[1.] Regulations respecting the sale and management of Timber on Crown Lands, approved by His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on the 17th February, 1874. DEPARTMENT OF CROWN LANDS. Quebec, February 27, 1874. Whereas by an Act of Parliament of the Province, passed on the 24th December, 1872, entitled "An Act to make further provisions respecting the sale of Woods and Forests," it has been enacted that "From and after the passage of this Act, all the timber limits comprised within the unoccupied territory of the Crown, belonging to this Province, shall be sold by public auction; "These sales, which shall be conducted by an officer of the Crown Land Department or any other person who shall to that end receive instructions from the Commissioner of Crown Lands, shall be held every year, at the place and in the manner specified in the notice which shall be given in the Official Gazette, and in the newspapers to that end specified by an Order in Council, and which notice shall be published for at least two months previous to the day of sale; "Such notice shall contain a description of the limits to be sold, their situation, and the upset price fixed for each, after they shall have been explored and valued approximately by the department, and there shall also be deposited in the Crown Land Department or in the office of the timber agent for the locality in which such sale is to take place, a plan of the territory in which such limits and those adjoining them are situated; and such plan shall remain open to public inspection during the whole period which elapses between the publication of the notice and the day fixed for the sale"; and Whereas it has been found expedient, conformably to the said act, to the Act 32 Victoria, cap. XII and to the 23d chapter of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, to revise the regulations now in force, His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor in Council has been pleased to order, and it is ordered, that all former regulations respecting the management of Woods and Forests in this Province, be repealed and that the following regulations be substituted in lieu thereof, to wit: 1. All old and new licenses for limits or timber berths sold anterior to the passing of the Act 36 Vic., cap. 9, and conformably to the said Act, shall be renewable annually for a period extending to 30th April, 1889, Government reserving its power of changing once during that period the tariff of dues for cutting timber, but not however, before September 1, 1878. 2. The grantees of all old and new limits shall be bound to hold the same, and to pay therefor the annual ground rent imposed by the present regulations, until the said April 30, 1889. But in cases of total or partial loss in value of a limit, whether by fire, by the extending of settlement, or other causes, the Commissioner of Crown Lands shall have the discretionary power of annulling the license in whole or in part. He shall also have the discretionary power of refusing to renew any license in the case of contravention of the regulations. 3. Newly acquired licenses and renewals of licenses shall be subject to a yearly ground rent of $2 each superficial mile of area included within their limits; but in computing the ground rent no license shall be charged at less than eight miles of area. No claim for reimbursement of ground rent over-calculated to be entertained after the issue of license. 4. In all cases of transfer of limits they will be subject to the payment of $8 per square mile for each limit, and in proportion if a part only is transferred, or if the license holder takes in one or more partners with him; excepting, however, that the first transfer made of timber berths granted before the 10th of January, 1868, will not be subject to the payment of the said bonus of $8 per square mile. within forty-eight hours, and in addition to the quantity shown by the Clearance as subject to dues, any surplus Timber beyond the number of pieces stated therein, on being ascertained by the Collector of Crown Timber Dues, Supervisor of Cullers, or other authorized officer, if not satisfactorily accounted for, and shall be held as having been cut upon Crown Lands, and be subject to the payment of dues accordingly. 'Under an act assented to December 27, 1875, the obligation of annual sale of timber limits was released, and it was made lawful for the Lieutenant Governor in Council, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Crown Lands to set aside certain portions of the forest lands of the Crown vacant at the time, to remain forest. The third Section contains the germ of a system that may grow into an important branch of the government, and is as follows: "3. The territories so set apart shall be reserved for the production and sale of timber, and shall be worked and managed, and the timber thereon be cut, as shall be ordered from time to time, by regulations made by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council." All timber cut upon such reserves is to be sold at auction. 5. All timber licenses are to expire on the 30th of April following the date of their issuc, and are renewable on the 1st day of May to the 5th day of December of the same year. 6. License holders who shall have duly complied with the present regulations shall be entitled to renewals of their licenses, provided they shall have made and delivered to the crown timber agent of the locality, before the 30th day of September, or such prior date in any locality as the Commissioner of Crown Lands may fix, sworn statements of the number and description of pieces of timber and saw logs cut by themselves or by others to their knowledge upon each of the berths held by them during the previous season, and shall have paid on or before. the 30th November the dues chargeable thereon; and shall have also paid to the crown, on or before the 5th day of December following, the ground rent payable for renewal of their licenses for the ensuing season, together with any transfer bonus, should any transfer have taken place, but should they fail to comply with these conditions in respect to any berths held by them, such berths shall thereby become vacant and the right to license therefor forfeited, and they shall be sold at public auction, excepting that if double the ground rent be paid for omitting to furnish the statement above-mentioned, and payment be made before the day of sale with 10 per cent. in addition for each month of the delay in payment, the berth may be relicensed to the former holder. 