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unnecessary to investigate those statutes, for the sections quoted plainly indicate that the survey and scaling in case of a chartered boom is not solely at the instance of the owner or owners of the logs, but is compulsory. Section 2400 declares that "the surveyor general, by himself or deputy, shall survey all logs and timber running out of any boom now chartered or which may hereafter be chartered by law in his district." To those unfamiliar with the logging business as carried on in the timber regions of the North and Northwest this compulsory surveying and scaling may seem unnecessary, but all legislation may rightfully be adjusted to the actual operations of business, being intended to facilitate those operations and protect all who are engaged therein. Many are engaged in the cutting of logs in these lumber districts. That business is facilitated by any system which permits those parties to turn their logs into an adjacent stream and let them float down to some place where they can be collected and brailed. In that way each individual cutter is saved the necessity of brailing his logs at every place where he may bring them to the water. The several States in which these lumber districts are situated have assumed the power of taking charge of these logs thus put singly into a stream, collecting them at one place, separating them to their respective owners, and thus facilitating the forwarding in raft to market. Of course, such work entails expense, and the expense is rightfully charged upon the property thus separated and marked. The thought. in this respect is well expressed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota in Osborne v. Knife Falls Boom Corp., 32 Minnesota, 412, 419:

"Now it appears that there is a large number of persons owning standing timber upon the upper waters of the St. Louis and upon its tributaries, who must float their logs to market down the St. Louis, some to Fond du Lac, Duluth or Superior, and some to Cloquet, or other points above and near Knife River Falls. The interest of the latter requires that their logs should be stopped before passing Knife River Falls; the interest of the former that their logs should be allowed to run over them without interruption.

In

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this conflict who is to determine how the right of floatage upon this common highway shall be enjoyed? Who is to fix upon the just and proper compromise of these conflicting interests? Obviously, the legislature - that department of gov ernment which, in the exercise of a lawmaking and a police power, prescribes the rules by which the use of-public highways in general is regulated, Pound v. Turck, 95 U. S. 459; Watts v. Tittabawassee Boom Co., 52 Michigan, 203, and save. as controlled by paramount law that is to say, in this instance, by our state constitution or enabling act — the discretion of the legislature in the premises is practically unlimited. It may enact laws prescribing the manner in which the common right of floatage shall be enjoyed. It may determine what means shall be adopted, and by what agency, to secure results which, in its judgment, are the best and fairest practical compromise of conflicting interests the best attainable good of all concerned. Pound v. Turck, supra; Duluth Lumber Co. v. St. Louis Boom Co., 17 Fed. Rep. 419. In the exercise of its legislative discretion it may authorize suitable means and instrumentalities to secure this end to be provided and employed by a private person or by a corporation, and it may prescribe what these means and instrumentalities may be, as booms, dams, piers, sluiceways, and what use may be made of them, and, in general, in what manner the business shall be conducted. On the whole, this is an

improvement of the river for the benefit of all concerned in its use, and one for which it is therefore competent for the legislature to require those using the river to make compensation."

In furtherance of the thought thus expressed the legislature of Minnesota has given the right to boom companies duly incorporated to take possession of the great mass of floating logs coming down a stream, and requires that those logs thus taken possession of shall be inspected and scaled under the supervision of some state official. In that way each individual owner and cutter has a guarantee of safety in respect to his logs, and the general interests are so manifestly subserved that there can be no reasonable doubt of the legislative power

Opinion of the Court.

of supervision, inspection and scaling. And the language of the statute being mandatory, we are of the opinion that such was the intent of the legislature, and that such legislation is within its power.

A third proposition is, that it is not shown that the defendant, Mullen, complied with the statutes of the State of Minnesota which give a lien on logs so as to be entitled to any lien on these logs, or any right of possession thereof, and it is with reference to this matter that the second declaration of law was asked by the plaintiff. The contentions of the plaintiff in this respect seem to be, first, that the scale bills were not of themselves competent evidence, and that without them there was no clear and satisfactory evidence of the number of feet surveyed and scaled; second, that because they were not recorded in the books of the surveyor general the right to a lien had not arisen; and, third, that the testimony shows that the logs in fact surveyed and scaled and for which these fees and lien were claimed were not all the property of this plaintiff.

