II 



of the Reconstruction Committee, I do not think that we can 

 have any fear that, in the future, forestry will be regarded with 

 indifference by whatever Government may be in power, no 

 matter what its political colour may be. I am certain that this 

 particular year marks a stage in the development of forestry 

 which we will be able to look back upon, or our children or 

 grandchildren will, as a new start in this great industry. Every 

 one knows, of course, that I am not a forester, and every one 

 will understand that at this meeting I feel rather like a fish out 

 of the water, or a pilot who is attempting to navigate without 

 sufficient experience in some uncharted sea, but you also know 

 that in the temporary absence, in France, of my colleague, 

 Mr Sutherland, it became necessary, for the purpose of procedure, 

 that someone should be the nominal head of the Forestry 

 Division of the Board, and the Secretary for Scotland for the 

 time being has put me nominally and technically in charge of 

 that Division. 



"The Secretary for Scotland, as you must have gathered from 

 the different speeches he has made within the past few weeks, 

 was not satisfied that this time, even this remarkable, exceptional, 

 and abnormal time, was a time during which the Board of 

 Agriculture should absolutely mark time m respect to forestry. 

 He felt that, in spite of the difficulties and the drawbacks, in 

 spite of the uncertainties as to what the future of forestry 

 administration would be, it was desirable that the Board should 

 do what it could to encourage forestry education and the general 

 development of forestry in the meantime. But, as I say, I am 

 not a forester, and therefore I can offer nothing to this meeting 

 of any value from a technical standpoint. I can only report to 

 you what, during the last month or two, the Board of Agriculture 

 has been trying to do to carry on the work. You would have 

 noticed, perhaps, that the Secretary for Scotland decided that 

 it was necessary to enlarge and to strengthen the staff of the 

 Forestry Division, and he has done so by appointing to assist 

 the Board, Mr Gordon, who was advisory officer in Glasgow, 

 and now we have the neucleus of a staff of which Dr Borthwick 

 is the chief advisory officer, and of which Mr Gordon is the 

 officer in charge of whatever scheme we can get into operation 

 in the way of planting the land. The Secretary for Scotland 

 has also added to the staff internally, by means of several new 

 subordinate officers who are not necessarily technical officers. 



