The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-07-01

kill the game 40 to kill the poultry. The |
trespass in the case Of poultry is one against |
q right and property. In the matter Of
game, the trespass Is not SO much upon the |
property In game, as upon that use of the |
land which gives to the owner q qualified
or conditional property In the game, and
an unconditional Gave as modified by po-
lice regulations) and exclusive right to
kill 1t ON his premises. The hunting use
of the land is in law separable and In .prac-
tice often separate; or, in other words, A,
the landowner, can let to b, farmer, the
agricultural uses of the land, and to Z,
sportsman, the hunting or shooting.
Most Of our best lawyers in America will,
think, agree that the "common law" gives
Just these rights to all American land
owners. The difficulty with us, however,
10 that our state statutes provide no laws
ADEQUATE to the protection of these rights.
Our laws of trespass regard only the wrong
full occupancy Of land, not the wrongful
occupancy of a franchise. According to
our law of trespass, the sneak who tram
pies down your grass while hunting rab
bits with bag and ferrets is no more of O
trespasser than he who, on the way from
church, walks through the fields chanting
the Tooth psalm. The trespasser is pun
ished for the damage he does to grass or
grain or plowed land, etc., but not for u.s.
urping a franchise. Police regulations
may provide punishment for catching the
rabbits with the help of ferrets or out of
season, but not for catching rabbits on an
other mans land.
In almost all Europe the law Furnishes
not only for wrongful occupancy and for
the damage done during that occupancy,
for catching the rabbits by forbidden means
and at a forbidden time, but Furnishes also
for the trespass upon the franchise-the
hunting-the shooting use of the land.
| Herein is seen the marrow of game laws.
| The details of the law for the protection
of the franchise differ in different coun-
tries. The scheme of each country's sta
tutes embraces mostly the same purposes.
In the first place the trespasser upon &C.
cupancy is dealt with according to his in
tent. That is to say, the greater if, in adj
dition to being wrongfully on the premises,
| he has in his possession the implements of
a poacher, In the second place, the tres
pass is more serious if in the night, or if
he carries arms with which he may resist
arrest, or if the trespasser goes in company
with others. The two latter provisions are
for the protection of the persons who guard
the game, i. e., the owner or his keepers.
For the purpose of efficiency of execution
of the law, game keepers or their equiva-
Tents are all hoe officers of the peace.
Then again the traffic in game is so regu-
lated as to prevent the sale of game unlaw-
fully killed.
Inasmuch as the shooting franchises are
interdependent, police regulations are franz
ed to make their use equitable and peace
full. Inasmuch as the quantity of game
touches the question of nations food and
the values of landed property, the law reg
ulates the time for killing each kind Of
game, both of the varieties which are per-
manently domiciled and those which are
migratory, as well as the means of cap
ture. In addition to this, almost every
where license is required before fran
chise can be exercised. In some countries
the possession of firearms, is prohibited.
unless license has been obtained.
The effect of these regulations is that :
/, Game is more plentiful than with us in
equally populated districts.
2. 1t is cheaper in the same conditions.
3, The land has added to it, as compared
with that in America, very considerable
value; the rental being in many cases more
than the killed game would sell for.
4. For all this, the average gunner kills
his game at less actual cost, all things con-
sidered, than in America.
M. GOLDSMITH.