7. On all mineral lands sold or patented after the 17th day of February, 1874, comprised within the territory now under license, limit holders may in virtue of said licenses retain the privilege of cutting the merchantable Pine and Spruce timber growing thereon; but these permits shall finally expire after a period of three years from the date of issue of Letters patent for such lands. 8. All timber cut under license to be subject to the following tariff of timber ducs, viz: Oak and Walnut per cubic foot $0.03 02 Red and White Pine, Birch, Basswood, Cedar, Spruce, and other square timber. 011 15 10 05 Staves, pipe, per thousand.. 7.00 Staves, W. I., per thousand.. 2 25 Cord wood (hard) per cord. 16 Cord wood (soft) per cord. 08 Railway timber, knees, telegraph poles, posts and rails, and other kinds of small timber stuff not above enumerated, 10 per cent. ad valorem. To be charged upon the quantities shown by measurement under direction of the Supervisor of Cullers or Deputy Supervisor, at Quebec or Montreal or other place of sale or shipment, or by other reliable measurement where that cannot be obtained, otherwise each stick of White Pine may be estimated as containing 70 cubic feet. Red Pine as containing 38 cubic feet. Other kinds of wood 34 cubic feet. And when any license-holder is in default for or has evaded the payment of dues to the Crown on any part of his timber, they may be levied on other timber of his, cut under license, together with the dues thereon. 9. All square timber, logs, deals, boards, or other stuff leaving the agency in which it has been cut, in any form, must be submitted to counting or actual measurement, and statements under oath must be furnished by the license-holder as to the quantities of timber and logs cut under license. Owners or lessees of saw-mills cutting under license must show by such sworn statements the total number of each kind and length of logs cnt or acquired by them and taken to their mills, or where left each season, giving the number in standards also, and must prove, by satisfactory affidavits, on what lots and how many on each lot, such as are from private lands, have been cut; clearances to be refused in case of non-compliance. 10. No affidavit tending to prove that timber, saw-logs, or other woods have been cut on lands claimed to be private property shall be held to be sufficient to exempt such timber, saw-logs, or other wood goods from Crown dues, unless it has been examined as to its accuracy by the Crown-lands agent of the agency in which it is said to have been cut, who shall certify thereon how far the facts therein stated are, to his knowledge, correct and true or otherwise, stating what objection there is, if any, thereto; also the condition of title to the lot or lots severally. 11. If the person making oath in such affidavit does not therein signify that he is the owner of the land, the affidavit shall not be held by the Crown-lands agent as sufficient to exempt the timber, saw-logs, or other wood goods therein mentioned from Crown dues without a sworn certificate thereon or therewith by the owner of the land or person authorized to act for him, or person in occupation, that the timber was cut with his consent, adding his address or place of residence. 12. But if any particular as to the condition of title of lands or other facts which the Crown lands agent may be unable to certify be proved by the exhibition of patent or other evidence of right to exemption from dues, to the satisfaction of the Crowntimber agent in whose agency the case may have arisen, it shall be held to be sufficient, and the timber, saw-logs, or other wood goods shall be exempted from dues accordingly. 13. Before moving any raft or parcel of timber, lumber, or saw-logs from the agency in which it has been cut, the owner or person in charge thereof shall make report thereof to the Crown-timber agent, making, if required, declaration upon oath as to the number of pieces of each kind of wood contained therein, and the number of cribs; and to exempt timber from private land, if any, from dues as Crown timber, must furnish a satisfactory affidavit, stating what lots it was cut upon and how much on each lot, whereupon he shall obtain a clearance from the Crown-timber agent, stating the number of pieces in the raft or parcel, how many, if any, have been satisfactorily proved to be from private lands, and on how many, if any, the dues have been previously or then paid. On the arrival of any such raft or parcel at Quebec, or any intermediate place, or other port, for sale or shipment, the owner or holder of it shall make report thereof to the collector of Crown-timber dues or deputy supervisor of cullers, or other appointed officer, within forty-eight hours, and in addition to the quantity shown by the clearance as subject to dues any surplus timber beyond the number of pieces stated therein, on being ascertained by the collector of Crown-timber dues, deputy supervisor of cnllers, or other authorized officer, if not satisfactorily accounted for, shall be held as haying been cut upon Crown lands and be subject to the payment of dues accordingly. 14. Parties omitting to report the departure of their rafts or other timber from the agency in which they held license, or the arrival thereof at Quebec or Montreal or other port or place, for sale or shipment, within the Province as before mentioned, may be refused further license, and be subject to forfeiture of the timber for evasion of regulations as provided in section 3 of cap. 23 of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada. 15. Occupants, grantees, or purchasers of public lands who have not completed all conditions of sale or grant, and have not obtained patent for such, cutting timber without license (except for clearing, building, or fencing thereon), or others doing so by their permission, shall be subjected to the penalties established by law for cutting timber without authority. 