Ill 



for any offence thereafter the penalty shall not exceed 5 s. for 

 each bird. Fourth — Power^s given to the principal Secretaries 

 of State in Great Britain, and to the Lord Lieutenant in Ireland, 

 to extend or vary the close time. Fifth — The Act extends to 

 England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, but not to the Island 

 of St. Kilda ; and a power of exempting any county or part of 

 a county is procurable upon the application of justices in quarter 

 sessions. A brisk controversy has sprung up as regards the 

 dates fixed, and the chief contention has been about the month 

 of March. Mr. Taylor gave extracts from various communica- 

 tions on this point from gentlemen in England and elsewhere, 

 some few in favour of an earlier date than 1st March, but most 

 in favour of a later date. Coast shooters seem in favour of the 

 month of March being an open one ; inland gunners hold the 

 contrary opinion. Mr. Taylor was in favour of the former view 

 as regards the coast and estuaries, because in the month of March 

 immense flocks of geese and duck are passing northwards to 

 breed — birds which are really migratory, and which rarely breed 

 in these latitudes, their nesting places being in Lapland, Arctic 

 Siberia, and even away in the Arctic circle. It seems hard to 

 professional shooters to debar them in March from the legitimate 

 exercise of their profession as regards birds which do not breed 

 in these islands. The 1st of April would be a fair date to meet 

 such cases. There is, fortunately, an elasticity in the Act, 

 through the power given of varying the close time, which might 

 practically be so used as to meet the different requirements of 

 different parts of the country. Mr. Taylor considered the 

 amount of imposable fine, 20s., excessive, as scarcely any bird 

 is worth more than 5s. for table. Except in some aggravated 

 case, 5s. and costs seems ample. There have already been 

 several convictions in London, Liverpool, and Hull under the 

 new Act. Another point where a practical absurdity is not 

 unlikely to arise was illustrated thus : — The justices of quarter 

 sessions in one county may seek and obtain a modification of 

 the close time, and the justices of the adjoining county may 

 seek aud obtain a different modification. County Antrim may 

 set the close time to end 15th July, and County Down may be 



