not afford to give even their time, without compensation, for 

 this work, and when after days spent in trying to secure evi- 

 dence, and the expenditure of money necessary for same work, 

 they find that from one or another cause the prosecution of 

 such cases has not been effective, they have nothing to show 

 for their expenditure of time and money but its loss. This is 

 not just nor right, nor do we believe the people expect it of 

 them. The work done can not possibly be of benefit to them, 

 personally, and we do not believe it is public policy, or to the 

 interest of the work itself, to exact from them work, uncompen- 

 sated. AVe would recommend the appropriation of a sum 

 sufficient to cover such expense, and make the laws i-elating to 

 the protection of fish fully operative, and to enable the Com- 

 missioners, with them, to patrol the principal rivers of our 

 State, b}" the use of one or more of our boats, during the en- 

 tire season. 



With this patrol, it would be possible to see that such rivers 

 were free, at all times, from obstructions of nets, etc., and effect- 

 ually prevent the wholesale violation of the laws that has been 

 common to our waters in the past. 