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With reference to the general proposition that the defendant, Mullen, by himself and deputies, was busy in scaling logs in that boom during the months named, there is abundant testimony, and when the question is only as to the sufficiency of testimony to establish a given fact, it is enough to say that this court does not inquire into the mere matter of sufficiency. Matters of fact are settled by a verdict of a jury or the general finding of a court, and if there be testimony fairly tending to support the finding, it is conclusive in this court.

But we are not disposed to question the competency of the scale bills as evidence. Section 2403 provides that the books of the surveyor general's office "are hereby declared to be public records, and of as high degree of evidence as the original instrument therein recorded, and shall, in all courts and places in this State, be taken and held to be prima facie evidence of the matters therein stated." In other words, the records, like the original instrument, are prima facie evidence of the matters stated in them. Clark v. C. N. Nelson Lumber Company, 34 Minnesota, 289; Glaspie v. Keator, 12 U. S. App. 281, 290. In both of those cases scale bills some

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what defective in form were declared under the statute competent evidence. Attached to the scale bills herein was a certificate of the surveyor general stating, as required by section 2402, the amount due him thereon, and that he scaled the logs, timber or lumber relying upon the lien, and that he claimed a lien thereon for the amount thereof and costs of collection. The scale bills, thus certified, were delivered to the managing agent of the boom company. Now, whatever suggestions may be made as to the incompleteness of these scale bills, they were, as thus certified, competent evidence, and, when taken in connection with the other evidence of work actually done by the surveyor general and his deputies, was testimony fairly tending to support the general finding of the court, and we are not at liberty to ignore the effect of that finding.

With regard to the second contention, we do not understand that a record in the books of the surveyor general is preliminary to a right to any lien. By section 2402 he is given a lien for certain services; and while it is true that by section 2400 he is required to record the scale bills in the books of his office, and upon being paid his fees therefor to deliver the original bill to the owner or managing agent of the boom, yet for any services other than the mere making of the record we are of the opinion that under the two sections referred to he establishes his lien by the rendering of the services and affixing to the scale bill the prescribed certificate.

With respect to the final contention under this head, that the logs of the plaintiff, seized by the surveyor general, were so seized under a claim of lien for services rendered in inspecting and scaling logs other than those of the plaintiff as well as its own, the fact is as claimed. An important question is thus presented whether the logs of one party can be subjected to a lien for surveying and scaling, not only his own logs, but also for surveying and scaling logs belonging to other parties. The statement naturally suggests a negative answer, and ordinarily it may be affirmed that no man's property can be subject to a lien for services rendered upon some other man's property. And yet, under the circumstances of the case, we

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are constrained to hold that the lien was good, and must be enforced for the entire amount claimed. And this upon the proposition that for the purposes of a lien the boom company must be considered in a qualified sense the owner of all logs that it takes into its possession. The legislature in providing for a lien recognizes only the boom company. By section 2 of chapter 221 it gives the company authority to establish a boom, construct all the works necessary for its successful operation; then empowers it to take possession of all logs floating down the stream (with certain exceptions not necessary to be noted in this connection), and in and by the conveniences of said boom to sort and brail all logs which it takes possession of; to "charge and collect reasonable and uniform tolls," and have a lien for the tolls, and all costs and expenses; hold a sufficient amount of the logs received to pay the same, and to make sale thereof in default of payment upon ten days' notice. Involved in the costs and expenses is the fee for inspection and scaling, as provided by the laws of the State, and the inspector is required to give at the end of each month to the owner or managing agent of the boom a true and correct scale bill for all the services he has rendered. So, while the owner of the logs may obtain from the surveyor general a certified copy of the inspection and scaling, yet the inspector deals in the first instance with the boom company. To it he gives his scale bill, properly certified, and by virtue thereof he is given a lien upon the logs in the custody of the boom company. The boom company, for its protection, is given a lien on the logs of each owner. Obviously there was seen to be a practical difficulty in, limiting the lien of the surveyor general for his services in inspecting and scaling to the logs separately upon which the services were rendered. The logs are turned into the custody of the boom company. It arranges for their separation and brailing, and delivers them, when thus brailed, to the owner as demanded. The fees for the surveyor general's services were therefore made chargeable to the boom company, and under its charter it had authority to collect from each log owner all charges and expenses, including therein the fees due the surveyor