Co}iiinent. 



135 



any at the University of Pennsylvania. He also gave the lectures, 

 endowed by the Micheaux fund, intended to popularize silvicul- 

 ture, and, when in 1886 the Pennsylvania Forestry Association 

 was formed he was naturally the man to become the leader of 

 the movement. It was the first forestry association that could 

 afford a paid Secretary, and send him through the State lectur- 

 ing. It is not too much to say that the whole sane, consistent 

 and persistent development of forest policies in Pennsylvania is 

 due mainly to the efforts of Dr. Rothrock. He formulated the 

 original legislation, which established the first governmental 

 agency, and became the first head of the Forestry Division, and 

 afterwards Forestry' Department. 



Long may he be spared to give his valuable advice to his State ! 



A very important and very sane re-adjustment of royalties for 

 timber licenses has been embodied in a bill before the legisla- 

 ture of British Columbia by the Minister of Lands, Hon. Wm. 

 R. Ross. 



Those familiar with Canadian conditions will recall that six 

 or eight years ago the provincial government of British Colum- 

 bia disposed of most of their timberlimits under the license 

 system, charging a uniform royalty per M feet of 50 cents ir- 

 respective of location ; reserving, however, like all Canadian li- 

 cense systems the right, on the part of the Crown, to change 

 conditions. It is evident that a uniform royalty charge for all 

 locations is unfair, and that an arbtrary right of one of the 

 parties to the contract to change conditions is unfair to the 

 other party and immoral, and, on the other hand, that a royalty 

 which does not change with change in timber value is unfair to 

 the people and unbusinesslike. 



The Minister of Lands, who was responsible for the estab- 

 lishment, two years ago, of an efficient forest service, has boldly 

 taken hold of the situation and solved the problem of equitable 

 dealing in a most practical manner. In this bill the province is 

 divided into three localities as regards timber dues: the coast 

 territory, where 85 cents per M feet is charged, but only on the 

 better grades, the lower being relieved of dues — a very wise dis- 

 tinction : the southern Rocky Mountain district where 50 cents 

 royalty is charged throughout, but by applying the B. C. log rule 

 as against the Doyle rule, the discrepancy of values is somewhat 



