360 



passed under the control of the Minister of the Interior. Express 

 power to make forest reservations was not given the Commission- 

 ers, and this power, if given, must be imphed from the provisions 

 of Section 2 that "all land hereafter reserved by the Commission- 

 ers for public purposes, shall thereupon at once pass under the 

 control and management of the Minister of the Interior'' and from 

 the power given in Section 9 to make rules and regulations re- 

 specting "forests and reservations for forest growth." It might, 

 therefore, seem that the power theretofore existing in the Minister 

 of the Interior to set apart forest reservations was by the Land 

 Act transferred to and lodged in the Commissioners of Public 

 Lands, and that such reservations when made by such act immedi- 

 ately passed out of the control of said Commissioners and into the 

 control of said Minister, or therefore into the control of the 

 Bureau of Agriculture and Forestry of which said Minister was 

 ex-officio President. But it must not be forgotten that the Min- 

 ister was by law one of the Commissioners of Public Lands so 

 that again it may be reasonably concluded that the Legislature 

 anticipated no conflict of authority and therefore felt that there 

 was no need to more clearly define the limits of the powers to be 

 exercised by the Minister of the Interior on the one hand and the 

 Commissioner of Public Lands on the other. • 



It must also be borne in mind that the purpose of the Land Act 

 differs widely from that of the Forestry Laws. The former was 

 designed chiefly with the object in view of settling the land and 

 causing it to produce immediate money revenue, while the latter 

 was intended to conserve the water and timber supply for the pur- 

 pose not of immediate gain, but of future and continuous benefit 

 to the entire country. 



That the general policy of making such reservations was ap- 

 proved and intended to be continued in force is shown by the fact 

 that the existing law as to forestry was not specifically amended 

 or repealed by the Land Act. 



Such being the case, and in order to give effect to both pro- 

 visions of law, which should be construed, if possible, so that each 

 may stand, it may be fairly held that the power of the Minister 

 and Bureau to make forest reservations was continued and that 

 the Commissioners were intended to have authority to make rules 

 and regulations only as to forest lands not formally ''reserved," 

 while the Bureau retained authority to make such rules for actual 

 forest reservations under its control. By such a construction the 

 spirit and intent of all legislation on the subject would be con- 

 served. 



It therefore, would appear that the true intent of the various 

 acts under consideration was that such lands should be set apart 

 for a forest reservation as the Minister of the Interior, under the 

 direction of the Bureau, should consider necessary for such pur- 

 pose, and that such land should thereupon pass to the exclusive 

 control of such Minister subject as to management to the advice 



