Canadian Forestry Convention. 167 



In a splendid and witty speech His Excellency replied to 

 the toast of his health, dealing with matters of general interest. 

 He spoke particularly of the questions of market and labour 

 which are of pressing importance in British Columbia at the 

 present time. 



"The Allied Interests" were proposed by His Honour, 

 Lieutenant Governor Dunsmuir, and responded to by Mr. 

 Flummerfelt, Mr. F. W. Cockshutt, President of the Canadian 

 Manufacturers' Association, Mr. W. K. George and Mr. R. P. 

 McLennan, President of the Vancouver Board of Trade. 



Mr. Campbell Sweeney proposed "The Press" which was 

 responded to by Hon. F. L. Carter-Cotton and Mr. L. D. Taylor. 



Thursday, 27th September. — Morning Session. 



The first paper, presented by Dr. Judson F. Clark, Forester for 

 the Province of Ontario, was entitled, "Forest Revenues and 

 Forest Conservation" and was an argument for a change of 

 policy in disposing of timber. He said: 



"Present lumbering methods are devastating the Canadian 

 forest. Why is this? Lumbering is the business of removing 

 the mature timber, and this should improve the forest. It has 

 done so elsewhere for centuries. Not in Europe and Asia alone, 

 but in many places in North America. Why does it not do so on 

 the Canadian timber limits? There are, indeed, isolated ex- 

 amples of improvement by lumbering even here which show the 

 possibilities, but the exceptions to the rule but emphasize the 

 failure of the present policy as a whole. 



"It is my belief that the fatal weakness of the present 

 system of disposing of Provincial timber is to be found in the 

 fact that the provisions of the agreements entered into by the 

 provinces as sellers and the lumbermen as purchasers place a 

 minimum on destructive lumbering. In other words, the terms 

 of sale which have found general acceptance make it to be in the 

 financial interest of the operators to despoil rather than to 

 conserve the forests. 



After discussing the methods in practice at present, Dr. 

 Clark outlined the policy he would suggest as follows: — 



"Preparatory. A first step in the preparation for a sale of 

 timber should be to make an estimate of the quantities of the 

 different kinds to be sold for publication with the advertisement 

 of the sale. An estimate of the value would also be made, this 

 latter for the use of the Forest Department in determining their 

 reserve bid. 



