1908 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS, FORESTS' AND MINES ix. 



Disbursements . 



The gross expentliture of the Department for all services during the year 

 was 1637,293.30. The principal services were : Agents' salaries and disburse- 

 ments, $48,942.24; forest ranging, |53,823.28; fire ranging, |119,734.26; 

 forest reserves, |46,970.97; mines and mining |21,375.12; exploration and 

 investigations, |14,924.24; mining recorders, |8,349.21; surveys, |146,370.- 

 92; veterans' commutation, |29,995.83; provincial mines, $30,648.16; refunds, 

 119,145.89; parks, |17,113.89; contingencies. |42,230.99. (See Appendix 

 Nos. 6 and 7, pages 9 to 44.) 



Woods and Forests. 



The total revenue from woods and forests was $1,786,338.99, consisting 

 of bonus, $100,879.39; timber dues, $1,618,242.58; ground rent, $65,150.87, 

 transfer fees, $2,066.15. (See Appendix No. 4, page 7.) 



The revenue from timber dues was the largest in the history of the Pro- 

 vince. Of this amount, however, $496,000 accrued during 1907, but owing to 

 financial stringency, payment was not enforced during that year. The collec- 

 tions proper for 1908 were $1,224,243, and we carried forward into 1909 

 $235,368, owing to inability of lumbermen to pay. In the history of the 

 Department it has never been the practice to insist upon payments being 

 made if the parties were shown to be in circumstances where the enforcement 

 would ruin them. They were extended every leniency if the security was 

 sufficient, interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum being charged on 

 all balances unpaid at the end of the year. The situation of the lumber trade 

 has slowly improved during the past year, and the recent stringency would 

 seem to be passing away. One effect of the stringency of last year has been 

 the curtailment of the output of the present winter, as from reports received 

 the output of this year will be very much below that of last. 



Fire Ranging. 



The fire ranging system at present in operation in Ontario was organized 

 in 1885. Prior to that, though the Act to preserve the forest from destruction 

 by fire was on the Statute Book, very few people knew anything about it, 

 as those who travel in the forest are not usually in possession of the Statutes 

 of Ontario. In the year 1885 it was thought that if a number of men of 

 good judgment were placed on duty during the summer months as fire rangers 

 they would be useful in bringing a knowledge of the law to all who travel 

 m the forest, and in other ways bring about a better state of affairs than then 

 existed, and so the present system of fire ranging was inaugurated in that 

 year. 



In establishing the system, the first consideration was the selection of the 

 men, as unless all-round, good men were obtained, the system would certainly 

 prove a failure. The timber licensees, having a large interest in the preser- 

 vation of the timber on their licensed limits, it was laid down as a sine qua 

 non that they should pay one-half of the wages and expenses of the men who 

 might be selected, and as they had in their employment men who were 

 familiar with their limits, knew the danger points and the class of people 

 resident upon or frequenting them, it was thought it would be wisdom to let 

 the licensees select the men for their own limits, thus making them respons- 

 ible for the character of the men they selected, and for keeping more or less 

 surveillance of them while they were in the field. In order to clothe them 



