The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1916-10-05

is consistent with a full and cleaI
expression of the will of the legisla
ture, and report the same to the gen
eral assembly at its next biennia
session"
In accordance with that law thu
justices have appointed Hon. Hale X
Darling commissioner, and for months
he has been engaged on this important
work. We have no means of knowing
how much revision he has made, but
are informed that he has rewritten the
fish and game laws of the state
changing them from statutes that PRO
hibit everything that is not permitted
in the statutes to statutes prohibiting
certain acts by fishermen and hunters
and allowing them to do everything
not expressly prohibited In other
words he has rewritten the fish and
game laws of the state, making them
an entirely different set of laws from
those enacted by the state legislature.
He proposes to submit in a separate
report, however, revision of the fish
and game laws in their present per-
missive form that the legislature may
adopt in place of the entirely new
code of these laws he has made.
This was done in face of the protest
of Fish and Game Commissioner J.
w. Titcomb, who wrote the present
form of the laws, and against the ex-
pressed wish of every fish and game
organization in the state of Vermont.
"Why has the commissioner done
this ?" becomes an interesting ques-
tion. What authority has he for
changing statute enacted by the
general assembly? The statute de- !
fining his authority says his revision
shall be "a full and clear expression !
of the will of the legislature" The /
expression of the legislature was the
permissive form of the fish and game t
laws as they stand on the statute
books, made by the legislature of 1912
after full and fair discussion before
both bodies of that legislature The
Hon Hale X. Darling was chairman
If the committee on revision at that
line and approved of the law as it
vas written and enacted. Now he
proposes, at considerable expense
o the state, to undo the work of the
legislature and substitute one man
lct for the work of an entire assembly
ully empowered to enact the laws for
he people of Vermont.
To our mind Mr.. Darling is brazenly
efying the thousands of members of
he fish and game organizations of the
tate and the only legal authority for
nacting law in Vermont, as well as
he legislature which defined his au-
hority in revising the statutes of the
tate. This seems an uncalled for {
Expression of dictatorship and an un- !
ecessary affront tot he fish and game
apartment of the state. Mr.. Titcomb
as given a tremendous amount of
'ork and thought during the past 25 n
ears to the development of the fish [
nd game interests of the state. He
swrote and codified the fish and game
Tvs of the state, formulating them in d
,mpliance with the judgment Of the Il
est fish and game authorities Of the
hole country He changed the laws !.
ON complicated regulations which II
ave rise TO considerable expensive
tigation to clear and explicit regula-
ons that the common man could un- Il
,rstand and observe. Now an attor- l.
" is dictatorially changing the laws dl
lck into the form that brought fat
es to attorneys in definance Of pub
sentiment and the legally enacted d
atutes.
We do not believe the people will
and for such high handed proceed D.
gs. Mr.. Darling as revisor Of the NJ
itutes should embody in the revised III
ltutes the present law and, If he 4
shes to do so, submit his proposed ~
W laws in separate report. This po
II be all the expense he is warrant N
in making the state and all he has -,
moral right to do to promote the
erests Of pettifogging attorneys
Johnsbury Daily Caledonian. na