16. Persons evading or refusing the payment of timber dues or the final settlement of bonds or promissory notes given for the same, or in default with the Crown-timber office or agent; also persons taking violent possession of disputed ground before obtaining a decision in their favor and persons refusing to comply with the decision of arbitrators or with regulations established by order in council, or who forcibly interrupt surveyors, shall be refused further licenses and their berths become disposable on the expiration of their licenses. 17. Dues of all kinds on timber cut under license, remaining unpaid on the 30th November following the season in which it was cut, to be subject to interest from that date at seven per cent., but without prejudice to the power of the Crown to enforce payment of such outstanding dues. 18. Crown Timber Agents shall keep registers of all licenses granted or renewed by them and transfers thereof, which, together with their plans of licensed berths and vacant ground, shall be open for public inspection. 19. Timber berths are to be described in new licenses as not to interfere with prior licenses existing or to be renewed in virtue of regulations on the date of their first being issued. Where licenses clash, the one of more recent origin is to give way to that of prior date, computing back to the season it was last acquired at auction or by grant from the Crown. And should any license by error or defect in its description be found evidently incompatible with the intention or regulations under which it was granted, the Commissioner of Crown Lands may cause it to be cancelled or amended. 20. Licenses are to be granted on the annexed form in duplicate-and the description of each berth is to be written on the back thereof, and is to be dated and signed by the agent as well as the license itself. The duplicates to be kept of record by the Crown Timber Agent. FORM OF LICENSE. [Royal Arms.] NOTICE TO LICENTIATES. The ground rent for the renewal of this license must be paid on or before the 5th December next, otherwise it will be subject to the penalties imposed by the regulations. Affidavits of the quantity and description of timber cut under each license and other particulars in accordance with forms to be supplied by the crown timber office, must be furnished before the 30th September next. Clearances from this office must be obtained for all rafts before they leave the agency; and to exempt timber from private lands, in them, from dues, affidavits must be furnished stating what lots it was cut on and how much on each lot. Crown Timber Agent. By authority of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, Cap. 23, and Regulations at present in force, and for and in consideration of the payments made and to be made to Her Majesty, I do hereby give unto and Workmen, full power and License to cut back hereof and unto Agents upon the location described on the and to hold and occupy the said Location to the exclusion of all others, except as liereinafter mentioned, from to thirtieth April, 18, with the right and the obligation of renewing the same annually in the manner and during the period provided by the Regulations, that is to say, up to the 30th April, 1889, and no longer; with the right of conveying away the said Timberthrough any ungranted or waste lands of the Crown. And by virtue of this License, the said Licentiate has a right by the said Provincial Statute to all Timber cut by others, during the term of this License, in trespass on the ground hereby assigned, with full power to seize and recover the same anywhere within the Dominion of Canada. But this License is subject to the following conditions, viz: That any person or persons may at all times make and use Roads upon and travel over the ground hereby licensed, and cut and take therefrom any trees, under ten inches in the largest part in thickness, necessary to make Floats, Traverses, Oars, and Withes, for his or their use in rafting Timber or Saw Logs cut in the Province of Quebec, and being rafted in the immediate vicinity of the cutting of such rafting stuff. That nothing herein shall prevent any person or persons, authorized to that effect by the Commissioner of Crown Lands of this Province, from taking Standing Timber of any kind to be used for the making of Roads or Bridges, or for Public Works. That all lots sold or located by authority of the Commissioner of Crown Lands prior to the date hereof are to be held as excepted from this License, and lots so sold or located subsequently shall cease to be subject to it after the 30th April following; and whenever the sales of any such lots shall be cancelled, the said lots shall be restored to this license. And that persons settling under lawful authority or title within the location hereby licensed shall not in any way be interrupted in clearing and cultivation by the said Licentiate, or any one acting for or by permission. And further: under condition that the said Licentiate or representative shall comply with all regulations that are or may be established by order in council, and shall submit all the Timber cut under this License to be counted or measured, and settle for the dues chargeable thereon, when required by me or any officer thereunto authorized-otherwise the said Timber will be forfeited to the Crown, and the Licentiate be subject to such other penalty or penalties as the Act provides. Given under my hand at thousand eight hundred and Ground Rent, $-. this day of The above-named Licentiate-shall be bound, on renewal hereof, to declare upon oath whether of the limit hereby licensed, or whether of it, or for whom hold it. in the year of Our