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the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was the development of 

 silviculture. For the first twelve months there was very little 

 to report. Towards the end of the first year the Scottish Oflfice 

 decided to approach the Development Commissioners with 

 a request for a grant for the development of silviculture in 

 Scotland. He took that opportunity of saying how much reason 

 they had to be grateful to Lord Pentland, the late Secretary for 

 Scotland, who took the matter up, being convinced of its 

 importance, and giving it, until he left Scotland, the best help he 

 could. Lord Pentland appointed a Committee to make a scheme, 

 and five of the seven members were members of the Society. 

 That Committee presented a report, which had been published, 

 and completed a scheme which he thought on the whole had 

 won the approval of those who were interested in the subject in 

 Scotland. Since then nothing had happened. A new Board of 

 Agriculture had been appointed for Scotland. When it was first 

 proposed, it was provided that one of the three members of the 

 Board should have a special knowledge of the subject of forestry. 

 Yielding to pressure later brought on, Lord Pentland, as he 

 frankly stated, withdrew that provision, but gave a promise that 

 instead he would appoint a Department in Forestry in connection 

 with the new Board. That Department, he regretted to say, 

 had not been appointed, although it was many months since 

 that promise was given. The new Board of Agriculture had 

 been in existence for some time, and one of its members, Mr 

 Sutherland, was in every way qualified to deal with forestry, but 

 since nothing had been done the Council of that Society 

 approached it by a deputation, which was received by Sir 

 Robert Wright and Mr Sutherland. The result from their point 

 of view, he was bound to admit, was bitterly disappointing. But 

 he would prefer to think, and he hoped that he might be right, 

 that the remarkable speech which Sir Robert Wright made on 

 that occasion was really only a masterpiece of official caution, 

 and not, as some people, not without reason, thought at the 

 time, a deliberate attempt to escape from the responsibility which 

 Parliament had placed upon his Department. That was how 

 matters stood at the present time. The delay which had taken 

 place in the progress of the movement was not only irritating 

 but actually harmful. The blame for the delay could not, he 

 thought, be laid at the door of the Development Commissioners. 

 On the contrary, that body showed signs of impatience. In the 

 interval they had made a somewhat hasty grant to one of the 

 teaching centres, a step which, in the absence of a complete 

 scheme, had rather complicated matters, since the teaching centre 

 that happened to be selected was, for the moment, over-clouded 

 by controversies amongst the public bodies who controlled it. 

 But the grant proved that the Commissioners had no intention 

 of shirking their duty. The delay in the development of 

 silviculture was probably due to the fact that the fashionable 



