28 A NATIONAL PLANTING SCHEME 



The abortive attempts of the past quarter of a century 

 by various Royal Commissions and Committees to 

 tackle this planting problem have been already re- 

 viewed. One and all have made recommendations. 

 Almost without exception the urgency and necessity 

 of undertaking planting operations has been admitted. 

 Some of the schemes were too meagre and small ; others 

 were said to have been too bold and large. But without 

 exception they met the same fate. Not a plant was 

 put in as a result of the labour given and money spent. 

 The apathy of the public on this subject, an apathy 

 born of ignorance, was complete. And the Govern- 

 ment of the day, satisfied with this evidence of the lack 

 of public opinion and public interest in the subject, 

 and being almost equally ignorant of the economic 

 aspects of the case for were we not getting with ease 

 all we required from across the seas ? were only too 

 well content to let the matter drop. In those days 

 economy in running the nation was not an urgent busi- 

 ness, nor any one's business, nor did it appear to matter 

 that we possessed millions of acres of land land 

 lying derelict which could grow so much of the 

 forestry materials which we were content to import 

 and to pay for. The planting of this land would 

 apparently give rise to contention, would be objected 

 to, and so the Government of the day were only too 

 glad to appoint a Commission, let the matter simmer, 

 boil over in the Press, and relapse into oblivion once 

 again. 



The position has with so many others altered with 

 the coming of the Great War. 



We can no longer ignore the fact that the land is 



