THE IRISH FORESTRY SOCIETY, 327 
XXXII. Zhe Lrish Forestry Society. 
DEPUTATION TO THE CHIEF SECRETARY 
FOR IRELAND. 
STATE AFFORESTATION 
A deputation from the Irish Forestry Society waited on the 
Chief Secretary at Dublin Castle on 23rd April, for the purpose 
of urging the advantages of State afforestation and its application 
to Ireland. The deputation consisted of the Right Hon. Lord 
Castletown, Messrs O. H. Braddell, Wm. Dick, Charles Dawson, 
Prof. Houston, R. E. Hodson, J. P. Jones, J. Scott Kerr, A. E. 
Moeran, Geo. Perry, J.P., and A. H. Walkey. 
Lord Castletown said the object of the deputation was to 
bring before the Chief Secretary the advantages of State 
afforestation. The Commissioners of Woods and Forests had 
power to buy land under section 4 of the Act of 1903, and they 
might be induced to ear-mark and utilise all those funds which 
were now coming in by the redemption of Quit and Crown rents, 
for the particular districts from which they came. The Com- 
missioners of Woods and Forests could, by utilising the clauses 
of the Crown Lands Act, carry out the policy laid down in the 
Act of 1903, and create a really sound scheme of State afforesta- 
tion. They could do that, he thought, without infringing in any 
way on Treasury finances or asking for any grant. 
Mr Scott Kerr said the scheme which the Society advocated 
was drafted in response to the requests of a large number of 
public men during the last few years, The Society appointed a 
sub-committee to go into the matter and prepare a scheme 
which would form a basis of future State development in the 
matter of forestry. About a million of acres had been trans- 
ferred from the former owners to the occupiers, and no provision, 
as far as they understood, had. been made for the afforestation 
of this great amount of land. Ifthe present procedure went on, 
many opportunities of doing good work in the direction 
indicated would be lost for ever. The speaker went on to refer 
to the details of the scheme. 
The Chief Secretary said he was entirely with them as to the 
general desirability of action in the direction suggested, and it 
would be better if the speakers confined themselves to the 
practical aspects, showing what could be done, the way in 
which it could be done, and the prospects of remuneration, 
