THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. IO9 



criticisms, at first from writers whose opinions were worthy 

 of serious consideration, but who were apparently unin- 

 structed as to the true condition of the Forest, and ultimately 

 from the Press at large, fomented into rancorous activity by 

 irresponsible scribblers and condemning the action of the 

 Verderers with that vehemence and assurance which are so 

 generally found in association with a profound ignorance of the 

 subject under criticism. It appeared that the time had arrived 

 for formal intervention by the Club on behalf of the Verderers, 

 whose case had been so grossly misrepresented in the course of 

 the newspaper controversy, and the great meeting of April 28th, 

 1894, ^^^11 always remain memorable in our annals as having 

 been the occasion for the free discussion of the action of the 

 Verderers after having given our members and the public the 

 opportunity of seeing for themselves the places where thinning 

 had been going on, and of hearing from Mr. Buxton on tlie spot 

 the reasons for carrying out these operations (Essex Naturalist 

 VIII., 52 — 71). That meeting as you all know resulted in what 

 was practically a vote of confidence in the Conservators, and 

 marked the beginning of the turn of the tide of popular opinion. 

 In this we may, I think, take credit for having done a good piece 

 of work for the benefit of the Forest, for if the ignorant clamour 

 that had been raised had been allowed to take practical form by 

 paralysing the hands of the Conservators, the Forest would have 

 lost the valuable supervision of the best informed and most skil- 

 ful of its Verderers to its everlasting detriment. The first report 

 of the experts appointed by the Corporation of London to 

 examine into the operations in progress was made on June 4th, 

 1894 (Essex Naturalist VI II., 117) and in substance shows 

 that the vote of confidence passed at our meeting in April was 

 justified (see Nature, July 5th, 1894). '^^^ agitation was renewed 

 the following year, and resolutions passed at a public meeting of 

 the complainants held at Wanstead were presented to the Epping 

 Forest Committee of the Corporation of London by a deputation 

 on May 13th, 1895. ■'■^ ^'^^ ^o^ thought necessary on this 

 occasion to bring further organised resistance from the Club to 

 bear upon the controversy as no new arguments or facts had 

 been adduced by the agitators, but I ventured to collect on my 

 own responsibility a large body of expert evidence ar^d of 

 opinions from representative men, all of whom had personally 

 inspected the Forest, and also from many leading inhabitants of 



