RAILWAYS AND HOME TIMBER. lOQ 



them, and stated that the deputation represented all the 

 interests connected with home timber and specially those 

 interested in the trade in home-grown railway sleepers. The 

 deputation realised that the railway companies were not 

 philanthropic institutions, and that it would be waste of time 

 for them to ask the railway companies for concessions at the 

 expense of the Shareholders unless they could offer something 

 in return. What they asked for would not only be a benefit to 

 the interests represented in the deputation, but also to the 

 railway companies themselves. Captain Stirling explained 

 that the three Societies who had sent delegates, in order of their 

 seniority, were : — 



1. The Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, which repre- 



sented all interests from the nursery to the saw-mill, and 

 included in its membership landowners, nurserymen and 

 timber merchants. The Society also dealt with the 

 scientific and educational side of Forestry. 



2. The Landowners' Co-operative Forestry Society, Limited, 



a society of comparatively recent origin, which had 

 been in existence about three years ; the membership 

 consisted of landowners, the acreage of whose land under 

 wood represented a large proportion of the whole of 

 such acreage in Scotland. 



3. The Home Timber Merchants' Association, which was 



formed to represent the larger interests of the home 

 timber merchant. 



Captain Stirling also intimated that there were one or two 

 representatives on the deputation who did not belong to any of 

 the foregoing societies. Captain Stirling stated that he proposed 

 to indicate briefly the various points with which the deputation 

 would deal, and that he would leave the elaboration of these 

 points to the delegates themselves, as they would be able to 

 give first-hand information. He emphasised the point that the 

 members who would speak knew the actual facts and had been 

 all their lives in the timber trade. Captain Stirling raised the 

 question of keeping a record of what took place at the meeting, 

 and stated that the deputation were prepared to leave it to the 

 railway companies to decide this point, but he expressed the 

 hope that permission would be given to circulate a report of the 

 meeting amongst the members of the societies represented. He 