Lord one paying the Ground Rent for the still the bona fide proprietor sold or transferred it or any part 22. All persons cutting timber on public lands without authority of licence, will be punished as the law provides: That is, they will lose their timber and cost of its manufacture, and parties removing or causing to be removed, or assisting in removing such timber out of reach of the officers of the Department of Crown Lands, subject themselves to a penalty of $3 per tree with costs. Persons hindering any officer or agent of the Department of Crown Lands in the discharge of his duty in seizing timber illegally cut, or taking away, or causing to be taken away, any timber scized under the Act, Cap. 23, Consolidated Statutes, Canada, are guilty of felony. Parties cutting timber on lands purchased by them on pretense of settlement, but really for the purpose of cutting the timber, are trespassers as above. Railway contractors and others cutting timber for railway purposes on public lands and on lands sold, but not yet patented, are also trespassers and subject to the same penalties. 23. From and after the date of the passing of the present regulations in cases of timber cut in trespass in good faith, on public lands, by Licentiates or other parties, it shall be lawful for the Commissioner of Crown Lands to exact in settlement of such wood goods a penalty equivalent to double, treble, or quadruple the ordinary dues as established by tariff above, according to circumstances, besides costs of seizure and other expenses connected with all investigation into such trespasses. 24. It shall be no longer permitted to cut on Crown Lands Pine Trees measuring less than twelve inches in diameter at the stump. TRANSFERS. 25. All limit owners are to notify the agents of any transfer which they may have effected, as soon as any transaction of the kind may have taken place; and should they fail to give due notification to the agent, the Commissioner of Crown Lands may rule the forfeiture of such license or licenses comprising the limit or limits so transferred. 26. Limit holders, in order to enable them to obtain advances necessary for their operations, shall have a right to pledge their limits as security without a bonus becoming payable. Such pledge, in order to affect the limit against the debtor, shall require to be noted on the back of the license by an authorized officer of the Department of Crown Lands. But if the party giving such pledge should fail to perform his obligations towards his creditors, the latter, on establishing the fact to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, may obtain the next renewal in his or their own name, subject to the payment of the bonus, the transfer being then deemed complete. 27. Transfers of timber berths to be in writing, and if not found objectionable by the Crown Land Department or agent for the issue of licenses, to be valid from the date on which they may be deposited in the hands of the latter; but no transfer to be accepted while the party transferring is in default for non-payment of dues on timber to the Crown. SURVEYS. 28. The Crown timber agents, or any other person thereunto authorized, shall, at the joint written request of conterminous license-holders, issue instructions stating how the boundaries of such limits should be run to be in conformity with existing licenses. The surveys shall be performed at the expense of the parties requiring them, who must cause copies of the plans and field notes of the surveys to be delivered to the officer giving the instructions, subject to his approval, to be paid for by him, and kept of record by the Crown timber agent of the locality. Boundaries so established at the joint request of the parties interested shall be fixed and permanent, and shall in no case be altered. 29. If a limit holder refuses to join his neighbor to have the boundaries defined, the party wishing to have the survey made shall be entitled to have it performed at his own expense under instructions which shall be furnished to him for that purpose as provided in the foregoing clause. On the completion of the survey, notice of the same shall be given in writing to the adverse party, at his residence or place of business. And if within one year after such notification the adverse party shall have made no oposition to the same in the manner hereinafter prescribed, or if, having done so, sued opposition has not been maintained, the boundary so surveyed shall be fixed permanently and irrevocably. But if within the space of one year from the date of such notice the adverse party shows that he has sufficient reasons to doubt the exactness of such survey, and deposits in the hands of the Crown timber agent such sum of money as that officer may deem sufficient to cover all the expenses of a new survey, the Commissioner of Crown Lands shall name a surveyor to establish finally the boundary in dispute, and this second survey shall be binding upon the interested parties. All the expenses shall be borne by the applicant if his objection be not maintained. If, on the contrary, they be confirmed, and the first survey be declared erroneous, the expenses shall be borne share and share alike by both parties. 30. All limit lines or boundaries already established in virtue of official instructions are hereby declared valid and permanent, if a report or field notes, or at least a plan describing such boundaries, have been filed of record in the Crown timber office, and if they have been for five years or more without being disputed. If less than five years have elapsed since they have been established, they are also hereby declared valid and permanent, provided always that within the space of one year from the date hereof their correctness be not disputed; if, on the contrary, within this delay one of the interested parties objects to them, a final survey shall be made as prescribed in the second clause of these presents, unless, however, the interested parties agree to have a final survey effected in virtue of the first clause. Commissioner. |