34 CANADIAN FOKESTEY ASSOCIATION. 



liability of the Intercolonial Railway of Canada for setting fires along the 

 line For many years the opinion prevailed that the Intercolonial Railway 

 was liable in the same way as any other railroad for forest fires caused by 

 its not complying with the law in regard to having proper spark arrestors 

 fitted to locomotives. That was the idea for many years, and damages 

 were collected in the Exchequer Court. Unfortunately, however, a decision 

 was given in the Supreme Court of Canada a few months ago, in the case 

 of Chamberlain v. The King, from the County of Restigouche, in this 

 Province, in which the Court held that the King (i. e., the Intercolonial 

 Railway) was not liable for damages caused on the Intercolonial Railway 

 of Canada, unless these damages were caused actually on the track itself. 

 As it stands to-day, if a lumberman along the line of the Intercolonial Rail- 

 way has his forests destroyed by sparks from the train, that man has no 

 redress whatever and cannot recover against the Crown. All the other 

 railways, privately owned railways, are liable for any damage they may do. 

 The new National Transcontinental Railway would be liable. It is desir- 

 able that this Convention should place on record some resolution express- 

 ing the feeling of the whole country that persons living along the line of the 

 Intercolonial Railway should have redress for damage in the event of their 

 property being burned in consequence of the way that road is operated. 

 (Hear, hear.) 



Hon. Mr. Hazen then turned to the question of forest fires in general, 

 and in this connection quoted from the report of the Surveyor-General 

 (Hon. Mr. Grimmer) for 1909. This report indicated that the dry spring 

 of 1909 made the danger serious, and in May and June sixty-six fires were 

 reported as having been combatted by the fire fighting force of the Prov- 

 ince. While the damage in some cases was large, the Province had reason 

 to congratulate itself that it escaped as well as it did. The system of 

 making game wardens also fire wardens, and the increase in the numbers 

 of the latter, had much to do with the success with which the fires were 

 fought. The system adopted along the line of the National Transconti- 

 nental Railway in the Province the previous year had been followed in 

 1909. This was that a large number of the railway employees were sworn 

 i by the Chief Warden as fire rangers on the right-of-way. The result 

 was that to a very large extent fires were kept out of Crown Lands. Only 

 one disastrous fire started on the right-of-way, near the southwest branch 

 le Miramchi, but the timber growth was not very valuable The Sur- 

 leral was glad to express his appreciation of the way the railway 

 h^T S n aSS1Sted the Department in fighting fire. On the other 

 ?'h, H ,P epartmen ' disappointed that many of the fires (twenty- 

 had been started by settlers burning their clearings. This showed 



also showe 7rh * H^ !*****?* ^ Setdn Ut of fi ^s by settlers. It 



oresfs n e d I 6 Trer f 'T'Tf UP n the pe P le the value ' of the Crown 

 he great waste and destruction caused by these fires If the 



P dbar USed ' 



g ea S of in ^ Powerto protect thi 



S ote , 



every sect o of th P'""' ^ f the fire laws had be Posted in 

 were 7 Se ders cl TT ^ g d effect The cause * of the fire 

 " D_nd t waVlt^J UTTP 1 ^ ^^ d ? rin * l ^ 



Intercolonial Railway* a - Centrll Rallwal i^fi If" ^^ 7; 



Kailway, i; fishermen, 4; smokers, 3; 



