569 



number of tresspasses, a number of trespasses protected lands, and 

 they undertake to make the committee believe, conveyed the 

 impression to the committee that the complaints were so numerous 

 that the office of the forest commission in the capitol would not hold 

 the complaints, and when they started out to prosecute them they 

 entirely blockaded the public business at the circuits so that the 

 ordinary business of those counties could not be transacted, nor 

 indeed all these claims. What does the Treasurer's account with them 

 show ? They further said that the terror of this commission and the 

 terror of this warden had had such a salutary effect that -it had 

 frightened all these trespassers in good behavior, and now there were 

 none whatever, because of the great terror of this magnificent com- 

 mission. They seemed to think, on high moral grounds, this commis- 

 sion ought to be continued at this enormous expense. 



Now let us see what they have been doing, the commission and its 

 subordinates, and I' call attention to Essex county, over at Minerva. 

 There was a man there by the name of Lynch who seemed to be 

 desirous of discharging his duty, and Lynch made a good many com- 

 plaints of trespasses over in that country; and they were received in 

 the office and the large majority of them, so far as appears, have never 

 received any attention at all. Previous to the organization of the 

 commission there was one Thomson, a lumber dealer, all agree, 

 plundered the State lands at will, and after the organization of the 

 commission he continued to cut timber for himself upon the State 

 lands, and to buy of others who cut, and finally a suit was begun 

 against him and the papers were before the committee, where the 

 commission claimed damages for the sum of eight or ten thousand 

 dollars for timber that he had cut. One day Thomson caused 

 the tax deed which the State held upon these lands 

 to be cancelled in the Comptroller's office, and Lynch, 

 who seems to have been a faithful man, examined tho matter, 

 examined the • papers, examined the case,, and reported that 

 to the forest commission that this cancellation was fraudulent, 

 upon false suggestion, false swearing and yet nothing was done. 

 Garmon, when he comes to testify, says that he was aware of 

 this cancellation and this suit, and he says the affidavits in the case 

 in the Comptroller's office was perjury. So this commission knew 

 from Lynch and from Garmon that this, cancellation was false and 

 fraudulent, and the Comptroller had the power, and to make it 

 sure, an act was passed in 1873 declaratory of that power, where 

 a cancellation or redemption had been procured through fraud, the 

 Comptroller might vacate it, it was his duty to vacate it, and a 

 72 



