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Newcastle April 26 1887

Mr. Tilton Esq
Deputy Minister of Fisheries
Ottawa

Sir

I am favoured with your
Notes of 22 & 23st Inst relative to
petitions from certain persons asking
for the "Close Season" as now established
for Black Bass to be changed in the
waters of Mitchell Bay in Lake St.
Clair.

From one point of view these
petitions from Fishermen and others
asking for changes to be made in
the "close seasons" lately established
by your Dept., whilst they undoubtedly
are made from motives of self interest
nevertheless show conclusively that
the stand taken by Your Department
for the protection of fish during their
breeding seasons is in the right
direction: for as the "close seasons"
were formerly, fishermen did not object
from the simple fact that,
this close time did not cover the period
when these fish came upon their
spawning grounds [?] [?merly?]