Timber Conditions of British Columbia. 191 



Macoun be verified, that is that the Douglas fir is a paper making 

 wood, there is practically no end to the possibilities of the busi- 

 ness. If the waste of the fir could be converted into a merchant- 

 able pulp it would prove a boon to the lumbermen, and would 

 go a long way towards removing one of the most prolific causes of 

 forest fire, in the way of turning to use tree tops and other waste 

 product which is now allowed to accumulate in the woods. 

 Some years ago the Legislature granted power to the Lieutenant- 

 Governor-in-Council to enter into agreements with and grant 

 concessions of wood pulp lands to companies desirous of em- 

 barking in the enterprise. Several tracts of land were set aside 

 in reserves to allow these companies to prospect for and locate 

 areas of pulp wood, and select water powers for the operation 

 of their plants. After selection, leases were granted on special 

 terms which included the establishment and operation of pulp 

 and paper mills, within certain time limits. Several companies 

 took advantage of the law and considerable work has been done 

 in cruising, surveying, and other necessary preliminaries. So 

 far, however, the actual work of manufacturing has not been 

 reached, although some of the companies have begun the erection 

 of buildings and the installation of machinery. The chances 

 for profitable business in pulp and paper making on this coast 

 are unsurpassed, as the shipping facilities are cheap and adequate, 

 rendering the markets of the world open to the trade. The Orien- 

 tal countries afford a splendid market, and now with the trans- 

 isthmian railway across Mexico completed , and the establishment 

 of a steamship line from our ports to those of western Mexico, 

 the whole of the Atlantic sea-board is thrown open to our 

 trade in paper, pulp, and,infact, to every product of the Province, 

 The Panama Canal is, as yet, a dream of the future, but the trans- 

 isthmian railway is a reality, and our shortest, cheapest, and 

 most desirable freight route to the Atlantic. 



One word in conclusion with reference to legislation. I 

 feel sure the provincial lumbermen will agree with me in saying 

 that the terms imposed by the Government of the present day 

 are not onerous, or greater than the industry should bear con- 

 sidering the requirements of the Province. In this age con- 

 ditions change rapidly — and particularly so in a new and rich 

 Province like British Columbia, which is on the threshold of a 

 great expansion. But no matter how great the development 

 and progress the future may have in store for us, it must, to a 

 very considerable extent, depend on the development and pro- 

 gress of the kimber industry; and, no matter how conditions 

 may change, or what changes in legislation such altered condi- 

 tions may demand, no Government can ever afford to enact any 

 legislation that will, in any way, check or embarass, or in any 

 way interfere with the development of the lumber industr\^ on 



