1909] on Afforestatmi. 637 



shapes and sizes on the spot where it grows, whereby much cost of 

 carriage is saved, which conversion means the establishment of saw- 

 mills in the centre of each block of forest. Where saw-mills are, 

 engineers and luml)er-men must be also, and probably carpenters and 

 joiners who would manufacture the parts of articles of domestic use, 

 such as doors and their frames or window-sashes — things, be it re- 

 membered, that now come in by the thousand from abroad, ready- 

 fashioned for use by foreign labour. Again, manufactories w^ould 

 arise for the production of wood pulp which is now used in enormous 

 quantities for the making of paper. Of these factories, I believe there 

 are at present only two in the United Kingdom, and both of them 

 make use of foreign wood. Such works in time would mean that 

 population must arise about them to supply the needs and minister to 

 the comfort and convenience of the workers ; in short, they would 

 retain a great number of people in the country districts who, as it is, 

 drift into the towns, there, but too often, to swell the mass of misery 

 and pauperism. This alone, I submit, is an end well worth attempt- 

 ing and much to be desired. 



This mention of pauperism brings me to another and a very 

 important question. You will remember that the terms of reference 

 directed us to inquire into the expediency of Afforestation "as a 

 means of increasing employment during periods of depression in the 

 labour market," which means that our investigation was concerned 

 not only with the possibilities of forestry but also with the fact, the 

 sad and patent fact, of unemployment. I am well aware that from 

 this circumstance have been hewn stones, whole cartloads of them, 

 to pelt us and our conclusions. " What has the great cause of 

 Afforestation to do with the pitiful business of tramps and won't-work 

 loafers ? " some of our critics have asked and continue to ask. I 

 answer, with tramps and " won't- works " and other unemployables, 

 little or nothing at all ; but these wretched classes who present to 

 Statesmen and Philanthropists one of the greatest problems of 

 civilisation do not comprise the whole body of the unfortunates, who 

 for one cause or another are among the unemployed. Much evidence 

 on this point exists, but I may state that the upshot of it is that 

 there exist thousands of men, most of whom have some acquaintance 

 with labour on the laud, who, if only the chance were given to them, 

 are competent and wilUng, under proper supervision, to do most of 

 the work directly and indirectly connected with the planting of trees 

 upon a large scale ; yes, as many or more of such men as could be 

 employed under any scheme of afforestation that is at all likely to be 

 set on foot in this country, and, even if I were wrong upon this 

 point, even if such men did not exist, still the enterprise of afforesta- 

 tion conducted upon a large scale would have a very considerable 

 remedial effect in connection with the prevalence of unemployment. 

 For what is one of the great causes of this persistent lack of work ? 

 Is it not that the strong young people from the land who can find 



