54 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



SO little progress to record. One is the fortunate fact that forestry 

 has never hitherto got mixed up with party politics, and I 

 hope that it never may. The other is that, while the Forestry 

 Department of the Board of Agriculture in Scotland, through 

 no fault of its own, has been unable to make progress since 

 its appointment, we have every confidence in the man who is 

 in charge of that Department. If Mr Sutherland were not now 

 in France, he would be beside you, and, in his absence, I should 

 like to say that we recognise that he has done, in face of great 

 difficulties, everything he could to promote the interests of 

 forestry. And the same is as true about Dr Borthwick, who 

 sits beside you, and about all their staff. 



" I should also like to say, although they have not been 

 fortunate in making progress, that your predecessors in the 

 Scottish Office have been helpful to us and desirous of improving 

 the condition of forestry in Scotland. In that statement I wish 

 to include Lord Pentland, although, from difficulties with which 

 you are doubtless quite familiar, he was unable to carry out his 

 intentions when the Board of Agriculture was established. 



"What we feel about administration is this, that whatever is 

 done the present deadlock must be got rid of. At present we 

 have the nucleus of a very good forestry authority in the 

 Board of Agriculture, but it has no money. The money, 

 which is ample, is in the hands of another body, the Develop- 

 ment Commissioners, of whom I would not like to say that 

 they were totally ignorant of Scotland and forestry ; but among 

 them, I am bound to point out, you will find only one Scotsman^ 

 and he is not acquainted with forestry, and only one forester, 

 whose experience was obtained entirely in India." 



The Secretary for Scotland. — " Do you suggest that Sir William 

 Haldane has no practical experience in forestry ? " 



Sir John Stirling-Maxwell. — "Not that I know of. That he 

 has a wish to help forestry I do not doubt, but of his practical 

 acquaintance with forestry I am not aware. We feel that this 

 dual control is extremely unfortunate, and is one reason for so 

 little progress being made. 



" Mr Acland, who brought a fresh mind to the subject, has 

 brought a great accession of strength to the cause of forestry 

 in this country. I may just say that the practical outcome of 

 it is that Mr Acland and his colleagues have come to the con- 

 clusion that it will be necessary, in the interests of safety, to 



