USE BY SETTLERS AND OTHERS 271 



On March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. L. 1093), Congress again an- 

 nounced the policy of the Federal Government to be that of 

 granting the free use of timber, under regulations to be pre- 

 scribed by the Secretary of the Interior, from all non- 

 mineral lands within certain states and districts in which 

 mining operations were common. This act declared that 

 in any civil action or criminal prosecution by the United 

 States for timber cut from public lands within the States 

 and territories of Colorado, Montana, Idaho, North Da- 

 kota, South Dakota and Wyoming, in Alaska or within the 

 gold or silver regions of Nevada and Utah, it should be a 

 defense for the defendant to show that the timber cut and 

 removed from the public timber lands was taken by a resi- 

 dent of one of the said states or territories for agricultural, 

 mining, manufacturing or domestic purposes, under regula- 

 tions prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, 1 and that 

 it had not been transported out of the state or territory in 

 which it was cut. The act authorized the Secretary of the 

 Interior to designate the tracts from which timber might 

 be taken and made it unlawful to remove timber from such 

 lands except in accordance with the regulations prescribed 

 by him. It was specifically provided that the act did not 

 repeal the act of June 3, 1878 (20 Stat. L., 88) providing for 

 the cutting of timber on mineral lands, and that it was not 

 to be construed as enlarging the rights of any railroad to the 

 free use of timber. 



An act of February 13, 1893 (27 Stat. L., 444), extended 

 the provisions of the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. L., 1093) 

 to the territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and one of 

 March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. L., 1436) made the same law aplic- 

 able to the States of California, Oregon and Washington. 

 The provisions of this act, so far as Alaska was concerned, 

 were superseded by section 11 of an act of May 14, 1898 

 (30 Stat. L., 409). Exceptions to the rule against exporta- 

 tation from the state or territory in which the timber was 

 cut were made by acts of July 1, 1898 (30 Stat. L., 618) 2 

 and March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. L., 1439). 3 



1. See Circular G. L. O. Feb. 10, 1900 (29 L. D. 572). 

 See Circular G. L. O. Mar. 22, 1901 (30 L. D. 542). 



See Circular G. L. O. Mar. 25, 1913 (42 L. D. 22). No. 223. 



2. Circular G. L. 0. July 23. 1898 (27 L. D. 276). 



3. Circular G. L. O. Mar. 20, 1901 (30 L. D. 540). 



