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THE MAGNA CHARTA OF THE REFORESTATION MOVEMENT IN CHINA 



This document was the means of permitting Professor Joseph Bailie of the University of Nanking, China, to start the work of reforesting Purple 

 Mountain near Nanking, which is now the inspiration of a widespread movement in China to teach the Chinese the need of forestry. The 

 main portion is composed of tlie signatures and seals of the noted men who signed tlie document. Below the signatures will be found their 

 names as spelled in English. 



Magna Charta of China's Forestry Work 



Dr. Joseph Bailie 

 Instnictor in Forestry, University of Xankituj. China 



THE November, 191o, number of American For- 

 estry contained an article by W. F. Sherfesee, 

 Director of Forestrv-, Philippine Islands, entitled 

 ''The Reforestation Movement in China." In that article 

 Mr. Sherfesee describes his visit to China to help us in 

 opening our school of forestry in the University of 

 Nanking and the survey he mad; of the southern part 

 of the province of Antrim at the invitation of Governor 

 Han. He also refers in rather flattering terms to the 

 work already done by our university on the slopes of 

 Purple Mountain, and draws conclusions from what he 

 observed. 



The object of this article is to add a few touches of 

 human interest to what Mr. Sherfesee has written and 

 to carry the history of the development of our College 

 of Agriculture and Forestry up to date. 



The illustration at the top of this page may seem to 

 some a meaningless waste of printers' ink. To others 

 ic may seem a proof of the superannuation of "old 

 Bailie." To the writer and those associated with us in 

 the beginning of this work it is the Alagna Charta of 

 "The Reforestation Movement in China." It had its 

 origin in the following way. 



The fall and winter of 1911 found the writer engaged 

 in giving relief work around the University of Nanking, 

 China, and in the Mission compounds to 700 or more 

 famine refugees. We made roads, filled ponds, drained 

 unusable lands, and did other work. The object, however, 

 behind the coloniation movement was not to engage a 

 268 



horde of laborers during famine times, on our own com- 

 pound, letting all the advantage gained by the labor ac- 

 crue to us in the form of rendering our residence less un- 

 sanitary, or to enable Americans to reach their own doors 

 without having to wade knee deep through mud, however 

 desirable all these results might be, but to use money 

 contributed for the relief of the poor to produce results 

 which would also be for the poor and not for their 

 wealthy benefactors. It was only after the republic was 

 set up in Nanking that we were able to inaugurate this 

 movement, by the purchase of about one thousand Eng- 

 lish acres of the northwest slope of Purple Mountain. 



Prior to this we had already organized the Coloniza- 

 tion Association, which is composed of foreigners and 

 Chinese, with Chang Chien as the national head. As one 

 of the main functions of this Association is to hold lands 

 in trust for the poor and as, according to present Treaty 

 Rights, foreigners can not hold land in China, our board 

 of trustees had to be all Chinese. So the land on Purple 

 Mountain, though paid for out of money contributed 

 both by Chinese and foreigners, was held in the names 

 of five Chinese, though the documents were left in my 

 possession as manager, pro tem. 



On acquiring the Purple Mountain estate we were 

 enabled to carry out the idea of accumulating for the 

 good of the poor the results of their own industry, and 

 to raise the number of those employed. We dug canals, 

 grubbed stones out of the land, made roads and drives 

 with these stones, levelled uneven places and made an 



