156 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



found centralisation under one authority to be the best, and in 

 fact the only, workable system." 



Mr E. P. Stebbing. — " I think we are rather in danger of 

 losing sight of the point which we are all interested in, and that 

 is the matter of putting in the trees. It is thirty-three years since 

 the first Commission considered this question, and not a single 

 tree has been put in. The present position, as I understand it, 

 is as follows. The Secretary for Scotland has announced, as 

 Dr Greig explained at our last meeting, that the forestry side 

 of the Board of Agriculture has been re-organised so as to 

 proceed with schemes of afforestation. I understand that the 

 Board of Agriculture is now engaged in preparing important 

 afforestation schemes in different parts of the country. This 

 being so, it does not appear to be to the interest of Scottish 

 afforestation to upset these schemes and thus put back the work 

 of getting in the trees, which is really what we are all interested 

 in. I would suggest that we should be willing to assist these 

 schemes so as to get a commencement made with the really 

 important matter of getting trees into the ground, which has 

 not been accomplished yet." 



Sir Hugh Shaw-Stewart. — " Because the Board of Agriculture 

 has not got the money." 



Mr Stebbing. — " I suggest the following motion : * That it is 

 expedient that the Society should give their support to the 

 policy of projected afforestation in Scotland, which the Secretary 

 for Scotland and the Board of Agriculture have now actively 

 entered upon, and that any action taken in a contrary sense 

 would only delay progress.' " 



Mr A. D. Richardson. — " I submit this is not a competent 

 motion. The question here is the motion on the billet." 



Mr Menmuir. — " We have been told the Central Authority 

 in France is in Paris. We must consider that as a national 

 affair; therefore the Central Authority for a Scottish scheme 

 ought to be in Scotland. No matter what the Central Forestry 

 Authority in Scotland be, in combination with the Board of 

 Agriculture or not, it is sufficient that we have in Scotland a 

 properly equipped National Forestry Authority. That is what 

 we ought to have." 



Mr H. M. Cadell of Grange. — " It appears to me by adopting 

 the motion we are asked to adopt, we are going to vote away 

 any power we have to set up a Central Authority in Scotland, 



