70 CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 



that is. that they were entitled to the renewal of their licenses from year to year so 

 long as they conformed to the regulations. I would like to ask you whether that was 

 decided legally or was it a compromise that the licenses were to be extended for a 

 term of years. 



Mr. WHITE. Now, I do not know what took place in the province of Quebec but 

 I will tell you what took place in the province of Ontario. When we had this little 

 difficulty with our American friends about the imposition of regulations requiring 

 them to manufacture in Canada, they carried it to the courts, claiming that they had 

 a right under our regulations to a renewal without this new condition, but the courts 

 held, just as I have said, that the licenses terminated absolutely on April 30, and there 

 \\;is no right to renewal except as given to them by the regulations, and the regula- 

 tions provided for restrictive conditions and all that sort of thing ; so that the province 

 owning timber could at the time of giving a new license and a renewal is a new 

 license attach any condition that it chose. 



Mr. BERTRAM. There is no doubt whatever, I think, that what Mr. White states 

 is perfectly correct. The contention of the lumbermen themselves was sustained by 

 tin- Superior Court, and I think it a great compliment to the lumbermen that all the 

 claims made by them in the matter of restricting the output of logs to the United 

 States and every contention was sustained by the courts, and it put us in the posi- 

 tion that we think the Government have a right to listen to our opinions. I would 

 say while my view is that the Forestry Association is certainly indebted to Mr. White 

 for the very able paper which he has presented to us, I think further that one of the 

 great benefits of having a paper presented here is that it will go on our records and 

 be with us continually. We will be able to turn back in time and see just what the 

 regulations are and all about them. I certainly wish to express my own individual 

 thanks, and I have the idea that the Forestry Association will say that we are greatly 

 indebted to Mr. White for the paper. There are one or two points, hardly subjects 

 for discussion, but rather consideration. The Forestry Commission of 1897 gave a 

 great deal of consideration to the preliminary report particularly, and one of the 

 things we had under consideration was as to a time limit for license. We found a 

 large area of licensed land where the timber was cut off and abandoned so that there 

 was nobody there, and no attention was paid by the lumbermen in the way of having 

 fire rangers looking over it. These had no timber on them and were only a danger 

 and detriment to the limit holders alongside of them. We thought it necessary for 

 the Government by some means to take possession of those limits again. That was the 

 idea in our minds in making a recommendation to the Government that they should 

 limit the time so that they could again take possession. And I believe they have done 

 so, although I am not very sure of the area. I believe they have got possession of 

 those cut-over limits which were a danger to the rest of the timber. Now, while after 

 a few years they acceded to that recommendation to limit to ten years, I think, sir, 

 the time is rather short. But I think the principle was right, without any question, 

 although the time is rather short; for this reason: As every lumberman knows, there 

 comes a time, in the history of the trade when it is really a detriment to be obliged to 

 cut timber, while they do not want to lose it. This period may extend over a term 

 of years. Take away back in the nineties; every one of us lost money during those 



