CANADIANFOEESTEY ASSOCIATION. 1Q7 



I am very proud indeed of this Convention we have had. I met you 

 last year in Toronto, on the occasion of your last convention, and I thiak 

 you will agree with me that we have had a larger gathering in the si; all 

 city of Fredericton than we had in that great city of Toronto, with its thou- 

 sands of people to draw from. (Applause.) That shows exactly the po- 

 sition that our people are taking; they are realizing the value of this great 

 asset. And if you look over the history of the world you will find the 

 countries that appreciated the value of the forests, to the extent of refor- 

 estation, are to-day reaping millions of dollars in reward. We are told by 

 Mr. Lawler, the Secretary, whe has given a good deal of his time to be- 

 coming familiar with the subject, that Prussia and other countries of 

 Europe derive large sums of money from their forests. If our forests can 

 be used in the same way, we will not, in some years to come, care whether 

 or not we receive any money at all from the Federal Treasury; we will have 

 timber enough in this Province, if properly protected, to carry on the public 

 utilities of the Province. What we want to do is to teach the boys and girls 

 of to-day, those who are going to take our places in a few years, that they 

 must appreciate to the fullest extent the forests of this country. And we 

 must do more than that, we must apply the regulations and see that they are 

 enforced, which will protect the lumber we have to-day. We do want to 

 restrict and prevent the cutting of undersized timber. If you are an honor- 

 able man, and you have a lease of a large tract of land, and the Crown 

 Lands Department gives you a permit to cut undersized logs from 25 to 30 

 acres, bu you cut indiscriminately what is the good of your^honor so far 

 as our lands are concerned? I can tell you it is only a few days ago that a 

 lumberman, who had obtained a license to cut undersized lumber, exceeded 

 that permit and he said he did so, because he could afford to pay the $250 

 trespass charge. 



THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR : Why don't you cancel his lease. 



SURVEYOR-GENERAL: I don't think we have authority. I do believe 

 with His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor that legislation should be passed 

 in this Province whereby, when it is found that a man is deliberately and in- 

 tentionally violating the terms of his lease in this respect, the Department 

 should have power to cancel that lease and stop the operation at once. It is 

 the only way you will put fear in that man's heart, and unless you can do 

 that you will never be able to protect the lumber industry as far as he is 

 concerned. (Hear, hear.) We are trying to get a proper fire protection 

 service, and we want to teach everybody concerned in the lumber industry 

 that regulations when made must be observed, and if that is done, there will 

 be no trouble in regard to the conservation of the forests or the revenue de- 

 rived therefrom. 



It has been a very great pleasure to the Government of this Province to 

 be able to extend to the Canadian Forestry Association an invitation to 

 come here. We are honored by the fact that you have come from distant 

 parts of the Dominion, and we hope when you come again, in the course of 

 a few years, we will be able to present to you as a result of this Conven- 

 tion a very different state of affairs, so far as our forests are concerned 

 from what exists to-day. For myself, and the Government of the Province, 



