4 Canadian Forestry Journal. 



be maintained as forests and that our water-sheds must be 

 kept in forest. All the hills, mountains and plateaus 

 which are the sources of flowing streams or rivers should never 

 be allowed for any consideration whatever to remain anything 

 else than forest. No consideration whatever should allow these 

 portions of the earth's surface to be denuded of their trees. 

 We know the consequence and therefore it is needless for me to 

 dwell upon that feature ; it is a mere truism. 



But, what I want to call your attention to is that if these 

 portions of the earth's surface in our own country are to be 

 maintained as forests it is essential, in my humble judgment 

 at all events, that they should form part of the national domain, 

 that they should belong to the state. In Canada by the State 

 I mean the provincial governments, where the management of 

 the public lands is left to the provincial governments, and the 

 national government where the ownership of public lands is 

 left to the national government. If it so happens, and I am 

 afraid it has happened, that some portions of these watersheds 

 have been alienated from the public domain and have been 

 transferred to private ownership it should be the policy of the 

 National Government, and it should be the policy of the pro- 

 vincial governments, to repurchase these lands and bring them 

 back to the public domain. 



The state of New York has inaugurated such a policy. The 

 state of New York years ago made the mistake — I was going to 

 say committed the folly, and perhaps that word would not be too 

 strong — of alienating part of the watershed of the Adirondack 

 mountains. We know the fatal consequences that have arisen 

 from that policy in the droughts which have, more than once, 

 been the bane of that beautiful state. And now, I understand, 

 the legislature of the state of New York has passed laws auth- 

 orizing the administration, as fast as possible, to re-acquire these 

 lands and make them a part of the public domain. If, in any 

 part of Canada, a similar mistake has been made, a policy such 

 as that adopted by the state of New York should be adopted 

 here, and the national or provincial governments whose business 

 it is should make it their object to bring back to the public 

 ownership the lands that have been alienated, and make these 

 forests a part of the national domain, as is done in Germany, 

 France and some other countries (Applause). On this point, 

 I am sure, we all agree. 



The next consideration for which I would ask the 

 deliberation of this Convention is the reproduction of the 

 forests. Our system of treating the forests is to lease them to 

 the lumbermen for the purpose of taking off the merchantable 

 timber. I do not know whether this policy is advisable or not. 

 I believe that, on the whole, it is advisable. But no efTort is 



