186 



The expense of resetting up and reprinting 719 copies of the eighteen 

 signatures of sixteen pages each, rendered necessary by the discov- 

 ery of manifold errors and inaccuracies in the copy, should not be 

 borne by the contractor. 



Section 4 of chapter 588 of the Laws of 1886 provides that there 

 shall be printed by the said contractor 719 copies of the reports made 

 to the Legislature in pursuance of law. 



Your question also calls upon me to pass upon the legality of the 

 charge for printing 5,000 additional copies, $720. 



Oertain difficulties might be presented by this question if it 

 were res nova. I am informed, however, by the Comptroller, that 

 hs has decided that in cases where the Legislature has made an 

 appropriation for the printing expenses of a State department or com- 

 mission, he will audit bills for printing copies of the report of such 

 department or commission, in addition to the statutory number, 719, 

 within the limits of such appropriation. 



Inasmuch as the Legislature has for several years last past made 

 appropriations to pay the printing expenses of your commission, and 

 in view of this decision of the Comptroller, and on account of the 

 respect which is due to his interpretation of the law, as the auditing 

 officer of the State, I deem , it unnecessary for me to pass upon or 

 consider the question whether your board has any power to order 

 5,000 copies of your report to be printed, in addition to the statutory 

 number, 719. 



All, therefore, that you seem to be called upbn to do in the prem- 

 ises is to certify to the Comptroller whether or not the services 

 mentioned in the bill for printing and composition above mentioned 

 were actually rendered, leaving the question of the legality of such 

 work and the charge therefor to be passed upon by the Comptroller 

 in accordance with the precedents laid down by him. 



I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant. 



' CHAS. F. TABOR, 



Attorney- General. 



Q. At this point you may state for the benefit of the committee — give 

 them a general knowledge of what condition you found the Adirondack 

 forest in with reference to the prevalence of fires at the time when 

 you became forest commission of the State of New York, you and 

 yonr associates, briefly state what there was and how you found it at 

 that time? 



A. Referring to Sargeant's report of the former commission, which 

 showed there were very large areas of burnt district within there, 



