CANADIAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 87 



Mr. WHITE : By regulation of the Department. 

 Mr. CHOWN : To what extent ? 



Mr. WHITE : By examining it to see if it is suitable for agricultural 

 purposes. 



Mr. CHOWN : I am glad to accept Mr. White's statement regarding 

 what has been done. 



Mr. WHITE : While I am on my feet I would like to say that yesterday 

 I was not speaking only about the growth. 



Mr. CHOWN : Of course I am glad to accept Mr. White's statement. 

 The point is, though, that in this Province of Ontario, with all our talk, 

 we have not as yet sufficiently recognized either the importance of the seg- 

 regation of the lands or of the timber crop to have a survey made to find out 

 what we really possess. A number of years ago the Ontario Government 

 sent a number of parties up to the north, and we did get a certain number 

 of guesses as to what was there; but as to any practical survey, that has 

 not been made. Then we come to the question of fire protection. Well, we 

 have talked fire protection till we are all tired of it, and of course it is the 

 A-B-C of forestry; but have we really accomplished anything? 



SENATOR EDWARDS : Oh ! a great deal. 



Mr. CHOWN : Well, I think you must allow for two things besides what 

 this Forestry Association has done. I sometimes think there is a little man 

 down in Washington who has done more to raise the whole question of 

 forestry than what this Forestry Association has done. 



SENATOR EDWARDS : While I agree with a great deal of what our friend 

 is saying, and while I am ready to denounce the Provincial Governments 

 for not having done their duty, the Province of Ontario takes the lead in 

 so far as forest preservation is concerned the protection of the forests. 

 That was inaugurated in Ontario, and not in Washington. Later on I will 

 make remarks which will, perhaps, reflect very severely on the Ontario 

 Government, but so far as the Crown Lands Department is concerned, 

 Ontario deserves a great deal of credit for having inaugurated a good system 

 of fire protection. 



At this stage of the meeting Hon. Frank Cochrane, Minister of Crown 

 Lands, Forests and Mines, in the Ontario Government, took a seat on the 

 platform, amidst applause. 



Mr. CHOWN : Perhaps I am inclined to take a pessimistic view of the 

 situation; but I think any one who studies it will admit that we have not 



