THE CENTRAL FOREST AUTHORITY. 149 



he also adds, 'and approved by the Treasury.' Well, we 

 know that Treasury. But observe, he then has to get a 

 Central Authority. How does he get it? By combining the 

 three representatives of England, Scotland, and Ireland. They 

 are to decide where the money is to be spent. That means 

 the old story of the equivalent grant for Scotland, England, 

 and Ireland. That is obviously unworkable for our purposes, 

 but it is interesting because it is the only alternative scheme 

 that I have seen. Should we go on as we are now under 

 this wretched dual control, or take this Treasury official's 

 scheme, which would to my mind end in smoke, or come 

 back to what I am to recommend in the motion I shall 

 move? We do not want, in moving for this Central 

 Committee, to divorce forestry from agriculture. We do 

 not want the agricultural interest to be neglected. Why, 

 in your own statement, which is in the Appendix, you 

 say, at page 78 : — ' It is generally admitted that the creation 

 of small-holdings, where there is a prospect of their being 

 profitably worked, is an object of importance on national 

 grounds, and we are of opinion that in Scotland small-holdings 

 would be most profitably worked in connection with afforesta- 

 tion.' Certainly we all think that. There is no reason in the 

 world why, if you have a Central Authority of sensible men, 

 they should not consult the Boards of Agriculture of each 

 country, or why they should not work to some extent through 

 them. As long as they keep all that is good in the local 

 administration and consider local circumstances, the Central 

 Authority might perfectly well make use of such machinery 

 as exists, but for any sake do let us have the chief direction 

 in responsible hands which have also control of the funds. 

 I would just like to say, speaking of the Board of Agriculture, 

 that a great deal has been made of a resolution passed by the 

 Chamber of Agriculture supporting the existing state of things. 

 The farmers of Scotland are said not to want to see forestry 

 divorced from the Board of Agriculture because they think 

 they would suffer. I know very well what the feelings of most 

 of the farmers on forestry are. They do not want to see single 

 trees spoiling their crops. Quite right too. They do not want 

 to see trees in hedgerows. They like shelter-belts. Though I 

 doubt if a farmer had a shelter-belt of ripe timber, and was told 

 that the timber ought to come down now or deteriorate, I rather 



VOL. XXXn. PART n. L 



