252 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



The timber berths in the Muskoka and Parry Sound districts disposed 

 of under these conditions on November 23rd, 1871, comprising an area of 

 487 miles, realized |117,672 in bonuses. 



Sale of 1872. — Local Sato Mills. 



The year 1872 is notable for a still more extensive sale of timber limits 

 en the north shore of Lake Huron held on the 15th and 16th of October, 

 when 5,301 square miles were disposed of, realizing as bonus |592,601, and 

 ground rent |10,064, making a total of |602,665. More than three-fifths of 

 this area had previously been under license, but with the exception of 300 

 square miles, the licenses granted in this locality in former years had been 

 allowed to lapse. Some little difficulty arose in connection with these sales 

 by reason of the- claims of saw mill owners who had been operating in a small 

 way on the North Shore for some twenty years previous, manufacturing 

 lumber mainly for local use. At first these mills were largely supplied with 

 timber taken from Crown Lands without license or the payment of dues 

 unless in exceptional cases. Afterwards applications were maxle for licenses 

 by the owners, and in some instances small spaces of territory were assigned 

 to the applicants, who, however, made considerably more extensive demands 

 than appeared reasonable to the department. The settlers in some districts 

 complained that the supply of lumber for local consumption was insufficient. 

 To meet the case the following Order-in-Council was adopted on the 19th 

 of April, 1872. 



"The Committee of Council have had under consideration the Report 

 of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, dated April 9th, 1872, wherein the 

 Commissioner states that, with the view of promoting settlement on lands 

 at present remote from the centres of traffic and to contribute to the com- 

 fort and well-being of those already settled in such localities, a supply of 

 sawn lumber for the erection of dwellings, barns, etc., is an absolute neces- 

 sity, and the means at the disposal of the Department of furnishing a sup- 

 ply of timber for saw mills to meet such necessity being limited, he con- 

 siders it expedient, in order to supplement such means, that recourse for a 

 supply of timber should be had to lands held under license. The Com- 

 mittee advise that the Commissioner be authorized to withdraw, at any 

 time, from any timber license hereafter issued or renewed, any lot or lots or 

 portion of land, he may deem necessary for the purpose of enabling him to 

 furnish lumber for the supply of saw mills, erected or to be erected, for the 

 manufacture of sawn lumber for local consumption." 



In order to obviate any misunderstanding and prevent any possible 

 abuse of this privilege by the export of lumber taken from lands set apart 

 for the supply of lumber for the settlers, and further as a reasonable 

 guarantee to license holders that their interests would not be necessarily 

 interfered with, the following clause was adopted on December 17th, 1872, 

 a« an addendum to the previous Order-in-Council : 



"The timber from lands set apart for the supply of saw mills manufac- 

 turing lumber for local consumption, is to be cut and manufactured 

 exclusively for such local demand and so disposed of, that any infraction 

 of this condition, directly or indirectly may be followed in each case by 

 cancellation of authority to cut timber or trees on the lands so set apart 

 for the purpose above mentioned, and may be restored to the license from 

 which the same were withdrawn." 



The annual report of Hon. R. W. Scott, Commissioner of Crown Lands, 

 for 1872, has the following explanation of the policy pursued by the Pro- 

 vincial Government with! regard to the Crown domain: "The policy of 



