1907 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS, FORESTS AND MINES. 283 



preliminary investigations set on foot to ascertain the suitability of the 

 territory indicated for park purposes. Some delay was caused by the ill- 

 health; of the Commissioner, which resulted in his death in 1889. Hon. A. 

 S. Hardy who succeeded to the position, appointed a Commission compris- 

 ing Aubrey White, Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands, Archibald 

 Blue, Director, of Mines, Alex Kirkwood, Senior Officer of Lands Branch, 

 Department of Crown Lands; James Dickson, Inspector of Surveys, and 

 Robert W. Phipps, Clerk of Forestry, to enquire into the fitness of the ter- 

 ritory under consideration for the purpose of a forest reservation and 

 national park. The report of the Commissioners was presented to the Legis- 

 lature during the session of 1893, recommending the setting apart of a com- 

 pact tract of land in the district of Nipissihg, south of the Mattawa River 

 and Georgian Bay, almost a parallelogram in shape and comprising eighteen 

 townships. An Act embodying the recommendations of the Commissioners, 

 withdrawing this area from sale or settlement and constituting it a national 

 park and forest reservation was adopted. The following year a considerable 

 addition was made to the original area, bringing the total extent of the 

 park up to 1,109,383 acres. The whole district is under timber license but 

 as the Act setting it apart provides that only pine shall be cut, the operations 

 of the limit-holders cannot seriously detract from its forest character. 



Forestry CoTnmission. 



In June, 1897, at the instance of the Clerk of Forestry, a Royal Com- 

 mission consisting of E. W. Rathbun, President of the Rathbun Company, 

 Deseronto, lumberman; John Bertram, President of the Collins Inlet Lum- 

 ber Company, Toronto, lumberman; J. B. McWilliams, Peterborough, Sup- 

 erintendent of Forest Rangers; Alex Kirkwood, Chief Clerk of Lands 

 Branch, Crown Lands Department, and Thomas Southworth, Clerk of For- 

 estry, were appointed to investigate and report on the subject of restoring 

 and preserving the growth of white pine and other timber trees upon lands 

 in the Province, which are not adapted for agricultural purposes or for set- 

 tlement. After personally investigating considerable tracts of country and 

 familiarizing themselves with the conditions prevailing in many lumbered 

 over and fire swept areas of non-agricultural land they presented a pre- 

 liminary report on the 10th of December, 1897, which offered the following 

 recommendations : 



1. That the present system of fire ranging inaugurated by the Govern- 

 ment in 1886 be extended so as to be compulsory on all the holders of timber 

 berths and that all unlicensed timber land contiguous thereto be also pro- 

 tected by rangers employed by the Government. That all fire rangers be 

 subject to the inspection and control of the Department of Crown Lands. 



2. That the officials of the Hudson's Bay Company be asked to co-oper- 

 ate with the Government in preparing and printing fire proclamations in the 

 language of the Indians of the Northern Districts to be posted along the 

 canoe routes throughout the territory. 



3. That for all unworked limits on which the ground rent shall be two 

 years in default on the termination of the present license year, the license 

 shall not be renewed, but that the berths be held by the Crown as fore.lt 

 reserves. 



4. That the license-holders be not allowed to cut any trees for logs 

 smaller than will measure twelve inches across the stump two feet from the 

 ground unless under special forest conditions with the sanction and under 

 the supervision of the district forest ranger. 



5. That the Government take power by Order-in-Council to withdraw 

 from sale or location and set aside to be kept in permanent Crown forest 



