142 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



inspectors will also be needed in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, 

 to assist the Provincial Fire Inspector in handling the details of the work 

 in the field. However, it is believed that the organization will ulti- 

 mately be completed and that the provisions of the Order regarding 

 patrols will be extended to cover the entire Dominion during the fire 

 season of 1913. 



2. Lines not Subject to the Railway Commission 



Government In order properly to supplement the protection possible 

 Railways under Order 16,570 as to lines under the jurisdiction of 



the Board, it is recommended as to lines not so subject, that the Inter- 

 colonial and National Transcontinental railways organize a fire-pro- 

 tective service along the lines of Order 16,570. While some fire- 

 protection work has been done, it has not been enough, and the burden 

 of responsibility as to patrol has been too much thrown upon the pro- 

 vincial authorities. Through the Railway Act and the issuance of 

 Order 16,570, the Dominion Government is committed to the distinctly 

 progressive policy of requiring railways to handle the fire situation 

 along their own lines. It is only logical that the Government-owned 

 railways should set a good example in this regard. 



Provincially ^^ ^^® various provinces, the situation as to pro- 



Chartered vincially chartered railways is as follows : 



ai ways A^^ew Brunswick. — In New Brunswick, an amendment 



of 1911, provides that each railway company, upon being notified by 

 the Surveyor General, shall, between May ist and December ist of 

 each year, provide a motor speeder, to be manned by at least three 

 men, to patrol fifteen minutes after each train running through forest 

 country, the particular portion of the railway line to be so patrolled to 

 be designated by the Surveyor General ; and the cost of such patrol 

 to be borne by the railway company. This requirement is somewhat 

 more non-elastic than seems wholly desirable, and it is believed that its 

 efficiency would be increased were the Surveyor General given full 

 discretion as to the kind of patrol and the time when it should be 

 required. In other words, pattern might well be taken from the general 

 features of Order 16,570. However, the enforcement of the law as it 

 stands should effectually prevent fires along provincially chartered 

 lines. The essential, at the present time, is the formation of a special 

 organization to handle all lines of forest fire work throughout the Pro- 

 vince. It is understood that the Government now has this matter 

 under consideration. 



Nova Scotia. — In Nova Scotia, the Halifax and Southwestern 

 railway is the only line along which there is any serious fire danger 



