Protection Acts in Great Britain and Ireland. 601 



" Under the Bill as now provided County Councils are 

 empowered to apply for an Order — 



" (1) For the prohibition of taking eggs within 



specified areas. 

 " (2) For the prohibition of taking eggs of named 



species of birds. 

 " (3) For the addition of any bird not included in the 

 Schedule of the original Act to the Schedule." 

 It received the Royal Assent with little or no alteration, 

 and appears on the Statute Book as 57 and 58 Vic. cap. 24, 

 "An Act to Amend the Wild Birds Protection Act, 1880." 



The penalty for taking birds' eggs is fixed at £1 for every 

 egg taken, just four times the amount of the fine for killing 

 the parent birds, unless in the list scheduled in the Act of 

 li 



The next Act appearing in the Statute Book was passed 

 in 1896 (59 and 60 Vie. cap. 56) on the initiative of Lord 

 Jersey. 



It extended the powers of the Secretary of State under the 

 Act of 1880, enabling him to make Orders establishing 

 sanctuaries within which all birds should be safe ; extended 

 to Borough Councils the powers granted by the earlier Acts 

 to County Councils ; and added to the penalties for breaking 

 the law the forfeiture of " any trap, net, snare, or decoy 

 bird used by the offender." 1 



An attempt was made in 1898 to extend the last-mentioned 

 Act to Ireland, and another in 1899 to consolidate the several 

 protection Acts. Bills with these objects were brought in by 

 Mr. Buxton and Mr. Bigwood respectively, but neither 

 became law. 



Lord Jersey's Act of 1896 thus closes the general legisla- 

 tion for the protection of wild birds and their eggs, though 

 three more short Acts, dealing with special subjects, have 

 since been passed. 



These are : 2 Edward VIL, cap. 6, passed in 1902, em- 

 powering the convicting Court to order the forfeiture of any 

 bird or egg illegally taken, an excellent provision — the credit 



1 A Bill, substantially the same, had passed the Lords, but failed to pass the 

 Commons the year before. 



O O 



