THE CONFERENCE AND DINNER. 201 



been too complimentary to us, and I would suggest that we are 

 hardly entitled to pass a resolution that our Society should 

 receive the support of the State. The expression " Society " 

 was put into the resolution out of kindness to ourselves, and is 

 a compliment we hardly deserve." 



The Chairman said: — "That is quite right. I should have 

 left out the word ' Society ' and put in ' afforestation ' instead.'" 



Mr Gammell said: — "I should like most heartily to support 

 the resolution as it stands now, and I may possibly be allowed to 

 say a word. I feel the position is to a certain extent due to the 

 fact that all our politics have got very much either into one party 

 or another. I was very glad to hear Lord Lovat in his remarks 

 divide his criticisms most fairly between the present Government 

 and the one which preceded it. It has always been a great 

 treat to find in a Society like this that we never allow our private 

 political opinions to interfere with our pressing forward the cause 

 of afforestation in the country. So long as we maintain that 

 attitude to politics, it will be better for afforestation in Scotland 

 and better for the Society itself. We must realise that in order 

 to get anything done, we must press our proposals on the 

 Government of the day, so that they may be put forward for 

 the acceptance of the nation and be crowned with success. We 

 maintain that our case is a good one, and I think we are right 

 in so maintaining. We can show them in every way that it is 

 not a leap in the dark, and I think the encouragement we have 

 to-day received from our foreign friends on the same lines 

 strengthens us in our contention. In order to give point to 

 what I have been saying in regard to the future of this policy, 

 I should like to add some concrete example of what can be done 

 in the matter of small holdings. It is the thing which dovetails 

 into forestry in a way no one can understand, unless he has 

 actual experience of it. I have done it myself on my own land 

 for the purposes of keeping labour, and it has been an advantage 

 to me, and I think I am justified in saying it has also been an 

 advantage to the tenants of the small holdings. An ounce of 

 practice is worth a ton of theory, and if we can bring that home 

 to the Government of the day, no matter what their politics, we 

 shall have taken an important step in bringing about what we in 

 this Society desire to see accomplished in this country." 



Sir John Stirling-Maxwell said : — " At the time when the 

 Society did me the honour of making me President, I could 



VOL. XXVIII. PART II. O 



