THE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AND FORESTRY. 3 



solely because the proposal had found a place in the earlier 

 draft of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Bill. But the promise 

 of a Department of Forestry, which your Lordship has now sub- 

 stituted for that proposal, appears to us in every way an improve- 

 ment. Provided that the Department is thoroughly representative 

 of those interested in silviculture in Scotland, and endowed with 

 reasonable independence and responsibility, we are confident 

 that it will prove a most valuable agent for the development of 

 forestry. — I am, my Lord, your obedient Servant, 



"(Sgd.) John Stirling-Maxwell. 



'''' President.'" 



2. The Development Commission and Forestry. 



Extract from the First Report of the Commissioners for 

 THE Period from i2TH May 1910 to 31ST March 191 i. 



It is provided in section i {h) of the Act that forestry, as one 

 of the purposes for which the Commissioners may recommend 

 advances, shall include : — 



1. The conducting of inquiries, experiments and research, 



for the purpose of promoting forestry, and the 

 teaching of methods of afforestation ; 



2. The purchase and planting of land found after inquiry 



to be suitable for afforestation. 

 Believing that forestry is one of the purposes of the Act which 

 requires to be dealt with on comprehensive and national lines, 

 the Commissioners at an early stage appointed four of their 

 number to report on the broad principles to be applied to all 

 applications bearing on the subject. 



The following Commissioners form the Forestry Committee : — 

 Mr S. Eardley-Wilmot, CLE. (Chairman). 

 Mr W. S. Haldane. 

 Mr M. A. Ennis. 

 Mr H. Jones-Davies. 

 Outlines of a forestry policy have been drawn up by the 

 Committee, and approved by the Commissioners, as a guide in 

 dealing with all applications for grants for the developing of 

 forestry in England, Scotland and Wales. Ireland was dealt 

 with separately. The principles which, after discussion and 



