The rights of game are among the first rudiments of property. Man in a
primitive state is a hunter, depending for his clothing upon the skins
of wild animals, and upon their flesh for his subsistence; therefore the
beast that he kills upon the desert must be his property; and in a
public hunt, should he be the first to wound a wild animal, he will have
gained an increased interest or share in the flesh by having reduced the
chance of its escape. Thus public opinion, which we must regard as the
foundation of EQUITY, rewards him with a distinct and special right,
which, becomes LAW.
It is impossible to trace the origin of game-laws in Central Africa, but
it is nevertheless interesting to find that such rights are generally
acknowledged, and that large tracts of uninhabited country are possessed
by individuals which are simply manorial. These rights are inherited,
descending from father to the eldest son.
When the grass is sufficiently dry to burn, the whole thoughts of the
community are centred upon sport; but should a person set fire to the
grass belonging to another proprietor, he would be at once condemned by
public opinion, and he would (if such establishments existed) be
certainly expelled from his club.
