CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 27 



towards the job. The consequence is that for a distance of twenty miles on each side 

 of the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway the land is Dominion land, and 

 administered from Ottawa, and entirely distinct from the whole of the rest of the 

 province, which is administered from Victoria. The area of that railway belt is some- 

 where about twenty or twenty-five thousand square miles it is about five hundred 

 miles long by forty miles wide. Of that area some seven hundred miles are held by 

 the company I represent, in the shape of timber limits. That is more than any other 

 concern happens to hold in that railway belt, and we probably pay a little more to- 

 wards the cost of those fire rangers than any other firm there. 



This being the case, I want to say right now that if the government will double 

 the number of fire rangers, or multiply it by three, and administer it in the same way, 

 and use the same care in selecting the men, and give the same kind of expert super- 

 vision as they have had from Mr. Leamy, and such direction and advice as they 'have 

 had from Mr-. Stewart, our concern for one would be very glad to pay its proportion 

 of the increased cost, and we believe that we will get a good many dollars' benefit for 

 every dollar that we spend in that way. 



I may tell you that before this system was established we had one fire in berth 

 No. 17 by which we lost about two hundred million feet of timber. The fire was caused 

 by a man, who we believed was a squatter. You understand that there are no farm- 

 ers in British Columbia. Every man who has two hills of potatoes and a couple of 

 blankets is a ' rancher.' That distinction is made out there because they do not like to 

 be called farmers. 



While on this question of squatters, it seems to me that the Dominion govern- 

 ment ought to arrange this for us. It seems to me that we ought to get a license from 

 the Dominion government which would show that we are entitled to the possession 

 of the land in the meantime, and if ranchers squat on it the government ought to 

 intervene and give us quiet possession of the land, and settle the matter as between 

 the holder of the land and the squatter. 



They say to us now, ' Take eviction proceedings and put those fellows off.' Now, 

 eviction proceedings have never been popular in Ireland or anywhere else, and the 

 lumbermen do not 'think it is their business to be called upon to take eviction pro- 

 ceedings against any one. If the government took hold of the matter and dealt with 

 it in some practical way, then the ranchers would not have any hard feelings against 

 the lumbermen; and at any rate it is the business of the government and not the busi- 

 ness of the lumbermen. 



That is a point that might be dealt with by this association, and the government 

 might be asked <to consider the matter. It seems to me that it is an important point, 

 and falls in with one of the objects of this association, which is the preserving of the 

 timber that we have, in addition to the growing of another supply. 



While I am speaking of the growing of another supply of timber I would like to 

 confirm what Mr. Leamy has said in reference to the second growth in the Shuswap 

 lake district. This is also the case in the valley of the Columbia river, above Golden 

 particularly. 



