ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL INDUSTRY OF FORESTRY. 1 39 



A simple method would be by long period loans to the pro- 

 prietors of suitable land on sufficient security. No doubt a 

 mortgage might be given by the proprietor over his estate for 

 such a loan, but as the advance would be spread over many 

 years, the amount of the mortgage required to secure it must be 

 uncertain, and difficulties would arise on this account, particularly 

 in the case of heavily-encumbered estates. Moreover, strong 

 objection would certainly be raised by many people to the 

 Government lending on terms that would really imply its taking 

 all the risk and the proprietors getting the whole surplus profit 

 at the end, after paying off the capital expenditure and the 

 accumulated moderate interest. Such would indeed be too 

 favourable terms to the proprietors, whose personal obligation 

 for payment of the debt and interest, if any were given, would be 

 postponed to so remote a date that no reliance could be placed 

 upon it. How, then, could the State be secured of a fair share of 

 the ultimate profit commensurate to the capital contributed to 

 the undertaking? This might be effected under a system of 

 joint account, the Government, however, retaining the power to 

 secure efficient management, and having a prior lien over the 

 subjects for its fair share of the timber profits. 



The plan could be worked out in this way,— a proprietor of 

 suitable land would off'er it for a planting scheme on the footing 

 that its value for present letting purposes be placed to his credit 

 in an account to be kept by a Government Forestry Department. 

 To this account the Government would contribute all the ex- 

 penses connected with its utilisation for forestry purposes, and 

 these sums would be placed to its credit. Interest on the 

 respective credit balances would be added periodically, but when 

 the forest became revenue-producing, interest would stop, and 

 a balance be struck, and thereafter the net annual returns, after 

 meeting all expenses, would be divisible proportionally to the 

 amounts standing at the credit of the Government and the pro- 

 prietor respectively. Connected with the land actually to be 

 planted, suitable land for occupation by those to be employed 

 might be permanently rented and let to the employees. 



The management of the forest might generally be left to the 

 proprietor of the estate. His management would be usually 

 more economical and careful than that of Government officials 

 from a distance, but strict conditions would be necessary to 

 guard against mismanagement or neglect. The general lines of 



