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Let the forests be restored on the burnt and barren districts of the Adirondacks and scientific lumbering be confined to these border tracts which have been cut over again and again, which appear to be natural lumbering districts. Let the primeval, untouched forests of the remote interior and Alpine district ever remain inviolable, and New York will possess a forest magnificent in its ancient grandeur, practically useful the safe health resort of thousands yet to come.

THE FORESTRY LEGISLATION OF NEW

ume.

HAMPSHIRE.

By Prof. JAMES F. COLBY, Hanover, N. Н.

Legislation for the protection of the forests of New Hampshire is recent in origin, tentative in character, and small in volThe reasons for this are found in the economic history of the State. When white men began their settlements within its present borders, New Hampshire was covered with a dense forest of finest timber. Apparently the only unforested areas were a few sedgy swamps, a few Indian corn fields, and the higher elevations of the White mountains. The white men came, not to remain hunters and fishers, but to subdue this wilderness and to establish an agricultural and industrial commonwealth. Trees were no less an obstacle to this end than granite boulders. The first step, therefore, to the economic advancement of the successive bands of settlers who pushed their way from Dover, Portsmouth and Exeter into the central and western portions of the State toward the middle of the last century, and finally to its northernmost border, soon after the close of the Revolution, was the felling of forests to make room for farms. So gradually was this done, that it was not until the close of the rebellion, during which the State sold for a mite the last of its public domain, that any apprehension appears to have been felt lest too much of the forest of the State might be removed, and the proper economic proportion between its tillage land, its pasture and its forests be disturbed. Slowly this apprehension has spread, and with it has come a demand for forestry legislation. The large dependence of the growing manufacturing interests of the State upon the supply of water power and the Report of the Commissioners on the Preliminary Examination of the Water Power of New Hampshire, published in 1870, emphasized this demand, though it was not until 1881 that the State instituted an official inquiry into its forest reSo far, all its legislation upon this subject has been simple and experimental, though during the past fourteen years the State has instituted three commissions to make investigations into its forestry conditions, which may give the material upon which to base a more elaborate and definite code of forestry law.

sources.

The legislation which has thus far been adopted is limited to the following subjects:

Protection Against Forest Fires.

The more general provisions relating to this subiect are found in the Public Statutes, 1891, and are as follows:

"Towns may make such by-laws respecting the kindling, guarding and safe-keeping of fires, and for removing all combustible materials from any building or place, as the safety of the property in such town may require; and may appoint in such manner as may be be prescribed in such regulations, all such officers as may be necessary to carry such regulations into effect, and affix penalties not exceeding ten dollars for any offense, to be recovered in such manner and to such use as the town may direct." (General Laws, chap. 47, sec. 8.)

"If any person shall willfully and maliciously burn any stack of corn, hay, grain, or flax, or any fence, or pile of boards, lumber or wood, or any trees or underwood of another, he shall be imprisoned three years, or fined not exceeding one thousand dollars and imprisoned not exceeding one year." (Chap. 277, sec. 3.)

"If any person, with intent to injure another, kindles, or causes to be kindled, a fire on his own or another's land, and thereby the property of any other person is injured or destroyed, he shall be fined not exceeding $2,000, or imprisoned not exceeding three years." (Chap. 277, sec. 6.)

"If any person shall kindle a fire by the use of firearms, or by any other means, on land not his own, he shall be fined not exceeding ten dollars; and if such fire spreads and does any damage to the property of others, he shall be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars." (Chap. 277, sec. 4.)

"If any person, for a lawful purpose, shall kindle a fire upon his own land, or upon the land which he occupies, or upon which he is laboring, at an unsuitable time, or in a careless and imprudent manner, and shall thereby injure or destroy the property of others, he shall be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars." (Chap. 277, sec. 5.)

"Whoever shall inform the prosecuting officers of the state of evidence which secures the conviction of any person who willfully, maliciously, or through criminal carelessness has caused any damage by fire in any forest, woodlot, pasture or field, shall receive from the State a reward of one hundred dollars. The State treasurer shall pay the same to the informer upon presentation of a certificate of the attorney-general or solicitor that he is entitled thereto." (Chap. 277, sec. 7.)

"The proprietors of every railroad shall be liable for all damages which shall accrue to any person or property by fire or steam from any locomotive or other engine on such road." (General Laws, chap. 160, sec. 29.)

The court has held that this law makes the liability of railroads absolute like that of insurers, and that the concurring fault or carelessness of the plaintiff, in leaving combustible litter scattered about his premises, or in leaving his property in an exposed situation, furnishes no excuse or defense in case of such burning.

