§ 81. Mr. Baldwinasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that his Department is refusing to issue licences to persons desirous of operating in the round timber trade; and what are the reasons.
§ Mr. BelcherYes. It is the general practice to give licences to fell trees, and to acquire round timber for resale, only to established sawmillers and timber merchants, in order to ensure that homegrown timber is efficiently processed and disposed of for the purpose for which it is most urgently required. Many applications are received from newcomers but it would serve no useful purpose to multiply the number of concerns handling our already depleted supplies of homegrown timber.