SECOND BIENNIAL STATEMENT 133 



ary, 1914. Later in the same month the subject was dis- 

 cussed in Ottawa at the annual meeting of the Commission 

 of Conservation and the following resolution was passed : 



"Resolved, that the Provincial Governments of Can- 

 ada be urged to solicit the good offices of the Dominion 

 Government in obtaining the negotiation of a conven- 

 tion for a treaty between Great Britain and the United 

 States, for the purpose of securing more effective pro- 

 tection for the birds which pass from one country to 

 another." 



"In the following month (February, 1914), the United 

 States Government submitted to the Canadian government 

 for its consideration the draft of a convention between 

 Great Britain and the United States for the protection of 

 migratory birds in the United States and Canada. 



"The draft of the proposed convention was submitted to 

 the several provincial governments for their views, as the 

 question was of provincial concern. The provincial govern- 

 ments unanimously approved of the principle of the conven- 

 tion. As objections that were not considered to be insuper- 

 able were raised by only two of the provinces, and, as the 

 Departments of Agriculture and of the Interior, and the 

 Commission of Conservation, strongly concurred in the opin- 

 ion that the protection of these birds, as provided under the 

 proposed convention, particularly on economic grounds, was 

 most desirable, an Order-in-Council was passed on May 31, 

 1915, stating that the Canadian Government was favorably 

 disposed to the conclusion of the proposed Treaty. 



"With a view to securing the settlement of our objections 

 to certain provisions of the treaty further negotiations were 

 undertaken in Washington early in the present year, as a 

 result of which all the objections raised were completely 

 met with the exception of one that would have affected the 

 vital principle of the proposed treaty, namely the elimina- 

 tion of spring shooting. Accordingly, a revised draft con- 

 vention embodying the changes, together with certain other 

 improvements, was prepared and submitted to the Canadian 

 Government in March, 1916. 



