428 Canada. 



general maladministration of the so-called "Family 

 Compact" besides other grievances, caused the revo- 

 lution of 1837, which, although readily put down, led 

 to the union of the provinces of Upper and Lower 

 Canada in 1841, and to reform of the abuses. It was 

 then, that, after the new governor -general, Lord 

 Durham's admirable report on the situation, the home 

 government turned over the administration (in part 

 at least) and revenues of the crownlands to the several 

 provincial governments. At that time in New Bruns- 

 wick, where a thriving export trade had been early 

 established the dues on $2 million worth of production 

 were involved, and in Quebec and Ontario the income 

 amounted to between $200,000 and $300,000. 



But even then, the immediate revenue, and not any 

 concern for its continuation animated the adminis- 

 tration of the public or crown forests. The free-hand 

 sales for nominal sums were changed into licenses to 

 cut, and in order to secure larger returns these were 

 by and by put up at auction for competitive bids, the 

 premium or "bonus" being paid for the limits, (i.e., a 

 limited territory on which he holder or licensee had 

 the exclusive right to cut), in addition to the fixed 

 dues or charges per unit for the timber actually cut. 

 Later, to discourage the holding of timber limits for 

 a rise of prices, an annual cut of first 1,000, then 500 

 feet per square mile of holdings was required. To 

 still further accelerate the use of the licenses to cut, 

 the Crown Timber Act of 1849 limited the license to 

 one year, and provided for an eventual limit in size 

 of the grants. All these provisions forced to more 

 rapid cutting and overproduction, and depression in 



