204 IRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH AKBOklCULTLRAL SOCIETY. 



Dominions of Canada, New Zealand and South Africa 

 desire to be associated with this message. The 

 representatives of Denmark, France, Holland, Hungary, 

 Russia and Sweden, at present the guests of the Society, 

 also desire to convey to your Majesty an expression of 

 their admiration and esteem.' 



" I have received the following answer : — ~ 



' As patron of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural .Society, the 

 King has received with much satisfaction the loyal 

 message from its members, and desires me to offer his 

 congratulations on this auspicious occasion in the life 

 of the Society. Will you also convey to the representa- 

 tives of India, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, 

 as well as to your foreign guests. His Majesty's best 

 thanks for the kind sentiments communicated in your 

 telegram. Clive Wigram.' 



" I now give you the toast of His Majesty the King." 

 The other loyal toasts were also given from the Chair. 

 Mr Sydney J. Gammell, in proposing "The Houses of Parlia- 

 ment," said : — " I rise with very great pleasure to propose the toast 

 of * The Houses of Parliament,' which stands in my name, and I 

 do so with a certain amount of diffidence, as I feel that I am not 

 competent to deal with so important a toast in the manner in 

 which it deserves to be dealt with, and I must particularly ask 

 these gentlemen who have honoured us with their presence as 

 the representatives of foreign countries not to take what I may 

 say with regard to the Houses of Parliament, as too strictly in 

 accordance with the actual state of affairs, because I do not 

 feel that I am competent to do justice to the subject. My first 

 regret, and I fear it must be a regret in proposing this toast, 

 is that we have so few representatives of our Houses of 

 Parliament present with us to-night. I am sure that if they had 

 been here, and particularly if they had been at the Conference 

 which we h^ld this afternoon, they could not have failed to have 

 been impressed by the weighty words which fell from those 

 who have honoured us with their presence, and who are more 

 competent to speak on forestry subjects than any of us here. 

 But I know there are party exigencies and other questions which 

 are more to the front than forestry at this particular moment. 

 That is also one of my regrets, because I do feel it is very sad 



