22 THE SOCIETY FOE THE PEESBEVATION OF 



letter from a very old servant of the Crown, with regard to whom 

 there is no one who can be said to have had equal experience in 

 the matter (I refer to Sir John Kirk). He says : ' But I am certain 

 that nothing but well-chosen and strictly preserved reserves will 

 save the game from extermination.' That, I think, is an opinion 

 which will carry weight with everybody who knows Africa. 



I will ask Lord Curzon of Kedleston to say a few w r ords. 



Lord Curzon : Lord Elgin, although I was invited to do so, I 

 did not like to assume the responsibility of introducing this influ- 

 ential Deputation to you this morning, because I do not myself 

 possess the familiarity with the conditions and state of the reserves 

 in Africa which would enable me to address you with anything 

 like the authority that Mr. Buxton has ; still, I am very glad 

 indeed to say a few words on the general question of principle 

 which was raised by Mr. Buxton in the concluding part of his 

 remarks, and about which he read that exceedingly weighty pro- 

 nouncement from Sir John Kirk. I think, perhaps, I have some 

 little right to do so, because the question of game, which I think 

 did not come very prominently to the front in India during your 

 time, did attract the notice of the Government of India in mine. 

 We found that in India the same conditions existed to a large 

 extent which Mr. Buxton has described as existing in South 

 Africa. 



We find in India a progressive diminution of many interest- 

 ing and valuable types of animal life, which is due to a 

 number of causes, the improvement of firearms, the increasing 

 depredations of the natives, sometimes to protect their crops — 

 which, of course, is a very worthy reason — sometimes to obtain 

 food for themselves — again a very proper reason — sometimes, alas, 

 for the money to be derived from the sale of skins and hides. 

 Well, looking at the question in India, we came to the conclusion 

 that there were two ways of dealing with that diminution of those 

 types of animal life : one is by more stringent (lame Laws, and 

 the other is by reserves. Now, in regard to India, your familiarity 

 with that country, my Lord, will remind you that we have existing 

 in India, owing to natural causes, perhaps, tho greatest extent of 

 reserves in the world. In the first place we have our forest reserves, 

 which, no doubt, were created in the first place for the growth and 

 preservation of timber, but which constitute indirectly a sort of 

 reserve for game ; then the Native States in India, particularly 

 when you have a sporting Kajah at the head, are in themselves a 

 sort of reserve ; and, finally, all along the north of India you have 

 under the mountains the long strip of Nepaul, which, as at present 

 administered, is perhaps the finest natural game preserve in the 

 world. Therefore in India we have not to look at the question 

 from the same point of view as in Africa ; we have not got to 

 create reserves, because they exist ; and in India we were devoting 

 ourselves, when I left the country, to an alteration and a strengthen- 

 ing of the Game Laws. 



Now we turn to Africa, about which Mr. Buxton has been 



