"THE GENTLE ART."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13307, 13 October 1906, Page 6

"THE GENTLE ART."

PARLIAMENT AND THE ( FISHERMAN. [BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] • Wellington, Friday. Though there are a few-devotees o£ the , art of the gentle Izaak in Parliament the House, as a whole, generally gets out of its depth when it begins to discuss mat- - ters connected with angling. ( On the motion of Sir Wm. Steward, a clause of very doubtful benefit was added to the Fisheries Conservation Acts Amendmerit Bill yesterday. Section 3 of the Bill provides for the making of regulations i for prohibiting or regulating the possession during the close season of any fish, whether frozen or chilled, or not, of a like species or variety to any fish existing or acclimatised in New Zealand. To this Sir Wm. Steward proposed to add a proviso as follows:—"Provided that nothing in this paragraph shall apply to fish placed in any freezing works for safe keeping under a permit granted by the secretary or chairman of any acclimatisation society. Sir Joseph Ward, who was in charge of the Bill, agreed to accept this if the hon. member would agree to include oysters. Sir William agreed to this, and in spite of protests to the effect that such a provision would open the door to the illegal taking of trout, the proviso was agreed to by 37 to 22. The question of fly . versus worm fishing was also discussed, 'but the united wisdom of Messrs. Buddo, Flatman, and Witty failed to convince the House that there should not be certain restrictions in certain waters. The House laughed at Mr. Flatman's naive suggestions in regard to trout-fishing. He said he did not believe in dynamite(laughter)—neither did he believed in tickling trout.(more laughter) —but If you cannot get any other bait," he said, "let a boy have a worm." Some members referred to the man who sat on a bank and with a stout line and a can of worms hauled the trout out by the score. They asked if that was sport. "Yes," replied Mr. Hall, the silent member for Waipawa, " it's good fun." "Well," said Mr. Rhodes, "that kind of sport may appeal to the member for Waipawa, but it does not appeal to me." (Hear, hear.) Mr. Buddo got very much out of his depth on the question of fly versus bait fishing, and Mr. Rhodes told him he did not know what he was talking about. Mr. Barclay moved a new clause to enable holders of licenses to enter upon private property. This roused the ire not only of the land-owners, but also the fishermen, Mr. Wilford stating on behalf of the latter that all decent anglers would oppose such a clause, because property owners, at all events in the North Island, never objected to anglers fishing their streams so long as they did not disturb the stock and fished' in a sportsmanlike way. In all his experience as an angler, extending over many years, he ■ had only been stopped on. one • occasion by a property-owner. Mr. Barclay's proposal was defeated by 50 to 10, and after a good deal of more or less irrelevant discussion, the Bill eventually got through committee. " - = , ; '