To the above statute provisions may be added the commonlaw doctrine, that anyone who, by carelessly kindling or negligently tending and guarding a fire upon his own land, causes injury to the property of another, by the escape of such fire, is liable in damages to the extent of the loss inflicted.

The comment of the Commission of 1885 upon these statutes now requires little amendment, and may here be abridged. (See Report of Foresty Commission for 1885, pp. 95-96.)

That Commission expressed its doubt, in which their successors will concur, whether the statutes above quoted have had any appreciable effect in curtailing the number or destructiveness of forest fires since they have been in force. The first of these statutes, though capable of wider application, always seems to have been regarded as intended only for the protection of buildings and property in the compact parts of towns. Instances are few, if any, in which it has been applied to the protection of woodland or forest. Even if so applied, this statute must prove inadequate because it allows local option, and forest fires require uniformly rigid treatment.

No conviction under any one of the four sections quoted from Chapter 277 of the Public Statutes has come to our knowledge. It was the unofficial opinion of a distinguished Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, lately deceased, Hon. William S. Ladd, that this was due to the popular judgment that the offense involved no atrocity, to the difficulty of its detection, and to the lack of adequate reward for the performance of such service.

The above statute relating to railroads is deemed by competent judges to have stimulated these corporations to take due care against causing or spreading forest fires. The commonlaw liability above described has been effective in restraining persons of pecuniary liability in the use of fire upon their own premises. Suits by injured parties to recover the damage thus caused are of frequent occurrence, and are often successful. (See Report of Forestry Commission, 1885, pp. 95-97.)

Despite these provisions of law, statutory and common, both the first and second Forestry Commissions recommended the adoption of more stringent laws for protection against forest fires. In 1893 the Legislature first acted upon these recommendations, and (An Act for the Establishment of a Forestry Commission) enacted the following:

"SECTION 3. The selectmen of towns in this State are hereby constituted fire wardens of their several towns, whose duty it shall be to watch the forests, and, whenever a fire is observed therein, to immediately summon such assistance as they may deem necessary, go at once to the scene of it, and, if possible, extinguish it. In regions where no town organizations exist the county commissioners are empowered to appoint such fire wardens. Fire wardens and such persons as they may employ shall be paid for their services by the town in which such fires occur, and, in the absence of town organizations, by the county."

Two years' experience has convinced the present Forestry Commission that this law must prove ineffective. That Commission, in its report for 1895, pp. 35-36, says:

"There is little fault to be found with the manner in which the selectmen of towns have discharged their duties as fire wardens, and that part of the law which clothes those officials with the power to protect the forests of their towns against fire, appears to require only slight modification. That part of the law, however, which relates to the protection of the great forested areas, which are found in the unincorporated townships of the northern counties of the State, should, in the opinion of this board, be amended. The provision by which county commissioners were empowered to appoint fire wardens for places where no town organizations exist has been wholly inoperative, and, despite the frequently renewed and often vigorous and personal protests of this board, not a single fire warden for such places has been appointed under the provisions of that act.

"Thus what appears to us to have been the plain intent of the framers of that act has been nullified by the neglect of the county commissioners to give effect to its only administrative feature. The only excuse given for this neglect, so far as we know, is that the cost of protecting these areas of forest ought not to be borne by the county, but that it is the duty of each man to protect his own forest."

To supply the defect thus discovered in the administration of the law, the last Legislature, by an act of March 29, 1895, provided as follows:

"SECTION I. It shall be the duty of the forestry commission, upon application by the owner or owners of any tract of forest land situated in a locality where no town organization exists, to appoint a suitable number of special fire wardens for said tracts, to define their duties, to limit their term of employment, and to fix their compensation. The expense attending the employment of said special fire wardens shall be borne one-half by the party or parties making the application for their appointment and one-half by the county in which said tract of land is located.

"Approved March 29, 1895."

The territorial area of Northern New Hampshire, in which no town organization exists, is relatively large, and much of it is heavily timbered. Hence the enactment just quoted, if wisely administered, promises a larger measure of protection than has ever before been supplied against the ravages of forest fires in the localities where it is most needed.

Investigation of Forestry Conditions.

In order to obtain information to serve as a basis for forestry legislation, the State has authorized the appointment in succession of three Forestry Commissions. The first temporary Forestry Commission was authorized by the act of June 29, 1881, which provided that:

"The Governor, and such associates as he may appoint to act with him, are hereby constituted a commission to institute an inquiry into the extent to which the forests of New Hampshire are being destroyed by the indiscriminate cutting of wood and timber for transportation to other States; also, the effect, if any, produced by the destruction of our forests upon our rainfall, and consequently upon our ponds and streams, and into the wisdom or necessity for the adoption of forest laws."

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