53 



against its spread, any fire which the same person has kindled or assisted or abetted 

 in kindling, (e) Damaging, altering, or removing any beacon, fence, or gate. 



Minor forest offences in demarkated forest, for which lighter penalties are applicable, 

 would consist of : (a) Clearing, cultivating, or breaking up for cultivation any land* 

 (b) Shooting, destroying, capturing or pursuing game or fish, (c) Firing the forest 

 through negligence, (c/) Contravening any of the proclaimed Forest Regulations. The 

 punishments of special offences, such as counterfeiting or altering marks, stamps or 

 licenses used or issued by the Forest Department, or bribing a forest officer, or, being a 

 forest officer, accepting a bribe, should also be provided for. : i 



FOREST OFFICERS. Forest officers should have police powers by virtue of their 

 office ; also authority to impound cattle trespassing within Crown forests, to seize any 

 tree, timber, forest produce, axe, or saw, in respect of which there is evidence that a forest 

 offence has been committed, and to arrest without a warrant any person reasonably 

 suspected of having been concerned in any of the graver forest offences, whenever there 

 is presumption that such person would not otherwise appear to answer the charge. 



Conservators and such other forest officers as may be appointed for the purpose,, 

 should be given petty judicial powers of a special nature. Conservators are usually 

 Justices of the Peace by virtue of their office, but the powers thus conferred are not 

 found sufficient in dealing with forest offences, and it is desirable that they should have 

 summary jurisdiction in respect of petty offences. The forests are often situated twenty 

 or thirty miles or more from the nearest Magistrate's Office, and it would be a manifest 

 incongruity to waste a couple of days and compel the attendance of witnesses, to prose- 

 cute a man who may have cut in the forest a sapling valued at a few pence. What i& 

 wanted is some such power as that which Road Magistrates at the Cape exercisa under 

 Ordinance 28, of 1846 ; and immunity from an imputation of compounding for felony/ 

 when fines are inflicted for minor offences and breaches of the Regulations. Section 55 

 of the Madras Forest Act, provides that " Any Forest Officer specially empowered in 

 this behalf may accept from any person reasonably suspected of having committed any 

 forest offence other than an offence under Section 50, or Section 52, a sum of money by 

 way of compensation for the offence which may have been committed ; and where any 

 property has been seized as liable to confiscation, may release the same on payment of 

 the value thereof as estimated by such officer. 



" On the payment of such sum of money, or such value, or both, as the case may be, 

 to such officer, the accused person, if in custody, shall be discharged, the property seized 

 shall be released and no further proceedings shall be taken against such person or 

 property." Similar legislation was at first rejected in India, but since being passed it 

 has worked beneficially. There should be a free right of appeal in all such cases, before 

 the Resident Magistrate. 



