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I All these important considerations | had to be carefully weighed,. We have, 'however, on the whole, artived at the , conclusion that while these arguments 'are not without great weight, they are not so forcible as those presenting tfim appeared to think them to hbe. | While there are, no doubt, risks to he run, the cbiject to be gained, namely, \the preservation of our timber sup-- \ply, decreased annual cuttings of the \ timber. and the home manufacture, are [ worth the risk--the two former of these { especially. The increasing export of 'logs to supply mill« in another country l is hecoming form'@Jable, and where a noighboring country so artificially ar-- ~know that a minority, at all events, of the lumbermen in the Province of On-- tario were opposed to the action which the majority were urging upon the Government to take. It can be easily understood that the CGieorglan Bay lum-- bermen, whose lumber necessarily has to be taken to the United States and is brought into competition with that of the Michigan lumbermen, who take their logs from adjacent limits across to the other side and escape the duty, are at a gréeat disadvantage. That is not the case with the Ottawa lumber-- men. They stand in a different position from that occupied by the Georgian Bay lumbermen, in tha+t they are nearer the eastern market. They are in a position to take their lumber into the eastern market and to pay $1 and even $2 duty, and although this is a great burden to them they are rather . opposed to anything that would haw the appearance of retaliation or o meeting the action of the United States -- Congress by reason of the apprehen-- sion that it might lead to further re-- prisals, and that an absolutely pro-- hibitory tariff might be imposed at Washington.That is the view of the Ot-- tawa lumbermen, or some of them, and therefore we had in dcaling with the matter to meet a conflict of interest on the part of those who are specially interested in the whole question. While some argued that the imposition of the manufacturing conditions would be lia-- ble to bring about a better under-- standing and more satisfactory rela-- tions with the United States, it was urged with much force on the other bhand that it would be attended with greater embarrassment, and no one can deny but that the latter is a pos-- sible result. ulthough others may con-- tend that it is extremely improbable. It has been contended, moreover, that such a regulation would be called con-- fiscation, that it would depreciate the value of the timber limits owned by the Crown as well as by Canadians and Americans. The limits owned by Am-- ericans have been carried very large-- ly by Canadian banks and Canadian capital. It has been contended that it would mean the practical abandon-- ment of timber onerations by American companies, that there would be a con-- sequent loss of work for the men here-- tofore engaged in the business, that it would mean a stoppage in dealing in supplies. to, say nothing of possible further retaliatory measures, and have a very bad effect upon our timber limit operations. It was also urged that our revenue would be disastrously af-- fected. A Justifiable Course. ranges its tarif that Canadian Iumper cannot be cut in Canada, and that it must, in order to find access to their markets at all, be taken from Can-- ada in the raw state and manufact-- ured in another c untry, disagreeable as the duty is, we are . justified in moeting that situation by taking steps |to overcome that artificially created gificulty, and to restore and preserve the manufacture in our own country. (Applause.) If it be allowable for the United States to create by legislation this state of affairs, it is permissible for us to overcome it, (Renewed ap-- plause.) The form in which the legisla-- tion at Washington has been put has been extremely distasteful and offens-- ive to our people. Having practically assumed to legislate for themselves as well as for us, they have provided in the Province of New Brunswick that logs taken from the American side to the Canadian side must be manufac-- tured in Canada by Americans. They have gone the length of providing that on -- Canadian éofl, Lgelr logs shall be manufactuféd ~"by Americans | alone, Is thgre anything _ more ' natural -- than . that we -- should | provide, not by?! way of retaliation |I repudiate the térm retaliation entire-- \ly in conneotlonviwith any course the me to remark u}'ut some time ago we passed regulations providing that, in-- cidental to the action now being taken, all manufacturing, all work done in the cutting down of the timber, the cutting of it into logs and bringing it to the front should be done by Canadian labor only. ({Applause.) Some of the papers in the country have assumed to treat that as a matter of trivial importance. Perhaps it is not a matter of such very immense importance, but nevertheless it is important. (Hear, hear.) I have reason to know that it has had the ef-- fect of reserving work in the woods much more largely to our own people than hitherto. I have reason to know that the vigilant 'officer who was ap-- pointed for the purpose of enforcing theso regulations has been alive to his duty, and that on some occasions he has--I was going to say had the satis-- faction--but he has been compelled in carrying out his instructions to bring to the front quite a number of those who were working in the woods in vio-- lation of the order in Council and sent them to their own side of the line. That has been done, and the regula-- tions for the purchase of supplies in Cavrada have been more thoroughly carried out than hitherto; and, what-- ever may be said of those provisions affecting alien labor, I am satisfied of this : that they have given the great-- est possible satisfaction to the people in the portions of the Province where the labor interests are conserned in this particular matter. I can state, more-- over, that the effects of this are that the wages--and perhaps that is the best evidence that there has been some-- Government is nbw taking--that Can-- adian logs, whether owned by Canad-- ians or Americans, shall be manufac-- tured by Canadians on Canadian ter-- ritory. (Loud applauge.) If it is fair for the Amerlcaps to legislate that the manufacturing of American logs shall be wholly dene by Americans in Can-- ada, it cannot be unfair for Canadians to provide that €Canadian logs shall be manufactured in;.Canada. 'That leads thing gained by the regulations -- the 1 manufact-- d'sagreeable jJustified in taking steps 0 3