FOREST commissioner's REPORT. I7 



vote of the voters of said corporation, to raise, by loan or taxation, 

 $35,ooo to aid in building a railroad, and the act was held unconstitu- 

 tional to impose local taxes for public purposes. The doctrine of that 

 case cannot be questioned, but it recognized the doctrine contended for 

 by the plaintiff in this case, that taxation for local purposes by assess- 

 ments upon property benefited, and in proportion to the benefits con- 

 ferred upon it, are valid. The forestry tax was not a tax for public 

 Purposes, but for the special benefit of the forest lands within the dis- 

 trict. Section 6, Chapter 193, of the Laws of iQio, provide that, "the 

 taxes assessed by authority of this act shall be held by the state treas- 

 urer as a fund to be used to protect from fire the forests situated upon 

 and within the district hereby created, and to pay expenses incidental 

 thereto, and for no other purpose." "The forests," as said in the pre- 

 amble to the act, "are one of the chief sources of wealth of the state, 

 and the protection of such forests from destruction by fire is of the 

 greatest importance ; to this end it is the paramount duty of the legisla- 

 ture to have funds provided without delay for such protection." With 

 that end in mind the legislature created the Forestry district, and au- 

 thorized this tax, provided for fire wardens, deputy fire wardens, and 

 watches to be kept of the forests, and authorized the summoning and 

 paying of help for the extinguishment of fires in the district, and pro- 

 vided that the tax should be used for that purpose, and for no other 

 purpose. It was a tax for a local purpose, and, as far as the case 

 shows, was assessed according to the maxim that, "He who receives the 

 advantage ought to sustain the burden." Land within this district had 

 special benefits that no other forest land in the state had, and it ought 

 to bear the burdens caused by the receipt of those special benefits. 



It is objected that the assessors had no authority to assess or collect 

 any part of the Forestry District tax, because, by the act creating the! 

 district, it is made the duty of the state assessors to assess the tax and 

 the state treasurer to collect it. By Chapter 193 of the Laws of 1905, 

 an administrative district was established and incorporated, known as 

 the Maine Forestry district, its purpose and object being the protection 

 from fire of the forests within that district. The act creating the district 

 specified the lots and plantations included in the district, and fixed th(3 

 rate of taxation for all land in the district, which was to be in addition 

 to the general tax upon all property within the state and it is admitted 

 that the properly upon which the Forestry tax was assessed was within 

 that district and owned by the defendants, and no question is raised but 

 that the state assessors performed their duty in assessing the property, 

 as required by law. But it is urged that the only proceedings by whicl^ 

 the tax property assessed could be collected was by a forfeiture of the 

 land taxed, as provided by Section 5, Section 4 of said act provides 

 that the treasurer shall cause lists of the assessments of said lands tc( 

 be advertised for three weeks in papers specified and Section 5 provides 

 that if the tax is not paid within the time limited, the land shall be 

 held forfeited to the state, and vested therein free of any claim by any 

 former owner, and defendants claim that the tax can be collected ini 



