DEPUTATION TO PRESIDENT OF BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 487 



motive engines were fitted with such spark-guards as are used in 

 America and elsewhere. An immense amount of damage is done, 

 especially in the Highlands, by sparks from trains. I myself have 

 seen, between Aviemore and Inverness, a moor on fire after the 

 new railway was made, and that is no exceptional case. It is a 

 serious disadvantage to the growth of timber. With the great 

 speeds now common on railways, and with forced draughts, red- 

 hot coals will often fly for more than a hundred yards on each side 

 of the railway track. 



Reply. 



Mr Hanbury, in reply, said : Mr Munro Ferguson and gentle- 

 men, I will first go to the question of the Sparks Bill. I regret 

 exceedingly that that Bill did not make more progress last session 

 than it did. I was unfortunately ill, and not able to attend the 

 House when its second reading came on, or I should have spoken 

 in favour of it. To outsiders it may seem a small matter ; still, as 

 Mr Munro Ferguson said, with the forced speeds of the present 

 day there is no doubt that a train may cause a good deal of 

 damage by sparks flying from the engine. I feel also it is a 

 difficult thing for a private member to fight a railway company ; 

 but something ought to be done to ensure that railway companies 

 should take greater precautions than they do at present. It is no 

 doubt difficult for a private individual to proceed against them, 

 but we want the onus of proof of taking proper precautions 

 thrown more on the railway companies than it is at present. That 

 is the direction in which I think we ought to proceed. With 

 regard to the main subject — that is, the question of forestry, 

 which, I take it, is quite different from arboriculture — this deputa- 

 tion that has come here to-day no doubt concerns itself in the first 

 instance with Scotland more than with the United Kingdom, or 

 at any rate more than it does with Great Britain, with which I 

 have to deal ; for I have nothing to do with Ireland. I am 

 bound to say, looking farther ahead, that one sees that it is a 

 question which really concerns the whole of the United Kingdom, 

 because the demand for timber is naturally growing every year 

 with our increasing population, and, on the other hand, the timber 

 supply of the world is diminishing. At any rate, it is likely that 

 we shall have to go much farther afield to get it, and the result 

 may be a considerable appreciation in the price of timber. I 

 think we may take it for granted that the Forestry Committee 



