353 



list comprised 746,800 acres. That is. found on page 188 of that 

 report. 



Chairman Ryan. — That is the Adirondack region ? 



Mr. Adams. — Yes, sir. Then there is a list of land redeemed and 

 tax bids cancelled at page 325 of that report and that shows 26,000 

 acres, leaving 720,800 acres. With that amount the forest commission 

 commenced. I refer now to the report made by the forest commission 

 January 1, 1891, which we put in evidence, which shows that the 

 forest commission had on the first of January last 644,800 acres, show- 

 ing a diminution of 76,000 acres since they came into office in 1885. 



Mr. Fiebo. — Pardon me a moment. I think there is an error there, 

 because the figures which the counsel gives by inadvertence consists 

 only of those lands within certain lines and does not include all the 

 lines in the Adirondack region. I am so informed by the secretary of 

 the commission. 



Mr. Adams. — I have taken these figures from public documents 

 which are in evidence, and the last document is the report of this 

 commission itself, in which they state that the present number of 

 acres is 644,800. If my friend will furnish me, if he has it here, with 

 the report of 1891 I will turn to it. 



Mr. Fibbo. — I haven't it here. 



Chairman Ryan.— It seems to me there is a discrepancy there 

 which may have arisen from the fact that the lands outside of the 

 lines of the proposed park are not tabulated in the figures which 

 the counsel has just now given. At any rate, that will be discovered 

 later. 



Mr. Fiebo. — We shall call Mr. Fox, who, at our request, has made a 

 computation. 



Chairman Ryan. — From a somewhat careful reading of the report, I 

 had formed the opinion that the State owned some more land at 

 present than at the commencement of the commission. 



Mr. Anibal. — It is about 100,000 acres more. 



Chairman Ryan. — Hardly so much as that. At this time it will not 

 be 100,000 acres more than by the Colvin report. 



Mr. Anibal. — The statute of 1885, chapter 440, which made all of 

 the tax sales and tax titles — that is, it protected them six months 

 after the passage of that act — was passed in 1885, and in October of 

 that year the Comptroller's office, to my personal knowledge, being 

 interested in it, filed redemptions or for cancellations of these tax 



titles they had to file them in six months, and there was a large 



amount of cancellations following the year 1885 and in 1886. It 

 reduced the acreage down quite a considerable, so that figuring, from 

 45 



