THE SOCIETY S ANNUAL MEETING. 75 



say that lately I have been considering the position of the 

 country, both from the point of view of the past and of the future. 

 If only thirty years ago it had been decided that 100,000 

 acres a year should be planted, and if that had been steadily 

 done at an annual cost of half a million, the result would be 

 to-day, at the end of thirty years, that we would not require one 

 stick of pit-wood for our mines from abroad. The position 

 would be that the whole of the capital outlay of thirty years 

 would probably be repaid within the next three years, and still 

 we would have our established crops growing over a million 

 acres. The tremendous advantage of that I need not go into, 

 but I am pretty clear that this is no overstatement. 



"The chairman has referred to the demonstration area. The 

 Board have been able to arrange with Col. Steuart Fothringham 

 of Murthly, and with Col. Stirling of Keir, for the complete 

 use of their woodlands for demonstration purposes. These two 

 gentlemen have come forward very generously at a time when 

 we were in an unfortunate position for forestry demonstration, 

 and we have concluded most satisfactory arrangements with 

 them. These arrangements are only temporary, and I think 

 everybody agrees that no demonstration area will be any good 

 unless it is absolutely permanent. 



"There is another subject which I wish to refer to, because 

 I believe it is causing a certain amount of anxiety to land- 

 owners who are selling their timber, and that is the question 

 as to whether there will be an extra charge on them 

 for excess income under the recent Finance Act. Some people 

 have rather hesitated about selling more than their ordinary 

 output because they thought that they might have to pay 

 not only ordinary income tax, but also excess tax. This 

 matter has been considered fully by the Board of Agriculture 

 and Fisheries in England along with the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer, and we have heard that the Chancellor of the 

 Exchequer has stated distinctly that so far as income from 

 woodlands is concerned, landowners are to be assessed in the 

 ordinary way under Schedule B. Thus there will be no 

 additional tax." 



Sir John Stirling-Maxwell. — " Perhaps I might be allowed to 

 say one thing, as a member of the Committee referred to by 

 Mr Sutherland. All interested in this subject are under a 

 great obligation to Mr Sutherland for the work he has put 



