Minutes of the Fourteenth Annual Meeting

OF THE

Association of Ontario Land Surveyors

HELD AT THE REPOSITORY, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS,

ON THE 27TH AND 28TH FEBRUARY, AND 1ST MARCH, 1906.

At 2.15 o'clock of Tuesday, February 27th, 1906, the President, Mr. J. W. Tyrrell, called the meeting to order, and addressed the members.

Gentlemen, The privileg and pleasure of opening this, our Fourteenth Annual Convention of the Ontario Land Surveyors, devolves upon me, and I wish to thank you very much for the honor which you have done me in placing me in the chair. I had not the pleasure of attending the Annual Meeting last year as I was away back in the woods at the time, in Western Manitoba, enjoying myself as we all know how to enjoy ourselves under those circumstances.

I am not going to burden you with any lengthy remarks today, but will merely briefly mention three or four of the subjects which I hope may come up for consideration during the present session. First of all, let me express my deep regret, and I am sure you all concur with me in this, in the loss of two of our active members by death during the past year. I refer to Major Sankey and Allan McDougall. In the case of Major Sankey I am sure we all especially regret his loss exceedingly, his face having been so familiar at our annual meetings and he being one of our most active members since the formation of the Association. With Allan McDougall I had not the pleasure of a personal acquaintance, but many of you knew him, and I am sure we all regret the death of these two gentlemen. I do not know of any other losses to our Society in this way during the past year, but if there are any I would like to mention them if you will let me know. If we have

only lost those two members, I think in the matter of numbers, we have reason to congratulate ourselves on the small death rate.

I understand from our Secretary that we have great reason to felicitate ourselves on the state of our finances, as he tells me that our Treasury has been enriched to the extent of an additional $600 during the past year.

Some of the subjects which I would like to see brought up for discussion at the present meeting are these: First of all, the Textbook or Manual. The Textbook was referred to in the report of last year, and most of you, I fancy, know to what I refer. It was suggested at the last Annual Meeting, I understand, by Professor Galbraith in the first place, that a Textbook should be prepared for the students as well as for the Surveyors engaged in their practice, for their assistance and guidance in matters pertaining to surveys. It would be a good thing for both. There is no doubt we all have felt a want in that direction. The Act in itself is all right, but it is not sufficient. Personally, I would like to see something compiled for our use similar to the Dominion Lands Manual which we Dominion Land Surveyors find so indispensable, and which contains astronomical and all other tables.

Then we have the old question of a topographical survey which I would like to hear discussed again this year. I think the Chairman of the Topographical Committee, Mr. Klotz, reported some progress or some probability of topographical surveys being commenced in the near future. Any steps which we might be able to take to further or to hasten the commencement of systematic topographical surveying in the Dominion, I think would be in the right direction.

Then the Metric System is just now a very live question, especially on the other side of the border, and I think it is worthy of our consideration. This I know was taken up at one time and gone into rather fully by both the late Major Sankey and Mr. Butler, who, I think, made a report in the matter. I am not sure whether there was a committee appointed to go into the question of the advisability of adopting the Metric System, but at all events I remember-indeed it was in the report for the year 1901-Mr. Butler gave some valuable information in regard to it, and I think it would be well for us, perhaps, to appoint a committee in that regard, at all events to bring the matter up for discussion as to the advisability of its being generally adopted in Canada.

And the last thing on our list, I think, is that we should have a revision of our tariff, if we can be said to have anything of the sort at all. I think there is a very wide range-too wide altogether

-in the charges made by the Land Surveyors in the different parts of the country. I think it would be decidedly in our own interests if we were to arrange for some sort of a universal tariff. It was done at one time a good many years ago, I recollect, although I don't think it was considered absolutely binding upon the members of the Association, and yet it served a good purpose, but the tariff laid down then was not a twentieth century tariff, and I think we should have a new one prepared.

I believe in Toronto the Surveyors have a tariff arranged among themselves. I know I received a copy of it, and we on the Mountain, or under the Mountain, try to make our charges in accordance with that tariff which is in vogue in this city, but I know there are Surveyors in our own neighborhood that do not know anything about such a tariff, and indeed make very different charges. This is an important matter and I would like to see it discussed at the present session. I thank you again, gentlemen.

The President then called for the report of the SecretaryTreasurer, which was read by Captain Killaly Gamble, the Secretary.

Mr. A. Niven moved, seconded by Mr. Thos. Fawcett, that the report of the Secretary-Treasurer be received, adopted and printed in the minutes of the Report. Carried.

The President called on Mr. Elihu Stewart to read a paper to the Association entitled "Exploration Surveys in Relation to Forestry.'

Mr. Stewart-Mr. President and Gentlemen: It affords me a great deal of pleasure to be present again at this meeting of the Association. I remember I was present at its birth, in 1886 I think it was, some twenty years ago, in the old Parliament Buildings, and for many years after that I think I was an attendant at almost every meeting, and also at the more important part, the dinners. Some of us were perhaps not as proficient in discussing the matters coming before the Association as we were in partaking of the dinner. I was reminded when your President was speaking about the deaths in the Association of when I first met Mr. Sankey, who was so prominently connected with the Association.

When your Secretary asked me to prepare a paper to read I thought I could do so, but I found I had difficulty in fixing upon a title for what I should say. I did think that I had found something that was perhaps rather a criticism on the Association or connected with the Association, but I found you had advanced. Then I thought there was nothing on the subject of Forestry, but on looking at your curriculum I found there was something on

that. I then took up an old subject that I had spoken on before in reference to Forestry.

Mr. Stewart then read his paper on "Exploration Surveys in Relation to Forestry."

The President-I would move, seconded by Mr. Sewell, that this paper of Mr. Stewart be received and printed in the Report. -Carried.

The President called for the paper entitled "Cobalt," and as Mr. Blair was not present, the paper was read by Mr. A. J. Van Nostrand.

It was moved by Mr. A. Niven, seconded by Mr. James Dickson, that the paper be received and printed in the Report.— Carried.

The President called for the Report of the Committee on Repository and Biography, and as Mr. W. A. Maclean was not present, the report was read by Capt. K. Gamble.

It was moved by Mr. M. Gaviller, and seconded by Mr. Thos. Fawcett, that the report be received and adopted and printed in the Report.-Carried.

The President called for the Report of the Committee on Topographical Survey, and as Mr. O. J. Klotz was not present, the report was read by Mr. T. B. Speight.

Mr. Speight moved, seconded by Mr. A. Niven, that the report be received and adopted and printed in the Report.-Carried.

The President-As it is still early in the afternoon, Mr. P. S. Gibson has kindly consented to read his paper which is on the programme for to-morrow morning, entitled "The Study of the Survey Act."

Mr. Gibson-Of course this paper will be very simple to you gentlemen, but perhaps some of the students will be glad of a few hints. I may say that I started in with very good ideas, but I found it was going to take me a very long time if I wrote it out fully, so I had to confine myself to suggestions.

It was moved by Mr. T. B. Speight, and seconded by Mr. H. DeQ. Sewell, that Mr. Gibson's paper be received and adopted and printed in the Report.—Carried.

At 4.30 p.m. the meeting adjourned.