The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1883. Stealing Forest Timber.

Feilding Star, Volume IV, Issue 64, 1 November 1883, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1883. Stealing Forest Timber.

When the Manchester Block was iii its iv fancy, and the bu^h was an obstacle to settlement, which it was desirable to remove hy ev>ry posihlr nif-ans, it wtis v matter ot very little moment cutting* down n lew tvcps on the nearest section, and probably tht owners were thankful lor the assistance thus renderea in clea:irig the land, 'i'he years that have sine* 1 passed have, however, effected v most radical change in 'his re-spoof, ami owners oi bush lunds :m- now fully alive to the yalue ot' trees or ail kinds or description whether suitable ior --awn timber or for firewood and fencing, inasmuch as they have become thing.of value, and a ready mnrkr.t is open lor them. The existence of tbe latter, together with a long immunity from costs, charges, or check of any kind, has encouraged a kind of petty larceny by some individuals, wbo appear to think that because they have pursued the practice for so long a time, that they can continue to enter upon private lands and cut timber for their own use for purposes of sale, to make a profitable living, without in any way J compensating the owner, or even asking permission. On the face of it, this means nothing more nor less than larceny. We are now aware that many owners of sections are awake to a sense of the wrongs they have 'been the victims of by this system of wholesale robbery for the last f mr or five years. In many instances tbe land of absentees bas been robbed of its most valuable timber. Not only is the timber taken away, but the bush that is left standing has been rendered most difficult for tuture clearing oper ations by the careless manner in which logs, branches, and other debris, have been left lying where they fell. Ifj any person is desirous of taking | forest trees for firewood, posts stabs, or sawn timber, from land which is the property of another, and it is his intention to sell the same with a profit on his labor, it is only reasonable that the owner of the trees should be paid honestly for them, A man has no more ri^ht to steal a tree than he has to steal a horse, and some individuals may be unpleasanrly awakened out of the fools' paradise they have been dreaming in for some time, by the i»"ou hand of the law. It must b« remembered tbat, not only can offenders be punished by imprisonment, but heavy damage* can be recovered for injury done to forest**, thus disgrace to themselves aud ruin to their familes will certainly follow, come may plead ignorance, or custom, or g thousand other excuses, but the law admit* of none of these. We hope to hear no more complaints from the owners of i-jird of this contemptible crime, ar.d tbat the warnir.g we now convey will have the fullest effect.