758 president's address. 



than once expressed, is that our peculiar conditions necessitate the 

 setting up of a specially adapted system of Australian forestry, for 

 I know of no country whose methods can safely be transplanted 

 without much alteration. Of course the personal equation in 

 forestry is an important one — there may be a man whose experi- 

 ence and whose personality would enable him to successfully deal 

 with our forest questions from the start, but he has to be found. 

 I think we should first set our house in order, obtain a temperate 

 Forest Act, the passing of which can only be secured by a spirit 

 of compromise, obtain knowledge of our own forest lands and of 

 the timbers upon them; all these things can he done with sufficient 

 thoroughness in from three to five years, by which time I do not 

 doubt that the Minister in charge of Forests will be able to offer 

 the post of Acting Conservator to a man with special qualifica- 

 tions. We have made so many mistakes in the past in dealing 

 with our forests that T venture, thus imperfectly, to outline a 

 policy which I submit is sound, and which is certainly safe. 



From my remarks it will be observed that my view of the 

 operation and responsibilities of a Forest Department is that the}' 

 have a much wider scope than is usually attributed to them. 



There is no doubt whatever in my mind that an ideal arrange- 

 ment would be the consolidation of all forestry work and interests 

 in one compact department, under the administration of a 

 sympathetic Minister of the Crown whose attention should be 

 solely occupied with the welfare of this great national property, 

 the forests of New South Wales, and the undertaking of the 

 other important duties which I have indicated as coming within 

 the purview of a modern forestry system. 



As a public servant I have my limitations of speech, but I 

 think it is my duty, as your President, and speaking as I do to a 

 body of scientific men, many of whom have given much attention 

 to phases of the forestry question, to ask you to strengthen the 

 hands of the Government in their efforts to deal scientifically 

 with a congeries of knotty scientific problems. 



