192 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



tion and ridicule. Those who possessed some vague ideas that the work of 

 deforestation was proceeding too thoroughly, and that it might be advis- 

 able to call a halt, were not sufficiently practical to effect any good result. 

 One of the earliest, perhaps the very first public remonstrance against defor- 

 estation may be found in the Journals of the Legislative Assembly under 

 the date of May 11th, 1846, in the following paragraph : 



"On motion of Hon. Mr. Laterriere, seconded by Mr. Tache. ilesolved, 

 that this House will on Wednesday next resolve itself into a committee of 

 the whole House to consider whether it would not be exp^edient to prevent 

 the sale of timber from off the Public Lands." All that is recorded of th© 

 discussion is the curt official entry for the following 3rd day of June to the 

 effect that "the House accordingly resolved itself into the said committee. 

 Mr. Hall took the chair of the committee and after some time spent therein 

 Mr. Speaker resumed the chair." In the absence of Hansard, or even the 

 briefest mention of the matter in the newspaper reports of the period, it 

 may be doing Mr. Laterriere an Injustice to class him with the well-meaning 

 but unpractical people who, in the earlier days of the forestry movement, 

 sought to "save the forests" by prohibiting all use of the axe within the 

 limits of the area to be preserved. But the wording of the resolution cer- 

 tainly bears this construction. 



New regulations were issued during 1846 when the following notices 

 to applicants for timber licenses appeared in the Canada Gazette. 



Crow^n Lands Department, 



Montreal, 24th June, 1846. 



Notice is hereby given that application for Licenses to cut Timber on 

 the River Ottawa and its tributaries will be received by James Stevenson, 

 Esquire, at Bytown until the fifteenth day of August next. 



1st. No new limits will be granted exceeding 5 miles in front by five 

 miles in depth, or half way to the next river. 



2nd. Present holders of licenses will be allowed to renew them for the 

 ensuing and two more seasons without alteration of limits, but after the Ist 

 May, 1849, all timber berths will be curtailed to the above mentioned sizes; 

 the present occupant having the choice of the part of his present limits 

 which he will be permitted to retain. The surplus will be disposed of as 

 may hereafter be determined upon, of which due notice will be given. 



3rd. Licenses are not to be transferable and any subsequent attempt to 

 infringe or evade this regulation will subject the party concerned to iHie 

 forfeiture of his license and of all moneys paid on account of the same. 

 Appliofents to state whether their applications are made for themselves 

 individually or as concerned with others or on behalf of other parties. 



4th. All timber berths for which no application for renewal shall have 

 been made by the present owners, or in regard to which the applicant shall 

 have neglected to comply with the conditions of renewal on or before the 

 15th of August, shall be put up to public sale without further notice on the 

 1st September next, together with all other Timber Berths for which more 

 than one application shall have been filed, to be adjudged in cases of com- 

 I)etition to the party bidding the highest premium for the same, to be paid 

 down at the time of adjudication. 



5th. The quantity of Timber to be inserted in the License and which 

 the parties will bind themselves to take out, is to be estimated at 1,000 feet 

 per square mile, upon the price of which a deposit of one-fourth will be 

 required before 4 o'clock on the day of sale; if not then paid the Berth to 

 be adjudged to the next highest bidder or next applicant. Bonds as now 



