The Portland daily press., 1895-01-30
A Hearing Before tile Committee on
Fisheries and Game.
WILL PROBABLY BE TWO RE-
PORTS ON INSANE HOSPITAL.
A Resolve Reported Appropriating $780,
900 Year for Ten Years for the State
CoIIege-Deering Municipal Court Fees
The Maine General Hospitals Appro-
nriation Passed Along.
Especial to the PRESS. }

| priation Passed Along.
Especial to the PRESS.)
| Augusta, January a9.-When yesterday
the House was engaged in getting slight
difference of opinion as to the use OF the
Representatives. hall this afternoon,
whether by the committee On inland
| fisheries and game or the committee Oh
taxation, it was said that taxation was q
very important subject. "Well,' said Mr..
Haines of Waterville, "we'n have tho
| biggest show at any rate" And they dld.
1t was held in the hall of representatives.
and interested spectators were the game
| birds in the cages on the speakers desk.
| These included living specimens OF the
black game which Mr.. E. G.. Gay of Far
| mington secured from Sweden in accord
ance wit h the recommendations of Minister
Thomas. There We're also stuffed specimens
of the oaperoai2il. the larger bird, which
Mr.. Thomas also recommends for introduce
tion to Maine. The State House was hung
with beautiful photographs of scenes III
Maine woods taken for the Maine Central
by Mr.. Gay of the Longfellow gallery Oh
Portland. An order has been Introduces
that the state buy some of these pictures
for advertising purposes. and many think ~
would be good investment. Another
recognition of the fact that this is Sports
mems Day. was the presence of repre-
sentative of house dealing IN sportsmen's
materials, W no had an hotel room filled With
rods and other implements of the craft OF
| the gentle Izaak Walton. Nearly every seat
in the hall was occupied when Hon. L. ~
Carleton opened the speaking, briefly out+
lining the changes in the law desired by the
| fish and game societies. In conclusion he
said:
| 81 have the pleasure of introducing tt,
you one of Names most distinguished citi+
| zens. one who needs no introduction to q
Maine audience for his fame diplomat
| is world wide, and one whose love for the
| Pine Tree State is like the laws of the
Medes and Persians ever unchanging. \
have the honor to present to you the Honl
| VIM. W. Thomas. Jr.. of Portland" ,lI
Mr.. Thomas was greeted with applauseE
He thanked Mr.. Carleton for the kind
words of introduction, and referred to tho
fact that thirty-three years ago he was sent
by that good old President Abraham LincolIl
to be one of the thirty war consuls selected
/ to represent the interests OF the United.
States abroad during the troublesome timd
| of the war, and see that the Rebels gained
no advantage. Sweden, where iron aboundS
| and good cannon are made was regarded as
of special Importance, and to this post Mr..
Thomas had the honor to be sent. And one.
of the first things that struck him when he
reached Sweden was that here was land
almost identical with his good cid State OF
Maine. There were the same trees, the
same wooded hillsides, the same game and
birds4 There was the moose almost identi-
cal with the moose of Maine forests. Of the
birds, twosvarities. the capercaizl. and the
black game are partic ularly. adapted td
Maine woods. The capercalzil is ca pable Of
living in the Arctic circle and does live
where the cold is 40 to co degrees below
zero, certainly as cold as we are likely to
have in Maine. The car ercaiZll live in pine
woods and can subsist on pine needles.
Certainly said Mir. Thomas. that bird could
| live in Maine. which has just adopted the
pine cone as its floral emblem. .There,1
said Mr.. Thomas. pointing to the stuffed
specimens of the capercaiZu standing on
the clerks desk, think OF having a bird
| like that fly up in front of you. How 1t
| would make one of these New ork sports
feel. He would come here and hring with
him his relatives and family and would Keep
coming until he died
Mr.. IhOmaS TOLD now Ne udQ uTOuBut tAH
attention OF the United States government
to the subject of the introduc tion of these
birds into the United States While nothing
had come of that directly. yet Mr. Gay of
Pennington, had taken the matter up and
twelve specimens of the black game lad
been Sc mt him ten months ago, and of the
twslye all were now living. That was
sufficient answer to the question whether
| ion IN
country ssThe .cupercaizil. the larger birds
died on the way to be sure. but that was
due to improper treatment. They have been
sent across the sea to Scotland, and by the
freight cars to the rryal.
Mr.. Thomas said lie had been somewhat
surprised at being asked since he came here
whether these birds are good.eating He said
that the birds are regarded as delicious and
| sent to all parts 0: Europe, and the King OF
Sweden serves them as delicacies for his
guests. sThe birds afford grand sport for
hunters and Mr. Thomas could think of no
way to restock the Maine woods better than
the giving of limited appropriation to
some competent gentleman like Mr.. Gay
| OF Pennington who could procure some of
these birds and, after keeping them in con-
fnement some time. liberate them IN tn e
woods.
| Speaking of the preservation of game,
Mr.. Thomas urged the necessity of having
good laws and having them well enforced
| for no law enforces itself. Years ago.
Sweden found herself very much in the
condition of the Maine of today. The deer,
which correspond almost exactly TO the
Maine moose were greatly thinned out, but
laws were passed preventing for ten years
the shooting OF any of these moose. Now,
| they can be shot in any numbers between
| the first and fifteenth of September, but
only in that time. AS q result of this wise
| legislation, 1000 moose were killed in Sweden
| last wear, and that without drawing on the
| capital. SO 10 speak. To Illustrate the
amount of game in the Swedish woods, MIR.
| Thomas told how year ago last September
| a shooting party, given by the King of
Sweden, in three hours brought down forty
five moose. The party was given in honor
of the Emperor of Germany, and numbered
| forty-two. of whom Mr. Thomas was one.
These forty-two gentlemen were posted at
Continued ON Second Page.