NEW BRUNSWICK FORESTRY CONVENTION 139. 



railway is in the smokestack screen. In the heavy grades that obtain on- 

 the Intercolonial Railway, and I believe on the Canadian Pacific Railway as. 

 well, long trains heavily loaded, the engines naturally send out large cinders,. 

 ^ and as I understand it although my information is secured secondhand, 

 /but I think authentic, from the Speaker of the House, that he read an article 

 not long ago saying that no railway in Canada today had the correct smoke- 

 stack lire screen, except the Lake St. John Railway. They had made a study 

 of it and today had practically a screen that would keep the sparks in. 



These fires along the line of the railway are usually caused by the- 

 sparks that come through the screen. In a great many cases the locomo- 

 tives go out of the machine shops, or roundhouse, with the screen broken ; 

 they get broken and in the rush and hurry they often send a locomotive out 

 with a tear or break, and of course that engine making the trip that day 

 through a wooded country starts a great many tires. In fact I took the 

 trouble myself when I had some lumber burned one year and went to Camp- 

 bellton and found out that the screen in the smokestack was out of order 

 and had been out of order for a fortnight ; but still I could not prove it, al- 

 t'lough I got it from the engineer himself. When I went to the roundhouse 

 foreman and all hands made a statement it was in order and in themean- 

 ime they put it in order. I believe that is the main cause of the fires. 



Again, in reference to the report, there is a subject which may be deli- 

 cate for me to touch upon, as I am interested in lumber. It seems to me 

 that the committee I do not wish to criticize them, but they have consid- 

 erable courage to bring a report of that kind before a convention of lumber- 

 men and ask them to vote and adopt it. They reflect first, I think, on the 

 Government, on the sealers second, and on the lumbermen third, and in very 

 concise and specific manner. Of course I am willing to be with ths crowd 

 and if they want to make it unanimous I will be glad to do so, but I think 

 the lumbermen ought to get a report on the committee and see if they will 

 pass ours. 



MR. STEWART With reference to the fire screen referred to by the 

 last speaker : Within the last month or two the drawings of a certain fire 

 ncreen have been sent to me and the device has been used on the St. John 

 iJailway during the past season and is endorsed by the engineers, and I 

 notice also by one of the officers of the County of Quebec who strongly re- 

 commends it, and from the appearance of the drawings I think it is the best 

 -it certainly has the best showing on the face of it the best device I have 

 seen brought out. 



