CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 13 



make that explanation so that Prince Edward Island will not be regarded as a one 

 horse affair. 



Mr. LITTLE. There is one thing I can say. That is, that I find people are a little 

 more inclined to become members of the Association. When I first tried to get people 

 to take an interest in forestry, the first gentleman I spoke to said, ' Mr. Little, to be 

 candid with you, I do not care a rap if every tree in Canada was cut down to-night and 

 burned up to-morrow morning.' Now, that was a few years ago. Shortly after our 

 meeting in Ottawa last year, I called upon a bank manager there and asked him if he 

 Would not become a life member to help us along. He replied, certainly, I will do 

 so with much pleasure, at the same time remarking that we were doing a good work; 

 he also said that not feeling very well one day he remained at home, and happening 

 to see a copy of our forestry report on the table, took it up and did not lay it aside till 

 he had read every word of it. With others, however, I was not so successful, for on 

 applying to an Ontario member of parliament, he said he had no use for forestry; 

 he had to devote his thoughts to politics. Another from the east said he knew all 

 about it. No one could teach him anything about forestry. On rny return to 

 Montreal I wanted a member of the Quebec legislature to interest himself in the sub- 

 ject, when he exclaimed, ' Have I not enough to think about without troubling 

 about the timber!' But as a fact there is now beginning to be an interest taken in 

 the work, and it is less difficult to get people to become members of the Association. 

 I have been endeavouring to get as many as possible to become life members in order 

 to increase our funds we can get ordinary members without much trouble. 



The CHAIRMAN. I may say that Mr. Little has done very well in regard to life 

 members. He has added very largely to our list, and that means a great deal. 



FATHER BURKE. The membership from Prince Edward Island is entirely of the 

 life class. (Laughter.) 



Mr. WHITE. Of course we have two objects in connection with membership. The 

 one is to get sufficient funds to enable us to carry on the work of the Association, and 

 the other is to induce people to become life members to take an interest in the work of 

 the Association. I think the latter class is the more important of the two, because I 

 fancy we shall be able to get enough money to run the Association, if I may put it that 

 way, but I think if we sent out a circular to all the members of the local legislatures 

 and the Dominion parliament, and to the men who are interested in the lumber busi- 

 ness directly and indirectly that is, the bankers, whom Mr. Little has referred to, and 

 others that we could very largely increase our membership. And I think it is desir- 

 able that we should increase, not so much from a monetary point of view, as to the 

 fact that, if we had these members, they would take an interest in the work of the 

 Association. 



Mr. LITTLE. With regard to what Mr. White says it is perfectly correct, now that 

 the governments have come forward and given us enough money to get along on. 

 What I wish to do in connection with the banks is to get life members from a number 

 of their managers. The general manager and the assistant manager of the Bank of 

 Commerce here both became life members, and sent in the first annual fees for ten 



