REASONS FOR AND AGAINST STATE SUPERVISION. 75 



Supervision, it is further said, is necessary, because private 

 persons cannot estimate the total requirements of the country, 

 nor arrange the management of the forests accordingly ; to 

 do this requires joint action and not action distorted by the 

 personal interests of each individual. 



(b) Special stress is laid upon the point that private 

 motives are opposed to the true aims and objects of forestry. 

 It is said that the returns of forestry occur so late that he who 

 sows does not reap ; hence private owners are inclined to 

 favour their own momentary interests to the disadvantage of 

 future generations by overcutting and thus devastating their 

 forests. The consequence might be overstocking of the market 

 at one time and a wood famine at another. 



((•) Without State supervision the rights of third persons 

 over private forests might be interfered with. 



2. Reasons cuiainst State Siqiervisioii. 



The reasons brought forward against State supervision of 

 private forests are somewhat on the following lines:— 



{a) Private forestry is fully sufficient to meet all reasonable 

 demands made on forests in the public interest. There is no 

 reason to consider forestry as differing in this respect from 

 other branches of industry ; the best guaranty for a reasonable 

 management is to be found in the prospect of a corresponding 

 profit. Should an owner not be in the position of managing 

 his forest properly, it would pass into other more competent 

 hands. In short, the supply would be regulated by the 

 demand and prices determined accordingly. The fear of a 

 wood famine is unnecessary, because it would not come 

 suddenly, and the means of communication, substitutes for 

 forest produce and the possibility of reducing the use of it, 

 would meet an exceptional strain in this direction. 



(b) State supervision is not only unnecessary, but actually 

 mischievous. The State has difficulty, if it is at all able, to 

 decide always on the right measure of interference ; it is very 

 difficult to estimate the requirements. State forest officers 



