204. REPORT OF THE No. 3 



10. And be it enacted, That if any person or persons whatsoever, 

 wlietlier pretending to be the owner or not, shall either secretly or openly, 

 and whether with or without force or violence, take or carry away, or cause 

 to be taken and carried away, any timber which shall have been seized and 

 detained as subject to forfeiture under this Act, before the same shall have 

 been declared by competent authority to have been seized without due cause, 

 or without permission of the officer or person having seized the same, or of 

 some competent authority, such person or persons shall be deemed to have 

 stolen such timber, being the property of Her Majesty, and to be guilty 

 of felony, and liable to punishment accordingly; And that whenever any 

 timber shall be seized for non-payment of duties^ or for any other cause of 

 forfeiture, or any prosecution shall be brought for any penalty or forfeiture 

 under this Act, and any question shall arise whether the dues have been 

 paid on such timber, or whether the said timber has been cut on other than 

 any of the Public Lands aforesaid, the burden of proving payment, or on 

 what land the said timber has been cut, shall lie on the owner or claimant of 

 such timber, and not on the officer who shall seize and stop the same or the 

 party bringing such prosecution. 



11. And be it enacted. That all timber seized under this Act shall be 

 deemed and taken to be condemned, unless the person from whom it was 

 seized, or the owner thereof, shall, within one calendar month from the 

 day of the seizure, give notice to the seizing officer, or nearest officer or 

 agent of the Crown Lands Office, that they claim or intend to claim the 

 same; failing such notice the officer, or agent seizing or causing to be seized 

 shall report the circumstances to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, who 

 shall or may order the sale of the said timber by the said officer or agent, 

 after a notice on the spot of at least thirty days; Provided always that it 

 shall and may be lawful for any Judge having competent jurisdiction, 

 whenever he may deem it proper to try and determine such seizures, and to 

 order the delivery thereof to the alleged owner on receiving security by bond 

 with two good and sufficient sureties, to be first approved by said agent, to 

 pay double value in case of condemnation, which bond shall be taken to 

 Her Majesty's use in the name of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and 

 shall be delivered up to and kept by such Commissioner, and, in case such 

 seized timber shall be condemned, the value thereof shall be forthwith paid 

 to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, or agent, and the bond cancelled; 

 otherwise the penalty of such bond shall be enforced and recovered. 



12. And be it enacted, That if any wilful false oath be made in any 

 case where, by this Act, an oath is required or authorized, the party wil- 

 fully making the same shall be guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury, and 

 be liable to the punishment provided for that offence; and any persons 

 availing themselves of any false statement or oath to evade the payment of 

 duties shall forfeit the timber on which duty is attempted to be evaded. 



13. And be it enacted, That parties maliciously cutting or loosening 

 Booms, or breaking up or cutting loose Eafts or Cribs, shall be guilty of 

 a misdemeanor, punishable with fine and imprisonment of not less than six 

 months. 



14. Provided always and be it enacted. That nothing in this Act con- 

 tained shall be construed as in any way invalidating or affecting licenses 

 already granted or any obligation contracted for payment of dues under such 

 licenses, or to invalidate or affect the lien of the Crown on any timber cut 

 upon Public Lands now within the limits of the Province, and ^pon which 

 the dues heretofore exacted have not been paid, notwithstanding any bond 

 or promissory note which have been taken for the amount of such dues. 



