HISTORY FROM 1816. 11 



The subject, howev8r,"has of late been more considered, and the 

 conviction has been arrived at, that it required the stability of a 

 settled administration to prevent the present destruction of forests 

 and hand them down in such quantity and conditions as to leave 

 a due supply for future generations. A permanent Government 

 only can be expected to wait long enough to reap the profit obtain- 

 able from an article which it takes eighty or a hundred years to 

 bring to maturity. Permanency, as far as it can be obtained, is 

 therefore of the highest importance in any arrangement for 

 the due administration cf forests ; and Her Majesty's Govern- 

 ment, therefore, entirely approve cf your proposal to make a. 

 separate department at Calcutta for the control of all questions 

 relating to forests in the provinces directly administered by your 

 Excellency in Council. Under the chief officer, whatever designa- 

 tion you may fix on for him, should be superintendents in each 

 province, to whom should be entrusted considerable latitude in the 

 execution of the rules laid down, although he should be bound 

 to adhere strictly to the general principles promulgated by the 

 chief officer at Calcutta. But as regards the provinces under the 

 administration of the three Lieutenant-Governors respectively, 

 upon which you appear to entertain some doubts, it appears to me 

 desirable that the responsibility of practical management should 

 be left in the hands of these officers, under such general rules as 

 you may see fit to lay down, the Inspector or Controller-General 

 of Forests exercising no direct authority, but acting generally as 

 your adviser, and through you of the several Lieutenant-Governors ; 

 and Her Majesty's Government are decidedly of opinion that 

 the forest administration of Madras and Bombay should be left, as 

 at present, under the orders of the Governors of these Presidencies. 

 :< It is very satisfactory to me to learn that you have come 

 to the same conclusion as Her Majesty's Government, that 

 individuals cannot be relied upon for due care in the management 

 of the forests, inasmuch as private interests must be opposed, in 

 this instance, to the public interests. 



