FOREST, FISH AXD GAME COMMISSIONER. 2 1 



tributed, and the decrease in trespasses on State lands, all indicate an 

 increased activity and. closer attention to the work of the Departments and 

 the enforcement of the law. This condition and these results are very 

 gratifying to the Commission, and I trust will be equally gratifying to the 

 Honorable the Legislature and the people of the State. 



Lco'dl Department 



The present method of conducting the legal business of the Commission, 

 in my judgment, is not the best or cheapest that can be devised, and would 

 not be followed or adopted in handling the legal affairs of any private indi- 

 vidual or corporation. It is very expensive, dilatory and unsatisfactory. 

 It is hard to manage and control, it costs at least a third more than it should, 

 and is much more expensive than if the Commission had a legal department 

 of its own. 



During the last calendar year 796 actions, civil and criminal, have been 

 commenced. There are now 64 cases pending in the hands of the Attorney- 

 General, and 166 in the hands of other attorneys. The Commission has 

 been successful in 536 cases; there were 19 acquittals, juries disagreed in 

 four cases, and four actions were discontinued. Five hundred and sixty-six 

 were disposed of, in 186 of which attorneys were engaged. The 

 balance, 380, were disposed of without attorneys by the Commission direct. 



The total costs and disbursements for attorneys amount to the sum of 

 824,677. 60. In 1904 it cost for attorneys 822,026.48, or 82,651.12 less than 

 in 1905; yet with that additional expense there has been recovered and 

 turned into the State treasury $34,911.22 more than in 1904. One-half of 

 this amount properly expended, through a well-organized, legal department 

 similar to that which the Excise Commission has, would accomplish fully as 

 much and in a more satisfactory manner. Because of the nature of the 

 legal business and its wide diversity, it will always be necessary, for obvious 

 reasons, to employ local counsel to some extent, although the great bulk of 

 the business could be better handled as above suggested. 



Hatcheries 



Every effort has been put forth to make the output of the hatcheries 

 now established as large as possible, with the results as shown. Unfortu- 

 nately the appropriation for the improvement of the several plants was very 



