Timber Conditions of British Columbia. 187 



Associationmust look for immediate results. Their interestshould 

 prompt them to bestow the utmost care and attention to the 

 prevention of fires, and, if they are in the business for more than 

 temporary profits, they should be possessed of sufficient public 

 spirit to adopt the least destructive methods of logging and so 

 dispose of tree-tops, and other debris, as to minimize the danger 

 of fire and to encourage the second growth by clearing the ground 

 as much as possible. The Government of British Columbia has 

 done and is doing all in its power to prevent forest fires, and 

 during the present season the fighting of fire was carried out in 

 many parts of the Province with gratifying results. The Dom- 

 inion Government officials in the Railway Belt have also worked 

 hard to the same end, and through the united efforts of the federal 

 and provincial f.re fighters much valuable timber has been saved 

 from destruction. The campaign inaugurated by the present 

 Provincial Government, will be vigorously prosecuted in the fut- 

 ure to the fullest extent which our funds will permit, and w^e look 

 confidently to the people of the Province to assist us in every 

 way. 



Prior to 1871, when the Crown Colony of British Columbia 

 became a Province of the Dominion, the lumber industry was 

 comparatively insignificant. All the lumber cut from the 

 foundation of the Colony in 1856 was estimated at 250,000,000 

 feet. Indeed, strange as it may appear, a great deal of the lum- 

 ber used in those days was imported, and there is one house in 

 Victoria to-day, within a hundred yards of the Parliament 

 Buildings, the lumber in which was brought from San Francisco. 

 The first legislation regulating the cutting of timber was embodied 

 in the Crown Lands Act, 1870, which provided for the granting 

 of leases by the Governor-in-Council to an unlimited acreage for 

 the purpose of cutting the timber, subject to such rent as might 

 be determined by the Governor-in-Council. The ground covered 

 by these leases was open to pre-emption but the pre-emptor was 

 debarred from cutting timber other than for his own use. This 

 Act was re-enacted by the Provincial Legislattire in 1875. but 

 it does not seem, however, that advantage was taken of it to any 

 extent, as it was not until 1879-80 that any revenue was derived 

 from timber rentals. By an amendment to the Act passed in 

 1888, the tenure of timber leases was fixed at 30 years and a 

 rental of ten cents per acre was charged and a royalty of fifty 

 cents per thousand feet on all timber cut imposed. The lessees 

 were required to build a mill with a capacity of 1,000 feet per 

 day for each four hundred acres covered by the lease. This Act 

 also provided for a penalty of $500.00 or thirty days' imprison- 

 ment for cutting timber from Crown lands without authority. 

 Since 1892 no leases have been granted of timber limits without 

 the limits being offered to public competition and the lease was 



