12 THE SOCIETY FOE THE PEBSEBVATION OE 



these Boers. One party was oaught and fined for a breach of the 

 cattle regulations, and this is believed to have had a deterrent 

 effect. 



We have also learned with satisfaction that our representations 

 as to the mile-wide strip of Eeserve to the north of the Bailway, 

 which had been completely neglected, have been attended to, and 

 this portion has been restored to the Eeserve. 



Thus far has the history of our Society proceeded. Starting 

 from small beginnings, it has steadily advanced in strength of 

 numbers and in pursuit of its object. It numbers to-day 200 

 adherents. It has obtained the oar of successive Secretaries of 

 State. It has elicited a remarkable consensus of approval from 

 the Press. Public opinion is steadily growing in support of its 

 work. It is not too much to claim on its behalf ' Vires acquirit 

 eundo.' 



With regard to the future, the question naturally arises in 

 what direction should effort bo concentrated during the present 

 year ? It is unquestionably in Africa that immediate and effective 

 action is most urgently called for. The axiom has been generally 

 accepted that it is the duty of an Imperial Government to pre- 

 serve for posterity the varieties of animal life within its territories, 

 always excepting dangerous and noxious creatures. It is further 

 conceded that to do this effectively Eeserves or Sanctuaries must 

 be established where wild animals may live and multiply un- 

 molested by man and his weapons, And a glance at the map 

 will show a number of Eeserves already established, apparently 

 suitable in every way for this purpose. 



But it is not enough to colour spaces on a map and to add in 

 a footnote ' spaces coloured pink are Game Eeserves.' Eeserves 

 must be watched and policed to ensure that their limits are main- 

 tained inviolate and their regulations observed ; this means men, 

 and men means money. And in these days when economy in the 

 Imperial Services is so strenuously demanded, it must' he our 

 part persistently to point out that the preservation from extinction 

 of wild animals, so far from being an object of unprofitable expen- 

 diture, is, in the truest and most Imperial sense, an economy. Not 

 only is it obvious that the existence of game and wild life of all 

 kinds in our colonies kindles interest on the part of the population 

 of the Mother Country and stimulates exploration and settlement, 

 but there is a much more practical argument. Mr. Jackson's re- 

 marks are of general application to all parts of the Empire, and 

 should be read attentively and measures taken accordingly. 



Moreover, it is most important that what is to be done should 

 be done forthwith. It took but a few years to exterminate the 

 vast masses of the American bison which used to darken the 

 prairie and were counted one of the wonders of the New World. 

 And so it will be with Africa unless the authorities will be wise in 

 time. Several species have already gone, and others are con- 

 fronted with imminent doom. Mr.' Selous, writing with excep- 

 tional knowledge of the subject in South Africa, says : ' The true 



